Traditionally a pound cake was made with a pound of each of these ingredients: Flour, sugar, butter and eggs. This is how the pound cake got its name!

Today their are variations of the traditional pound cake, many of which have added baking powder and vanilla and different calculations of the traditional ingredients to produce a lighter cake. Today the pound cake is a basic loaf shape so much smaller than the large pound cake those of the 1700’s were used to.

The pound cake has been a popular dessert in the southern states since the 1700’s. The Southerner’s likely adapted the pound cake from the  British pound cake. The British version, however, includes several kinds of dried fruits mixed into the batter.

Pound Cake Recipes: