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Hi Bold Bakers!
Can you believe that Bigger Bolder Baking is 5-years-old?? It’s been an amazing journey, and to celebrate, I’ve created something truly special and fit for a celebration!
There’s nothing quite like a slice of tender, sweet, pound cake. This classic loaf cake is getting a BBB makeover, though, and instead of making the traditional lemon or berry flavored pound cake this spring I’ve created a recipe for a Vanilla Pound Cake with LOADS of Sprinkles. The spin I take on traditional pound cake is way more fun and festive. Next time you’re looking to celebrate with a homemade cake, think outside the funfetti box and give my sprinkles pound cake a try!
Why is it called “pound” cake?
Pound cake refers to a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of the four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. There are variations that are roughly half a pound, which is what this particular pound cake is. I love this kind of recipe, because just like a 3-2-1 cookie, once you learn the method you can whip it up from memory without having to refer back to a recipe.
[ Make your own Cake Flour with my Cake Flour recipe! ]
Where does pound cake originate?
People have been making pound cake since the 1700’s! While the cake originated in northern Europe, this cake became an American classic after being published in the 1796 additions of the American Cookery cookbook, which I’m sure many of your granny’s and mums baked from!
Can you make different flavors of pound cake?
Pound cake is a really great blank canvas for all kinds of flavor combinations. I like to add in my Homemade Extracts and fresh fruit for all different variations.
Another way to dress up a pound cake is with a glaze of course. This cake can be glazed with a vanilla or chocolate glaze depending on your taste. In this recipe I decided to go with a cream cheese glaze that compliments the flavor of the cake. Sometime pound cake can be a more sophisticated tea cake, but I love how bright and fun the finished Vanilla Pound Cake with Load of Sprinkles looks.
How do you store/freeze pound cake?
Store the pound cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. This cake can also be frozen for up to 2 weeks. I like to freeze it pre-sliced so I can enjoy a slice at my leisure.
Have More Cake!
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Vanilla Pound Cake Recipe with Loads of Sprinkles
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Pound Cake
- 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2oz/232g) cake flour
- 1 1/4 cups (10oz/283g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (9oz/254g) butter, room temperature
- 4 large eggs, plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (2floz/57ml) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
For the glaze:
- 1/4 cup (2oz/57g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup (4oz/115g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
- * Egg substitute: applesauce or flax egg
Instructions
For the Vanilla Pound Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) then butter and line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside
- Combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix for 2-3 minutes.
- On medium speed, add the room temperature butter and mix until the butter has broken up into pieces throughout the flour. You're looking for the texture of coarse breadcrumbs.
- In a separate jug, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and the milk.
- Add the wet ingredients into the flour and continue mixing on high speed until fully incorporated.
- Lastly, pour in the sprinkles and stir until JUST combined. The sprinkles can bleed so take care not to mix too much. Transfer the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (mine took 70 minutes)
For the Glaze:
- Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and soften slightly for about 20 seconds.
- Once the cream cheese is soft, whisk in the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until a smooth glaze is formed.
- Pour the glaze over the cake allowing it to drip down the sides. And because we have come this far add a few more sprinkles on top.
- Store the pound cake in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. It will also freeze really well for up to 6 weeks.
Hi Gemma! Love the way you mention all the recipes in detail! Tried this cake today and it turned out brilliant in terms of taste and texture! There were just two issues though 1. All the sprinkles sank to the bottom. Saw this when I cut into the cake. 🙁 Is there any way to tackle this as well as other additions like raisins in cakes, in general? 2. Baked this for 70 mins. The temperature was right (checked with oven thermometer) and the toothpick came out clean too. However, the bottom was slightly undercooked. i.e. it stuck to the… Read more »
My family loved this pound cake. It was so easy to make using cup for cup measure gluten free flour. I just love what you do and wish I had more time to bake. Thank you!
I saw this recipe quite a while ago, & thought the end of quarantine home school celebration dinner would be the perfect occasion! It was a huge hit! To be honest, only about half the loaf actually made it to the dinner…mysteriously, slices kept disappearing!! Delicious! My sprinkles bled quite a bit, so I might try sprinkling them in as I add batter to the pan, but only if presentation is a factor!
Hi: Would this type of cake be good to use for a strawberry shortcake? I prefer the cake bottom like the store bought ones.
Hey Gemma ,
I’m new to this community.
I’ve tried few recipes and they were exceptionally good but this pound cake was Top notch.It’s moist, fluffy and perfectly sweet . Baked it for my husband’s birthday. He said it’s much better than any store bought cake .
Thank you .
Keep going !
Much love to you and much more recipes to us ❤️
I tried this cake today but the top and side are overbaked as it took 70 mins for the centre to be baked. I added raisins and even though I floured them, it still sunk to the bottom. The inside though baked is dense/wet at some parts.The top was cracked too. The end result is nothing like yours. How do we have top and side not burnt? Can we open oven before 3/4 mark to put in aluminium foil on top? Would it be better to split into 2 pans as it is a big pound cake? If 2 pans,… Read more »
Love this recipe – it is super easy. Sprinkles make everything more fun!! This cake will be a hit at our New Year’s celebration 🙂
I also made my own cake flour per the recipe that is linked in this one, and it turned out great!
Hi Gemma,
Can I make these into 9-10 muffins? If so, what would be the time and temperature?
Thanks 😊
I have a few loaf tins that vary a bit in size but all seem to measure 9×5 ☹️Never sure which to use
Mine never baked all the way through …tried it twice