You’re gonna love my Brown Sugar Pound Cake Recipe! It’s like a sweet melody in every bite, with those caramel notes from the molasses singing through and a nutty brown butter glaze that’s just everything. When we’re talking about using brown sugar, we ain’t just baking a cake – we’re creating a flavor masterpiece, y’all. It’s a whole new world of sweet sophistication – a symphony of flavors that’s gonna make your taste buds do a happy dance!
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Brown sugar pound cake is a great all-occasion cake to add to your repertoire! It’s perfect as a holiday cake, a family gathering, or a treat to bake anytime you’re craving a delicious pound cake. Its rich caramel notes make it perfectly suitable for Fall holidays but it’s classic enough for year round.
The cake’s texture is incredibly tender, and the brown sugar takes it up a notch. If you ask me, it’s absolute perfection!! I’ve served this baby at everything from a Sunday supper to a family fish fry. It’s so adaptable but also quite unique in its flavor profile.
With inspiration from my Sour Cream Pound Cake and Cream Cheese Pound Cake, this pound cake is a keeper, especially when fall rolls around boos.
The Heart & Soul Of This Brown Sugar Pound Cake
Cuisine Inspiration: Southern American
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Vegetarian
Key Flavor: Nutty, caramel, molasses
Skill Level: Easy peasy y’all
Sweet spots
- Out of This World Flavors. I thought nothing could be better than brown sugar bundt cake itself but that’s before the glaze dressed it up. Let’s just say brown sugar and brown butter are meant to be together.
- Great for the Fall. Baby, this Brown sugar pound cake is the ultimate pound cake for any occasion but its rich notes of toffee, caramel, and nuttiness make it especially perfect for the holidays and cool weather!
- Easy Recipe. If you’re concerned that pound cakes are too hard to make, let me tell ya, this is an easy recipe to follow. You will find lots of tips to guide you along especially if you’re new to baking or new to baking a pound cake.
- Moist and Tender Texture. Brown sugar not only adds a unique flavor to this cake but it also contains more moisture than granulated sugar. This cake cooks up deliciously moist and dense but with the tenderness you expect in a Grandbaby Cakes pound cake.
- Solid Crowd Pleaser. Its rich, sweet, and warm flavors are always a hit no matter the occasion!
Ingredients to Make Brown Sugar Pound Cake
There are two main components to this recipe. First, it all starts with the brown sugar pound sour cream pound cake and then we add the delicious brown butter glaze that drips and covers the top of the cake. Here’s an overview of the main ingredients you need to have on hand to make it.
- Butter: I always prefer baking with unsalted butter. Make sure it’s at room temperature before mixing. It makes the base of the cake, giving it a truly decadent flavor, while browned butter is used to make the brown butter glaze that’s poured over the top of the cake.
- Brown sugar: We will be using light brown sugar. Buy it at the store or make brown sugar at home.
- Granulated sugar: The cake also uses regular sugar for additional sweetness with less moisture.
- Eggs: Add a bit of color, flavor, and structure to the cake.
- All-purpose flour: For best results, use a quality brand of flour and be sure to sift it before mixing.
- Sour cream: Pound cake is always better with sour cream added. It makes it richer and gives the cake an excellent moist crumb.
- Vanilla extract: Make sure to use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Confectioner’s sugar: Works best for making a creamy, smooth glaze for the cake.
- Milk: Any milk will work to dissolve the confectioner’s sugar transforming it into a glaze.
How to Make Brown Sugar Pound Cake
Making this cake is pretty much a breeze! Be sure to read through all the directions in the recipe card before getting started.
Step 1: Make the Cake
- Cream together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt on high speed until light and fluffy. This will likely take about five minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each one until well mixed.
- Slow the mixer down to the lowest speed, carefully add in the flour, and then mix it in.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl. Cream just until combined.
- Pour the cake batter into a bundt pan and bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out moist but mostly clean.
- Cool the cake for ten minutes then invert the cake onto a cooling rack and cool until the cake is at room temperature.
- Mix together the browned butter, confectioner’s sugar, and milk until it’s smooth and creamy.
- Pour the icing over the top of the cooled cake.
Tips for Making the Best Brown Sugar Pound Cake
- Making Browned Butter. To make the 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. Don’t walk away. Stir frequently and watch it closely to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Prep Your Pan. Taking the time to properly prep your pan with shortening and flour or a non-stick baking spray is essential to making sure the cake comes out of the pan easily.
- 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! It’s stunning on a holiday dessert table. The bundt cake is essential to cooking a pound cake since it displaces the batter from the center so it cooks up evenly.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients. Make sure to start with room-temperature butter and sour cream. Both will more easily mix into the other ingredients. It’s especially key to the step of creaming the butter and sugar so you get the right fluffy texture.
- Let it Cool. Allow the cake to cool completely before adding the glaze. This keeps the glaze on the cake rather than melting off.
Popular Substitutions & Additions
- Dark Brown Sugar: The main difference between light and dark brown sugar is the amount of molasses added to it so it will work as an easy substitute to use for brown sugar cake especially if that’s all you have on hand. Just note that it will also make the color of the cake slightly darker.
- Add Nuts. Nuts go well with the caramel flavors of this cake. My favorites are pecans or walnuts with these flavors. Stir them in right at the end and you can even sprinkle them over the glaze right after adding it to the top of the cake.
- Skip the Icing. Brown sugar cake still tastes heavenly without the glaze! Leaving it off makes it a bit more simple and may make transporting it easier.
- Add Some Spice. Warming spices go well with the flavors of brown sugar cake. You can add them to the cake or the browned butter glaze. My favorites are cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves.
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What to Serve with Bundt Cake
- More Caramel Flavor. Serve up your brown sugar cake with Caramel Sauce to make it even more caramelly.
- Add a Scoop. Enjoy it with a scoop of Apple Pie Ice Cream or Sweet Potato Ice Cream for something a little bit different.
- Fall Flavors. Enjoy this cake with other fall favorites such as Harvest Fall Salad, Spiced Apple Cider, and Pumpkin Fritters.
- Gatherings, Picnics, and More. The perfect end to a meal after enjoying the best Fried Chicken Recipes, Collard Greens, Vinegar Coleslaw, and all your other favorites.
How to Store Brown Sugar Pound Cake
It’s cool to store your brown sugar cake at room temperature for the first day. Just be sure it’s in a cool location and keep that baby out of the sun. After that, store in the fridge in an airtight container or well-wrapped.
How long will brown sugar pound cake last?
Stored in the fridge, a brown sugar pound cake will last up to a week. But mine certainly don’t last that long ha!
Can I freeze brown sugar cake?
Yep, you can store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. I suggest wrapping it in several layers of plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil to keep it fresh. You can freeze the cake whole, in sections, or in individual slices, depending on how you think you will serve them in the future.
If you want to make the cake ahead of time I suggest freezing the cake without the glaze. Then when you’re ready to serve it, let it thaw out at room temperature overnight and then top with the glaze.
FAQs
Cook the butter in a saucepan over low heat until you start to see specs of brown appearing and the butter starts to foam. Make sure that you watch your brown butter closely as you make it. Allow it to slowly brown and not end up burning.
No, you must use the brown sugar as directed in this recipe for the cake to have the rich, caramel flavor of molasses.
The biggest culprits are over-mixing, overcooking, and not measuring properly. Be sure you mix the flour into the batter using the lowest speed and only mix until everything comes together. No longer than that otherwise you run the risk of activating the gluten too much. To avoid overcooking, bake the cake on the rack in the center of the oven and watch it closely in the last 10-15 minutes of baking just in case your oven cooks more quickly. It’s a good idea to occasionally check your oven’s temperature to make sure it is calibrated properly to help prevent overcooking. Last, make sure you are not scooping your dry ingredients. Use a spoon to measure the flour and scrape off the top with a knife. This method of measuring means you are less likely to add too much flour which may make a dry cake.
While the caramel and toffee flavors of my brown sugar pound cake are well-suited for the fall, it doesn’t mean you can’t get down on this all year! It’s a classic pound cake flavor that hits all the time. Serve it up for dessert at your next picnic, family dinner, holiday gathering, or potluck supper.
More Cake Recipes You’ll Love
- Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
- Chocolate Pound Cake
- 7 Up Pound Cake Recipe
- Caramel Cake
- Kentucky Butter Cake
- Apple Cake
Looking for more pound cakes? Try out all the best pound cakes on Grandbaby Cakes.
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Brown Sugar Pound Cake
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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
- Making Browned Butter. To make the 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. Don’t walk away. Stir frequently and watch it closely to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Prep Your Pan. Taking the time to properly prep your pan with shortening and flour or a non-stick baking spray is essential to making sure the cake comes out of the pan easily.
- 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! It’s stunning on a holiday dessert table. The bundt cake is essential to cooking a pound cake since it displaces the batter from the center so it cooks up evenly.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients. Make sure to start with room-temperature butter and sour cream. Both will more easily mix into the other ingredients. It’s especially key to the step of creaming the butter and sugar so you get the right fluffy texture.
- Let it Cool. Allow the cake to cool completely before adding the glaze. This keeps the glaze on the cake rather than melting off.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in October 2016. It has been updated with new images and content.
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Easy and delicious – just what I have been looking for. Perfect for the holidays!
We devoured this brown sugar pound cake after our Sunday brunch. It was simple to put together, loaded with flavor and moist from the sour cream. Additionally, it looked so inviting on my new cake stand. I hope to make again for my holiday dessert table.
Hi, made the cake but by mistake used only one teaspoon of vanilla rather than a tablespoon. How can this be corrected(
For next time you can add 2 more teaspoons, 3 teaspoons equal a tablespoon.
This looks amazing. What do you think about using it as a base for strawberry shortcake? My partner grew up eating shortcake with pound cake (while I grew up with biscuits). My only worry is if the nutty flavors might be too strong for shortcake, but my hope is they will complement the berries and whipped cream nicely
That sounds so good! I have not tried it as a base for strawberry shortcake, but I would love to know how it turns out if you try it!
Do you need to add baking powder if not what makes it rise I’m a baker myself. This looks good
No one never answered this?
Hi Crystal, this is a classic pound cake recipe so it does not use any leavening agents.
This was such a sweet and savory recipe that does not disappoint! Light, fluffy and delicious; exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth!
I never added sour cream to my pound cakes but this makes whole a lot difference in texture. I love it and will make again
Delicious, yet simple cake. The brown sugar glaze is insanely good.
Made it on Sunday for the family and it was amazing! Easy to follow the recipe too. Thank you for sharing!
Oh wow! This pound cake looks absolutely amazing with so many wonderful flavors. You had me at the incredibly nutty brown butter glaze.