This brown sugar pound cake is a keeper boos, especially when fall rolls around. I love starting the season with comforting recipes, and this one is a Southern staple that everybody’s grandma kept scribbled in a notebook. My brown sugar pound cake bakes up with a light molasses flavor and a soft crumb. Some days I slice it plain or top it with a dollop of whipped cream, but this time I poured a delish brown butter glaze over the whole thing. It’s simple, nostalgic, and real good. Get into it.
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How to Make Brown Sugar Pound Cake
These step-by-step photos show how to make brown sugar cake, but be sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and detailed instructions. Skip to the → Brown Sugar Pound Cake Recipe
1. Cream the butter, sugars, and salt
Beat them until light and fluffy, then mix in the eggs one at a time until fully combined.
2. Add the remaining ingredients
With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour, then mix in the sour cream and vanilla just until everything is incorporated.
3. Pour the brown sugar batter into a Bundt pan and bake
Bake until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Cool briefly, then invert and let the cake cool completely.
4. Make and pour the brown butter glaze
Whisk the browned butter, powdered sugar, and milk until smooth, then drizzle over the cooled cake.
PRO TIP: To make brown butter, all you need to do is melt the butter in a saucepan. After it melts, it will continue to cook and start to brown. But don’t walk away, boos! Stir frequently and watch it closely to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Full Brown Sugar Pound Cake Recipe
Brown Sugar Pound Cake Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 1 cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
For the Glaze:
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and browned until specs appear
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and prepare your bundt pan with shortening and flour or non-stick baking spray. You will need at least a 10 cup bundt pan for this recipe.
- In your mixer bowl, cream together butter, both sugars and salt on high speed until light and fluffy for 5 minutes.
- Next add in eggs, one at a time, and mix until well incorporated.
- Slow mixer to lowest speed and carefully add in flour then add in sour cream and extract and cream until just combined.
- Pour cake batter into bundt pan and bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out moist but mostly clean.
- Cool cake for 10 minutes then invert cake onto cooling rack and cool until room temperature.
For the Glaze:
- Whisk together brown butter, confectioner’s sugar and milk.
- Drizzle glaze over cooled cake and serve.
Video
Notes
How to Store
- Room Temp: Keep your pound cake covered on the counter for the first day. Just park it somewhere cool and out of the sun so it stays soft.
- Fridge: After that, move it to the fridge in an airtight container or wrap it up well. It’ll stay fresh for up to a week, but let’s be real boos… mine never makes it that long, ha!
- Freezer: Wrap the whole cake or slices in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for up to 6 months. If you’re making it ahead, freeze it without the glaze. When you’re ready to serve, thaw it overnight at room temp and glaze it fresh.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Prep your pan. Use my cake release if you want your brown sugar bundt cake to come up super clean.
- Use the proper pan. You want to use a 10-cup bundt pan to make your pound cake. I love this one from Nordic Ware!
- Start with room-temperature butter and sour cream. Both will mix more easily with the other ingredients.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before adding the glaze. This keeps the glaze on the cake rather than melting off.
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Recipe Help
I mean, you can boo, but it won’t be a brown sugar cake anymore. The whole point is that slight molasses flavor from the brown sugar.
The biggest culprits are over mixing, over baking, and not measuring properly. Keep that mixer on the lowest speed when you add the flour and stop as soon as it comes together. Bake on the center rack and start checking early in case your oven runs hot. And ALWAYS spoon your flour into the cup and level it off so you don’t pack in too much.
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What a delicious cake! Made it for Christmas and everyone loved it. It stays fresh for several days (if it doesn’t get eaten the first day). I didn’t make the glaze the first time and it was perfect without. Made it again today for a coworker who is leaving. Going to make the glaze as well to send it over the top. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi, I’m out of white sugar, and am wondering how this would be with only brown sugar? Have you ever tried it? Also thinking of cross breeding it with your luscious caramel frosting from your southern caramel cake! Just not sure if it’ll be to rich…
It might be very rich with the caramel frosting and all brown sugar but it is definitely possible to make.
Loved it!
Wonderful!
I absolutely love making this cake for my family and it is always requested! I usually do a cup of light brown sugar and a cup of dark brown sugar and it is still awesome dessert perfection!
I love this cake and I love this glaze. They’re both absolutely perfect…but sometimes, I add a hefty amount of cinnamon to the cake (2 tbsp or so) and 1tsp to the glaze, and call it a “cinnamon toast pound cake.” My entire family loves this cake, with or without the cinnamon. Thank you for this!
I made the brown sugar pound cake with the brown butter glaze for old fashioned day at the church on Sunday also the sour cream pound cake and the double chocolate they were all a big hit.
This sounds delicious! My grandmother made a cake very similar to this one, but she would add a layer of cinnamon and brown sugar (2 Tbsp of each, mixed) to the middle (add half the batter to cake pan, then the cinnamon sugar sugar mix, then the other half of the batter), which created a beautiful swirl. My mom would make it whenever there was a hurricane coming – a definite comfort food! Can’t wait to try your version! Thank you for sharing
Oh I love that idea of adding the cinnamon and brown sugar layer!
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was fantastic. I have your cookbook and every recipe I have tried came out great. I never liked my Kitchen Aide mixer until I watched your videos. Thank you. Please consider writing a cookbook for recipes other than baking.
Awww thanks so much Joyce!!! My next cookbook will include savory and sweet!
Thanks for an absolutely Perfect recipe!! This cake is so good…..I adore it!! I just finished with my 2nd cake & it turned out beautiful. I did tweak 1 ingredient however, as my husband likes maple added with the brown sugar flavor. This combo works well together, & also works well added to that fabulous brown butter glaze as well. I just finished up my 2nd cake, (-the 1st was for our anniversary in February), & of course I now have another PERFECT CAKE for his Birthday—Hooray!!! Thank you so much for sharing your expertise & the Best recipes I’ve found Anywhere Jocelyn, your recipes are Amazing & Foolproof as well!! Sending Much Love & Blessings your way!!
Aww thank you so so much Susan! This is a beautiful compliment. I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake!