Pound cakes are a classic dessert that everyone loves. The ingredients are available in almost every pantry, and you don’t have to be a professional baker to make the delicious baked good.
If you’re looking for a change, there are many pound cake types you can choose from. The best part is these suit all tastes and occasions.
In this article, we’ve found some mouthwatering twists to the classic pound cake recipe. So, keep reading for the tastiest dessert you’ll be making for years to come!
5 Different Pound Cake Types
Pound cake has many variations. Luckily, you don’t need any fancy ingredients or a lot of time to make them. A simple extra addition can transform a pound cake into an impressive dessert.
Here are some of the best types of pound cake:
1 – Classic Pound Cake
You can’t go wrong with classic pound cake. This cake is ideal for dessert, teatime, or a sweet breakfast.
The traditional recipe calls for a pound of each flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. However, you can use equal parts of the ingredients to make a smaller or larger cake!
While pound cake didn’t originally include any leavening agents or flavorings, you can add a pinch of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of baking soda for the perfect texture.
The dense, yet soft texture of the pound cake comes from the mixing and baking. Though you don’t need a lot when it comes to ingredients, you should be careful while making the cake.
It’s still pretty easy to make. Just cream the butter and sugar together until they’re soft, and mix in the eggs. Then, slowly fold in the flour, baking soda, and vanilla into your batter. Lastly, bake the cake until golden!
2 – Chocolate Pound Cake
Everybody loves chocolate. So, what better way to enjoy the dopamine-producing dessert than to incorporate it into the simple pound cake?
Chocolate makes everything better. Even if you’re a below-average baker, this chocolate pound cake will still turn out delicious.
There’s no wrong way of making chocolate pound cake. All you need to do is add some extra pure cocoa, depending on the ratio of other ingredients in your recipe.
You might even take it one step further by adding chocolate chip cookies to the batter. Alternatively, you can top your pound cake with chocolate buttercream frosting.
For a fancy pound cake that’ll mesmerize your guests, add both vanilla and chocolate pound cake batter to your baking pan for a gorgeous marble pound cake.
3 – Fruit Pound Cake
A pound of sugar can be too much for a cake. For starters, some people don’t like cakes that are too sweet. Furthermore, a slice of pound cake will have too many calories.
Luckily, you can have a healthy version of pound cake that’s just as sweet. Just use half the amount of sugar as you normally would. Instead, cut up some fruits to sweeten up the pound cake.
You can make this fruit pound cake for breakfast if you have a sweet tooth but still want to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Here’s the kicker: This cake is completely customizable. You can add any fruit you want. The best fruits for cakes are raspberries, strawberries, kiwis, apples, and pineapples.
For a dessert that’ll impress your dinner party guests, caramelize the fruit at the bottom of the pan for an upside-down pound cake!
4 – Lemon Pound Cake
There’s nothing more refreshing than a lemon cake. Lemon goes especially well with pound cake due to the unique, dense texture of the cake.
Don’t be intimated by lemon in your desserts! This lemon pound cake is still straightforward. In addition to the traditional ingredients, this cake incorporates lemon zest and lemon juice into the batter.
Lemon cake is perfect if you like experimenting. You can add only a pinch of lemon zest for an aftertaste of lemon in the classic pound cake.
In contrast, if you want a zesty, yet sweet, flavor, add a whole tablespoon of lemon zest and a quarter cup of lemon juice!
The magic happens here: After the cake is done baking, you can douse it with sweet lemon juice. For an even fancier cake, drizzle it with some tasty lemon glaze.
5 – Bundt Cake
There’s no doubt that Bundt cakes look intricate and elegant. Though, did you know there isn’t a specific recipe for Bundt cake? You can make a Bundt pound cake as long as you have the right pan!
Bundt cakes are incredibly easy to decorate and cut. The unique shape of the pan also ensures the cake bakes evenly. So, if you haven’t mastered the dense texture of pound cakes yet, try baking them in a Bundt pan.
You can’t bake a Bundt cake without glazing it with the sweetest sugar icing. The icing adds a sophisticated touch to the already mouthwatering cake.
Anyone can make sugar icing! Just mix two cups of powdered sugar with three tablespoons of milk. Drizzle it on top of the cake, and you’ll have the most impressive-looking cake!
Final Thoughts
Pound cakes are a staple dessert in many households. While you can reach for the traditional recipe countless times, you might want to mix things up by trying other types of pound cake.
Well, there are about a million varieties of pound cake! As long as you keep the ratio of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs the same, then you’ve got a pound cake. Then, you can add any other ingredients you want.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.