I love all things pound cake and this Southern Pecan Buttermilk Pound Cake is no exception. I wish I could recall the first time I tasted a pound cake. I wonder if I fell in love with it right away. We lived in the same town as my grandparents when I was born. Knowing how Granny loved to feed people, especially babies, and especially if those babies were her grandbabies, there’s no telling how young I was before she sneaked me my first bite. It’s pretty safe to assume it was before I had teeth. After all, plain pound cakes are soft and easy to swallow.
She’d rationalize that nobody every got hurt from a bite of pound cake. So, the first notion she got that I should experience this wonderful thing called pound cake, you can bet your bottom dollar, I experienced it at her doings.
After my Granny’s baking years were over, you’d still find a pound cake in her kitchen with extreme regularity. She knew plenty of folks who still baked and she’d either give them the ingredients to make her one or pay them to buy all the ingredients they needed. After all, one can’t be expected to go too long between good pound cakes.
Pound cakes are my favorite type of cake. They might even be my overall favorite dessert. It’s entirely possible they could even be my overall favorite thing to eat.
Period.
Pound cakes have a texture like no other type of cake. They’re dense but moist as all get-out. After all, they have a pound of butter in them. There’s not much chance of a dry pound cake.
Well, I suppose if you fell asleep while baking them and left them in the oven for half a day, they might be a little on the dry side. So, don’t do that.
The other quality about pound cakes that makes them even more endearing is that they are the best travelers in the world. Pack up slices of pound cake to take on road trips or picnics. After I cut this pound cake, I quickly packaged it up to send to my kids and grandkids in New England. It’s not a good idea for me to me left alone in my kitchen staring down a pound cake. After all, I’ve been eating pound cake since before I had teeth.
Y’all come see us!
Southern Pecan Buttermilk Pound Cake
Make sure butter and eggs are room temperature. The batter will whip up better and produce the desired silky yet dense texture. Pound cake flavor improves with age. Cook them a day or two ahead of when you want to serve them.
yield: one tube pan
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
4 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature (1 pound or 2 cups)
3 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
4 cups soft winter wheat flour, sifted and divided
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon turbinado (raw) sugar
Cream the heck out of the room temperature butter and sugar using a stand mixer. Scrap down sides occasionally. Cream until smooth. It will take at least five minutes.
Add room temperature eggs, one at a time. Mix only until the yolks disappear.
Mix in 3 3/4 cups sifted flour and all the buttermilk, alternating, starting and ending with flour.
Stir in vanilla and almond extracts.
In a small bowl, add remaining 1/4 cup flour to 1 cup chopped pecans. Stir until pecans are coated then stir pecans into batter.
Pour batter into greased and floured tube pan.
In a small bowl, toss remaining 1/4 cup pecans with 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Add pecan mixture on top of pound cake batter. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Carefully remove cake from tube pan and place on a wire cooling rack. Completely cool before cutting.
Pounds cake are best if they cure for a day or two before eating, if you can stand it that long.
Ingredients
- Make sure butter and eggs are room temperature. The batter will whip up better and produce the desired silky yet dense texture. Pound cake flavor improves with age. Cook them a day or two ahead of when you want to serve them.
- yield: one tube pan
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- 4 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature (1 pound or 2 cups)
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 eggs, room temperature
- 4 cups soft winter wheat flour, sifted and divided
- 1 cup buttermilk
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- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, divided
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon turbinado (raw) sugar
Instructions
- Cream the heck out of the room temperature butter and sugar using a stand mixer. Scrap down sides occasionally. Cream until smooth. It will take at least five minutes.
- Add room temperature eggs, one at a time. Mix only until the yolks disappear.
- Mix in 3 3/4 cups sifted flour and all the buttermilk, alternating, starting and ending with flour.
- Stir in vanilla and almond extracts.
- In a small bowl, add remaining 1/4 cup flour to 1 cup chopped pecans. Stir until pecans are coated then stir pecans into batter.
- Pour batter into greased and floured tube pan.
- In a small bowl, toss remaining 1/4 cup pecans with 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Add pecan mixture on top of pound cake batter. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove cake from tube pan and place on a wire cooling rack. Completely cool before cutting.
- Pounds cake are best if they cure for a day or two before eating, if you can stand it that long.
I’m Jackie Garvin, the personality behind the blog. Being born and raised in Alabama and entrenched in southernism was a gift. It gave me an identity. I am part of a culture that embraces gracious hospitality, manners, love of God and country, frugality, family values and good honest food. That’s who I am and that’s what I’m all about. 
I love stories about your Granny! This cake looks amazing! I am pinning this & making it.
Thank you, Jill! I hope you enjoy.
I love collecting older, great, down-home southern pound cake recipes. This is a great one. I just purchased my 5 pound bag of White Lily Flour for my Father’s Day baking. It is going to be a big hit. Thank for sharing!!!!
I hope you enjoy, Sandra.
I have made this, it is excellent. My husband can not eat nuts, , just
Wondering if I could substitute chocolate chips mini for the pecans . (Dredge with flour). Ty for a great keeper of a receipe.
Ann,
Thank you! I see no reason that you can’t substitute chocolate chips for the nuts. Be sure to coat them in flour. Let me know how it turns out for you.
What is soft winter wheat flour?
It’s a type of flour that has less protein and helps to make tender biscuits and cakes. The brand I use is White Lily. Another brand is Martha White. If you click on the link I provided in the ingredients list, it will take you to the product on Amazon where you can purchase it. Another option is cake flour which most grocery stores carry.
Sounds wonderful! My question – cold oven or preheated?
I have many pound cake recipes – and some you preheat, some go in cold! Thanks!!
Never mind!!! Found it in the printed recipe! Preheat! Sorry – old eyes, lol!!
LOL! I’ve never tried the cold oven method but I’m aware of it. Have you used it?
Can regular white flour be usef?
It can be, however, it won’t yield as tender a pound cake as cake flour or White Lily flour. I’d recommend you sift before measuring.
this looks amazing and perfect for brunch with friends. or maybe to enjoy with some tea. if only I could make this gluten free.
Andrea,
There are plenty of gluten free flours on the market. While you can substitute a gluten free flour and achieve the same flavor, it’s difficult to reproduce the texture.
Granny’s knows best! Lucky you, she left behind this beautiful and moist cake! It sounds delicious and frankly I wish my grandma would have done more of those. Going to try to reproduce this soon! Yum!
Thank you, Marie-Pierre. While my Granny left me with a love for good pound cakes and the knowledge of what constitutes a good recipe, this version is my twist on a traditional recipe. I hope you give it a try. Thanks for stopping by.
This pound cake looks so rich, fluffy and most importantly yummy! I’ve never had the idea to use buttermilk in making cakes.
Fred,
Buttermilk is one of my favorite kitchen staples. There are so many uses. I hope you try this cake.
I love the look of this cake, it would be perfect with a cup of coffee for breakfast!
It would make a fine breakfast, Emily.
What a divine cake. There really is nothing better than a really great pound cake.
I completely agree, Eileen.
I’m with you on the pound cake – I just love its dense nature. And buttermilk and pecans in this definitely makes it a real treat!
I’m with you, Azlin. Pound cakes are the best.
You just brought two of my favorite things together – pecans and pound cake!!!!! OMG! This looks amazing!!!
Nicole, you’re a woman after my own heart. ❤️
This is the first poind cake that i have tried that has no baking soda or baking powder and salt.
Eggs serve as leavening in this recipe.
Will i follow the same recipe if i wanted to make just the pound cake with no pecans?
Audrey,
If you want to omit the pecans, use the 1/4 cup flour used to coat the pecans along with the rest of the flour. Of course, you’d eliminate the topping, too.
Love this cake!!! It looks so good in those pictures!!! Perfect with my morning coffee. Thanks for sharing:)
Thank you, Jessi!
This looks delicious and I am going to try it. What flavor does the buttermilk add to the cake?
Barbara,
You won’t notice the flavor of buttermilk. It balances out the sweetness. It helps keep the batter tender, too. I hope you enjoy it.
I love this cake!!
Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to browse and explore a recipe. Please visit us often. We love company. ❤️
I love a good pound cake! I don’t remember when I had my first bite, either but I guarantee i loved it!
A pound cake is a wonderful thing.
This recipe looks so good- can’t wait to try it! How do you think it would do in a bundt pan?
Erica,
As long as your bundt pan is as large as a standard size tube pan, it will work just fine.
Good morning! Just verifying before I make….I do no need baking powder or baking soda, or self rising flour. Would be so disappointed if I missed something and my cake did not rise. Thanks.
Sharon,
Pound cakes get lift from a chemical reaction between sugar and eggs. It’s important to use a flour that’s low in protein, like White Lily or cake flour. Regular all-purpose flour would result in a cake that’s denser than you expect. Pound cakes are not light and airy by definition. They have a denser texture than layer cakes but they will rise if the proper flour and technique is used.
Thank you Jackie! Being from the South I’ve made many pound cakes and this one sounds absolutely awesome. Take care and thank you for sharing. Have a good evening.
Enjoy!
I made this cake a couple months ago its so delicious. Everyone loved it
Alda,
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know!
I made this pound cake yesterday. It turned out to be a disaster. I followed the recipe exactly as you said. However, after the required cooking time and cooling time the top was getting too done and hard so I took it out of the oven. It was not done inside and I had to throw away after all the time making and baking. What do you think I did wrong? I want to try again.
Travis,
How disappointing! Any time you’re baking and the top is getting too brown before the insides are done, cover the top with foil to keep it from continuing to brown while the insides cook. Secondly, I’d suggest you test the temp of your oven. It sounds like it might be cooking too hot. I wish you better luck on your second try