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Million Dollar Pound Cake

This rich and buttery Million Dollar Pound Cake recipe has been rotating through Southern kitchens for decades. It’s made with seven simple pantry ingredients and can be served on its own, with fresh berries and whipped cream, lemon curd, ice cream or countless other options. It’s a pound cake aficionado’s dream.

Million Dollar Pound Cake


Easy Million Dollar Pound Cake Recipe

How Does the Million Dollar Pound Cake Rise? Other than eggs, there’s no leavening in this cake. This makes a key step in the process of making the batter to whip air into the butter. I use a rule of “fives” when making this pound cake.  By that I mean, to give the cake a creamy lighter texture whip the butter on high for 5 minutes then add the sugar and continue to whip for another 5 minutes. This process has a magical effect on the cake batter which adds to the mystique of how such simple ingredients can produce such a pleasing result. How to make Southern Million Dollar Pound Cake from scratch:

  • Flour – All-purpose flour.
  • Butter – Salted butter.
  • Flavorings – Vanilla extract and almond extract.
  • Sugar – Granulated sugar.
  • Eggs – Large eggs.
  • Milk – Whole milk OR buttermilk.
cake batter in a mixing bowl

How to Make the Best Million Dollar Pound Cake Recipe

This pound cake is fantastic for make-ahead baking as it freezes like a dream. This beloved cake was first made famous by Southern Living who dubbed it “Million Dollar Pound Cake.” I serve this pound cake in trifles, parfaits, or as is with a cup of hot tea or coffee. It’s a Southern classic that will never grow old.  Follow the preparation technique carefully and this classic delight will be the star ending to any meal.

  • Ingredients you’ll need to make this homemade Million Dollar Pound Cake recipe: All purpose flour, salted butter, sugar, whole milk or buttermilk, large eggs, vanilla and almond extract.
  • Kitchen tools you’ll need: A stand mixer or a hand mixer, measuring cups and spoons, an angel food pan and cooling rack.
  • It’s super helpful to have a stand mixer for making the batter for this pound cake recipe. It takes some time to beat air into the butter and it can be done using a hand mixer, but not by hand.
  • Remember, it’s the rule of fives to make this cake. 5 minutes to whip the butter and 5 minutes to cream the butter with the granulated sugar. This adds air to the batter and gives it a beautiful rise.
  • If you don’t have salted butter, you can use the same amount of unsalted butter and add 1/2 tsp salt.
  • The amount of vanilla extract called for in the recipe is one Tablespoon, not one teaspoon. It’s not a typo.
  • Please note this is a big cake. You’ll also need a large tube pan, sometimes called an angel food pan for baking. I use one with a removeable bottom, but it’s fine to bake it in a pan that doesn’t have that option.
  • When freezing pound cake make certain it’s cooled completely before tightly wrapping in plastic freezer wrap.
  • You can freeze it as a whole pound cake or cut it into slices for individual portions. Doing it that way makes it convenient to grab a piece from the freezer for a quick treat or when entertaining unexpected guests. It will easily last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  • Store Million Dollar Pound Cake chilled in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Million Dollar Pound Cake

More Southern Style Pound Cake Recipes to Make

Southern Living Magazine made this pound cake famous and I love that a cake that’s decades old was featured in such a wonderful publication. More pound cake recipes you may like to try:

cake on a pedestal

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4.99 from 82 votes

Million Dollar Pound Cake

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Cooling time3 hours
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy-million-dollar-pound-cake, million-dollar-pound-cake
Servings: 16 pieces
Calories: 496kcal
Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour sifted
  • 1 pound salted butter softened (4 sticks)
  • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup whole milk OR buttermilk

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 300°F. Butter and flour an angel food/tube pan with a removable bottom. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment whisk together the butter, vanilla and almond extracts. Whip for 5 minutes on medium-high.
  • Switch to the paddle attachment. Add the sugar gradually beating on medium until light yellow in color. (Around 5 minutes)
  • Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Lower the speed of the mixer and add the flour alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with flour. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.
  • After all has been added, beat for 1-2 minutes until the flour has fully incorporated.
  • Spread evenly into the pan and bounce on the counter, if needed to settle.
  • Place into the oven and bake for 1 hr 30-45 minutes OR until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes back clean.
  • Cool for 15 minutes, then remove the outer ring.
  • Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Notes

1) Baking time may vary by oven. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes back clean.
2) This cake can be made in a tube pan without a removable bottom.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 496kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 232mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 816IU | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!

817 Comments

  1. This sounds amazing and pound cake is my husband’s favorite. 🙂 Can you use loaf pans instead of tube or bundt pans? Maybe use two loaf pans?

  2. I don’t have a stand mixer, will a hand mixer work as well?
    Many thanks, the recipe looks great.
    Judy

      1. I think she’s asking did you use regular milk or buttermilk in this recipe. I was wondering the same thing

      1. Melissa, can you use vanilla instead of almond extract? So doubling up on the vanilla? We have a nut allergy in our household. Thank you.

  3. I will definitely try this pound cake ! I’m always looking for different cake recipes ,I love to give my elderly neighbors a treat sometimes..🍮🍰🍞❤️

  4. I wanted to try this recipe as a lemon cake for my great grandma’s 82nd birthday. That’s her favorite. I wanted to use lemon juice as well as extract. Can I just add that in or should I subtract a bit of something else? Also, she loves sour cream pound cake, so can I just use that to replace the buttermilk?

    1. You can certainly add lemon flavoring and as much lemon zest as you like. However, don’t add additional liquid to this particular cake. And yes, you could sub sour cream. I have both of those types of pound cakes in my recipe index if you’d like to search them there.

      1. 5 stars
        I ended up using a couple tablespoons of lemon zest (unpacked), and 2 teaspoons of lemon extract (one of which was added into the tablespoon of butter-vanilla emulsion). I happened to find crystallized lemon juice at my local grocery store, all the real lemon flavor minus the liquid. I added two teaspoons of that to the mix, and it turned out amazing! The texture was so perfect! I used the juice I now had leftover to make a glaze. I was so happy that my great grandmother (as well as the rest of the family) loved it! I gave this recipe to my brother who also dabbles in culinary endeavors, he’s more of a chef where I’m more of a baker, but this cake was too good for him to pass up, lol. Also, my grandfather asked me to make it again as loaves and freeze the extras; my other great grandmother (who’s 96) loves having a slice of pound cake with her morning coffee and homemade is SO much better than store-bought. Thank you so much Melissa, for your recipe and advice!

  5. 5 stars
    All I can say is….I am not a baker but working on my skills. This cake made me a Super Star. It was so good, (even the batter, I was glad to be the only one home so I could enjoy licking the spoon.) I used Madagascar Vanilla instead of regular…it made the difference. Now, if only I can get a decent consistency glaze going, I would be very happy. Thank you for the recipe…I saved it in a couple of places…laughing

  6. My 16 year old granddaughter, Savanna made this cake, as I called out your recipe to her, and it was beautiful and tastes DELICIOUS! SHE disc an excellent job.

    1. It’s classic pound cake. The crust that forms on top cracks as the batter expands while baking. I love it, it’s SO tasty!

  7. 5 stars
    Perhaps it wuld be helpful to note the size of the baking tin….. bundts come in many sizes, as do angel food pans.

  8. I love pound cake but when I think of pound cake I think of heavy and dense and that’s the way I like it. Is this cake light like angle food since you beat it for so long or heavy?

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