The Best Buttermilk Pound Cake Ever

Hello and welcome to Djalali Cooks! How is your January going so far? We are doing Dry January and I must say, I am really enjoying it. One interesting thing though: my sweet tooth has been reactivated. I have been craving dessert after dinner lately. And while a glass of wine usually accounted for this, I thought a simple cake would satisfy the craving. So today, we have The Best Buttermilk Pound Cake Ever, with a rich dark chocolate glaze. Let’s do it!

This cake is super simple and comes together really quickly. And we all know how versatile pound cake is – it’s great on its own, or with berries and whipped cream. I chose to drench this cake in a dark chocolate glaze. I had intended to simply drizzle a little glaze on top, but then I got carried away. And before I knew it, the cake was cloaked in chocolate. But I am not complaining about it one bit! Lol!

Buttermilk Pound Cake Prep

We are going to start this cake in a cold oven, so no need to preheat. Start by spraying a 5×9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line the tin with parchment, then spray the parchment with more cooking spray.

Lining a Loaf Pan with Parchment

The easiest way to line a rectangular or square pan with parchment is to unroll some parchment and set your pan on top. Position the pan on the parchment so that there are a few inches of parchment around all sides of the pan. Then use kitchen shears to cut the piece of parchment from the roll. Then, make two perpendicular cuts at each corner of the pan and remove the cut squares from the corners of the parchment. Lay the cut parchment into the greased pan, smoothing the flaps up the sides of the pan and spray the parchment with more cooking spray.

Buttermilk Pound Cake Batter

With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the sugar, on medium-high, until light and fluffy, this should take about 4 minutes. Then add one egg at a time, mixing thoroughly between each egg addition. Then mix in the vanilla.

In a separate, small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Now we will incrementally add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the sugar/butter/egg mixture. With the mixer on low, begin with a large spoon full of the flour mixture; then alternate between adding the buttermilk and flour mixture. Try to end with a scoop of the flour mixture. Give it all one last mix with a silicone spatula.

Pour the Buttermilk Pound Cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth and even out the top with the back of a silicone spatula. Set the pan on a sheet tray for easier handling and place the whole thing on the center rack in a cold oven.

Set the oven to 300 degrees F and bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then use the parchment flaps to lift the cake from the pan and let sit on a wire rack until completely cool.

This cake is beyond delicious! The top, bottom and sides have an amazingly light, crispy exterior that gives way to a light, yet dense interior that is soft and moist. Enjoy as is, or be like me and smother the cake in chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

This glaze is really simple: 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar and hot water is all we need.

Set up a double boiler: a large saucepan with water set to boil. When the water is boiling, set a heat-proof bowl on top of the saucepan and melt the butter and chocolate, stirring frequently.

Add the sifted powdered sugar and stir constantly until the sugar is totally incorporated. The mixture will be stiff. Add a tablespoon of hot water at a time to get desired consistency. The chocolate glaze will thicken and stiffen as it cools so use while it’s still slightly warm and pourable.

To glaze The Best Buttermilk Pound Cake Ever, set the cooled cake loaf on a wire rack set in a sheet tray and pour the glaze over the top. Go with a dainty little drizzle, or go with a lot! It’s totally up to you!

I went for broke and covered the whole damn thing, letting the glaze drip down the sides!

Once the glaze has set for a few minutes, use a large rigid spatula to transfer the glazed buttermilk pound cake to a serving plate or cake stand. You may notice that there is a lot of glaze left in the sheet tray. If you’re like me and hate to see good chocolate go to waste, go ahead and pour the chocolate drippings over the top of the cake. No one will complain – and the best part is, the cake retained its crisp exterior under the chocolate!

Thank you all so much for joining me today for The Best Buttermilk Pound Cake Ever! This cake is the best not only because its flavor and texture are perfect, but it’s just so dang easy! A great dessert to throw together if company is coming. Perfect for any time of year, you can serve it with fresh fruit in the summer and fall…and it’s just great on its own too! If you’re looking for another delicious cake to make, try Neapolitan Semolina Cake with Citrus and Cardamom or a Spiced Banana Cake. Take care and be well, everyone! xo Kelly

Baking Items Found in This Recipe

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The Best Buttermilk Pound Cake

(11 votes, average: 4.09 out of 5)

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Dessert – American

By Kelly Djalali (Adapted from Southern Cast Iron) – Serves: 9-12

Prep Time: 15 Minutes – Cooking Time: 1 Hour, 20 Minutes – Total Time: 1 Hour, 35 Minutes (Plus 2 Hours Cooling Time)

This cake is beyond delicious! With a light, crispy exterior that gives way to a light, yet dense interior that is soft and moist.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
• 1.5 cups Sugar
• 3 Large Eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste
• 1.5 cups All Purpose Flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1/8 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/2 cup Buttermilk
• Chocolate Glaze
• 2 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• 2 oz. Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
• 1-3 tbsp. Hot water, as needed to thin glaze

Instructions

1

Spray a 5x9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line the tin with parchment, then spray the parchment with more cooking spray.

2

With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the sugar, on medium-high, until light and fluffy, this should take about 4 minutes.

3

Then add one egg at a time, on medium-low, mixing thoroughly between each egg addition. Then mix in the vanilla.

4

In a separate, small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

5

Incrementally add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the sugar/butter/egg mixture. With the mixer on low, begin with a spoon full of the flour mixture; then alternate between adding the buttermilk and flour mixture. Try to end with a scoop of the flour mixture. Give it all one last mix with a silicone spatula.

6

Pour the Buttermilk Pound Cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth and even out the top with the back of a silicone spatula. Set the pan on a sheet tray for easier handling and place the whole thing on the center rack in a cold oven.

7

Set the oven to 300 degrees F and bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and let sit on a wire rack until completely cool.

Chocolate Glaze

8

Set up a double boiler: a large saucepan with water set to boil. When the water is boiling, set a heat-proof bowl on top of the saucepan and melt the butter and chocolate, stirring frequently.

9

Add the sifted powdered sugar and stir constantly until the sugar is totally incorporated. Add a tablespoon of hot water at a time to get desired consistency. The chocolate glaze will thicken and stiffen as it cools so use while it's still warm.

10

To glaze The Best Buttermilk Pound Cake Ever, set the cooled cake loaf on a wire rack set in a sheet tray and pour the glaze over the top, letting the glaze run down the sides of the cake.

11

Let the glaze set for a few minutes, then use a large rigid spatula to transfer the glazed cake to a serving plate or cake stand.

12

Store loosely covered at room temperature.