Easy Paula Deen Pound Cake
on Aug 06, 2021, Updated Sep 16, 2023
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It’s hard to beat a simple and easy pound cake recipe. I love making this Paula Deen pound cake recipe. Top it with a little vanilla glaze and some fresh fruit and you’re golden!
Whenever I try to eat a little healthier, my urge to bake is nearly insurmountable.
This Paula Deen pound cake checks all the boxes with a simply sweet vanilla flavor, rich buttery texture and a delightful vanilla glaze I added myself.
Truth be told, my son was begging me to make a pound cake.
One year during Thanksgiving vacation, he decided it was his favorite dessert of all time and it was high time we had another.
Who could blame him? It was a darn good pound cake.
My other son love cupcakes, however so he would reach for these orange creamsicle cupcakes instead!
Easy Paula Deen Pound Cake Recipe
I turned to the internet for recipes and decided that anything with 2 sticks of butter would do. I had to purchase a tube (bundt) pan which was a small price to pay.
I had most of the ingredients already. Here’s what you will need:
- Butter
- Vegetable shortening (Crisco)
- Eggs
- Sugar
- All-purpose flour
- salt
- milk
- baking powder
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar (for glaze)
Once you have a tube or bundt pan there is a lot more you can make with the pan and here’s a book that will give you lots of ideas: 100 Bundt and Tube Pan Cake Recipes
Making the cake is as easy as combining the ingredients and letting your home fill with the most amazing aromas.
Want to know why this is one of my most pinned recipes? Check out these reviews!
“This is one fantastic cake. It has become one of my most frequent used recipes.” – Sherry
“This was a perfect recipe, I’ve made a few of these and everybody loves them!” – Beverly
“Made this as a dessert for my family Thanksgiving. It was easy and a big hit!” – Wendy
Needless to say, this is one pound cake recipe you will want to save so you can make it again and again!
Want more bundt cake ideas? try these!
I decided to add a simple vanilla glaze to our cake to keep it simple.
You could also swap that for this easy strawberry glaze, dust with confectioner’s sugar top with fresh fruit and whipped cream or ice cream, or eat it plain!
It’s so good.
For more yummy dessert ideas, check out my other recipes below.
Print the Pound Cake Recipe
Grab the recipe below and save it for later. I can’t wait to make this again!
Easy Paula Deen Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter, plus more for pan
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, I use Crisco
- 5 eggs
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup milk, plus 3 Tbsp for glaze
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, plus more for glaze
- 1.5 cup confectioner’s sugar for glaze
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Cream butter and shortening together in a mixing bowl or with a hand-held mixer.
- Slowly add sugar as you mix
- Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.
- Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl
- Add dry ingredients and milk a little bit at a time, alternating with milk. Be sure to start and end with the flour.
- Finally, mix in vanilla.
- Pour into a greased and floured tube or bundt pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- For the glaze, mix together confectioner’s sugar, 3 Tbsp milk, and 2 tsp vanilla and pour over cooled cake. (see notes)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What is your favorite way to eat pound cake? Let me know in the comments
*Post updated from 2014
I make this recipe butter I 3 sticks of butter and no shortening. 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring and 1 teaspoon of butter flavoring. It is so delicious and moist.
I’m making this pound cake for my grand daughter. She loves pound cake . She’s not a fan of cakes with icing.
Very good recipe, easy, tasty. I followed directions exact, didn’t “Carolize” recipe and won’t in the future, p perfect as is.
First time making a pound cake with my daughter and used this recipe. The only change I made was I used half milk/half heavy whipping cream. It was delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I tried this recipe because hubby was asking for pound cake! It’s a keeper. He really liked the added glaze, too. Mine was done at 75 minutes.
Donna, I am so happy to hear that. Thanks for reading!
So my mother who might I add is a down home southern gal one whom loves everything the South has to offer requested a Southern True Pound Cake I could have literally passed out but instead I felt confident in your recipe and what do you know..IT WAS AMAZING MY MOM SMILE WS THE BIGGEST WE HAD SEEN IN A WHILE….THIS IS NOW MY FAVORITE again Thank you for your Culinary Passion😀😀
This makes me so happy! Thank you. I do love to share my favorites!
Can the sugar be cut down to 2 cups, instead of 3 cups?
I made this pound cake and it was slightly dry. Can I add 1/2 cup sour cream or buttermilk? I notice in connection ya no one had this issue. Perhaps I will try it again lowering the oven temp to 325 degrees, could be my oven even thou I have calibrated it. See how that works first. What is your advise?
@Lili,
Lili, I used butter flavored crisco the first time. Then I used three sticks of room temp butter (unsalted/sweetened) and noticed a burst of moisture.
@Cami D.,
Just to add the “then” meaning the third time I baked this cake
Just made a Paula Deen pound cook and it turned out so delicious! So excited because I haven’t baked in years. Easy recipe to follow. Will be making this cake again!!!
Cake is delicious and I like my pound cake warm
How can you make it chocolate?
I bake mine in loaf pans. We like to slice it and butter each side and toast them in cast iron skillets. Oh my goodness it is so good.
Do the eggs have to be room temp and the butter and shortening (should the butter be salted or unsalted).
@Marzetta,
@Marzetta, Everything should be room temp. Unsalted butter is best!
I made this pound cake for a friend of my sister. She loved it and said tasted as good if not as good as her mom’s old fashion pound cake she baked when she was a little girl. I’m baking another this week
Why do you steal recipes for your blog/website?
Hi Tom,
This is not a stolen recipe. I have made it myself and photographed it and shared the source with credit. Hope that helps.
@Tom, that’s not okay. If you are going to accuse someone, then back it up. Otherwise, you look like a shady, jealous follower
Do you shift the flour?
@Carole, use presifted flour and spoon very gently into the measuring cup so you don’t knock all the air out of it.
@Tommi Perkins,
Do you use Dawn Cake Flour ?
How many minutes do you cream the butter and shortening?
@Gail, cream until you feel no gritty feeling on the bottom of the pan/bowl indicating that the sugar has melted. If your butter/shortening is at room temperature it will melt in about 5 minutes of creaming.
Could I use extra butter and omit Crisco?
Yes you could do that. The texture may change a little but you will also have a richer butter flavor.
I tried this recipe, and my cake spilled over the pan
I’m sorry that happened! I’m wondering if you had a smaller size bundt pan? I have noticed smaller ones for sale during the holidays especially.
@TLB, This happened the first time I made it. What a mess, but I kept on and transferred the batter to two different baking items and it didn’t rise as well but still taste delicious. My pan was too small and I had incorrectly used self-rising flour. Big booboo.
I haven’t made a bundt cake in years. I am always afraid it won’t come out of the pan. How long do you cool it in the pan before you flip it over?
I need to update the post because ever since I started using Baker’s Joy spray it is SO easy! This is like cooking spray but it has flour in it and makes turning out cakes simple. I would let it cool for 10 minutes or so in the pan but on a wire rack so there is air underneath. Then turn it onto a plate. Hope this helps!
@Andrea Updyke, always use BakersJoy for baking! Such a game chsnger!
Can you use cake flour instead of white flour
@Gladys Davis, yes! I have made this about six times and used cake flour! Turned out so good !
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for sharing.
I haven’t done this but some commenters have with great results!
I have been using this exact recipe for 50 years! The only thing different is that mine doesn’t call for a glaze. My grandmother made this cake for many years before sharing it with me. It is a lovely cake and one of my favorites, but not a Paula Deen original.
I’ve always loved pound cake topped with condensed milk, delicious! 😋
Can I bake it in 2 loaf pans?
Hi Kim! I have not tried it this way myself but I think you could. The main thing to watch out for would be cook time as it would change for 2 smaller pans. Let me know if you try it!
Absolutely wonderful! I’ve made it four times in a week, I gave two away and they loved them. Thank you for my new favorite cake recipe.
Oh this is so wonderful! Thank you for sharing your results! This is one of our favorites too.
and is delicious and easy to make.
Can you half this recipe and bake it in a loaf pan or cake pan?
@Katie Anderson, yes except I used 3 eggs
Not sure what happened my cake was light and fluffy but the outside wasn’t so soft. I cooked it for 1hr 20min I did let it cool for hours before the glaze . Is that why it’s hard?
@Robin, the outside has a crust, the inside, not….
Batter is very thin. My cake is in oven now. Hopefully the batter bakes into a great pound cake.
@Linda,
Hi. How did you cake turn out?
I have made 100’s of pound cakes but have never used baking powder, baking soda or salt. Why does this one need it?
Traditional pound cakes didn’t use them but they do add a bit in my opinion! The baking powder adds some lightness to the cake and the salt enhances the yummy flavors. Hope this helps!
It was to easy, and Delicious! I did use french vanilla instead.
This is a great recipe. I love it and my go to recipe indeed.
So happy you like it! It’s one of my favorites too.
me tink it was pwetty mid . chef Borardee is better than this pound cake. gave me the runs.
Well that’s a first. Thanks for letting the entire internet know about that.
Wow, that’s so weird how I just suddenly started salivating.
462 calories? That’s… wow. But it looks so good!
But remember, that image of a slice is half that. You’re getting a bargain at just 231 calories!
@Andrea Updyke, I made this cake today. It looks nothing like the picture. It’s dark- outside and inside. I never make pound cakes with baking powder although that did make the texture lighter. I think I like the heaviness of a pound cake though. It’s so light I eat a bigger slice than normal. Taste is ok – just not my favorite.