Sour Cream Pound Cake Loaf

This sour cream pound cake loaf is tangy with a hint of lemon! It’s such an easy recipe with simple ingredients!

I think that one of the biggest obstacles for improving nutrition is an all-or-nothing attitude. It’s the mindset that if you can’t eat 100% organic/local/KETO, you might as well just eat junk food.

I reject that philosophy. If we had to wait to be perfect to make better food choices, none of us would ever start. Instead, I encourage you to make small, meaningful changes whenever you cook.

Take this sour cream pound cake for example. You COULD tell yourself, “Cake is bad for you, so I might as well make the most unhealthy version I can find.” OR you could decide to make a delicious cake but swap out a few ingredients for healthier choices.

Sure, you’re not eating a spinach kale smoothie with raw garlic and bone broth. But you’re still making choices based on nutrition.

Anyway, I developed scrumptious and easy sour cream pound cake recipe for y’all with some natural swaps. 

Okay, let me show you how to make this lovely, healthier cake!

 

Here’s a video tutorial in case you learn better that way. The written tutorial is below!

 

Ingredients:

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this delicious cake:

• Butter: Please select unsalted butter since that’s what I used to develop this recipe. You want your butter to me softened, but still a bit cool to the touch. So you don’t want it at room temperature for this recipe.
• Sugar: I use organic cane sugar, but feel free to use granulated white sugar it that’s what you have on hand.
• Eggs: Use large eggs that are at room temperature. To quickly bring your eggs to room temperature, place them in a bowl and pour warm but not hot water on top. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes.
• Sour Cream: This recipe was developed with full fat sour cream, so please do not use low fat here. Also, I have not tried this with Greek yogurt, so substitute at your own risk. 
• Vanilla Extract: Please use pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavoring, unless you truly prefer that flavor.
• Lemon Zest: You’ll just need the zest from one lemon. No need to use the lemon juice!
• Flour: I’ll discuss the type of flour I use below…
• Baking Powder
• Salt: I use unrefined sea salt, so if you’re using table salt you may want to reduce the salt a bit.

Making it Natural…

Speaking of ingredients, let talk about some of the swaps I made to make this sour cream pound cake healthier.

First off, I cut back on the sugar. You can often reduce the sugar in baked goods by about 1/3 to 1/2 without greatly affecting the final result. My personal philosophy with sugar is “everything in moderation” – a little bit isn’t going to hurt you, but it’s a good idea to reduce it when you can. Enjoy it as a treat, but be mindful about how much you’re consuming.

Of course I chose organic, unbleached all-purpose flour. Eating bleach and chemicals isn’t something I want to do on a regular basis.

It’s also a good idea to use aluminum-free baking powder, and unrefined sea salt. And since you’ll be using the zest of the lemon, definitely buy organic to avoid pesticides.

If you’re going to change up one thing, though, let it be your animal products. I like to use pastured eggs and grass-fed dairy products.

Let’s Talk Sour Cream for a Moment…

Swapping out conventional sour cream for Kalona SuperNatural organic sour cream is a positive nutrition choice. Not only are you avoiding pesticides and artificial hormones, you’re getting extra vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats since the cows at Kalona SuperNatural are pasture raised and grass-fed. You can read more about the benefits of grass-fed dairy in my post here.

Okay, let’s jump back into making this sour cream pound cake!

How to Make a Sour Cream Pound Cake Loaf:

First, you’ll need to preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Here’s a tip for frustration-free loaf pan lining:

I learned this trick from Christina from Dessert for Two.

Wrap the outside of the pan with the parchment paper like you’re wrapping a present. Make sure to crease everything well.

Flip the creased paper over into the pan. Everything should fit nice and neat!

Please note that I tested this recipe using a metal (specifically stainless steel) baking pan. If you use glass or a different type of pan, you may need to adjust the baking time.

Mixing Together the Batter:

For the batter, first you’ll need to cream together the butter and sugar using a stand mixer.

Here are a couple of tips for properly creaming butter and sugar:

• Make sure your butter is softened, but still slightly cool. You don’t want it to be so soft that it’s almost dripping.
• It takes longer than you might think to get the right texture. You want the butter to turn pale and take on an almost fluffy consistency. This usually takes about 8 minutes on medium-high using an electric mixer.
• Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl every few minutes with a rubber spatula to make sure it’s evenly creamed. You can try to get to the bottom of the bowl as well.

You can also do this with a hand mixer in a large bowl if you prefer, but keep in mind that you’ll have to stand there and mix for 10+ minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. The batter may separate at this point – that’s totally fine!

Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix well.

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

Add the dry ingredients to the batter.

Beat together on medium low speed just until combined.

Add the lemon zest…

…and gently fold it into the batter.

Bake Time:

Scrape the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Smooth the batter out into the corners of the pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean. For best results, DO NO OVERBAKE!

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.

How to Serve a Sour Cream Pound Cake Loaf:

You can eat this sour cream pound cake plain, or you can fancy it up by adding a dollop of homemade whipped cream…

And a sprinkle of fresh berries and lemon zest!

The fresh fruit really takes this up a notch in my opinion. 

It’s real pretty if you place individual slices of cake on little dessert plates.

Storing:

If you have any leftover pound cake, you’ll need to store it in an airtight container or wrap it in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.

You can store at room temperature for a day or two, but after that you’ll need to refrigerate it.

Notes:

• I put two options for the sugar amount. If you don’t care about cutting back on sugar, the higher amount will result in a softer cake with a more tender crumb. I just find that it’s too sweet for my tastes!
• You could switch up the flavor profile by leaving out the lemon and substituting almond extract for the vanilla extract.

So that’s how to make my sour cream lemon pound cake! If you’d like some more scrumptious dessert recipes, check out the links below!

Easy Dessert Recipes:

• Raspberry Clafoutis
• Mixed Summer Fruit Cobbler
• Low Sugar Pumpkin Pie
• Baked Cinnamon Apples
• Easy Baked Pumpkin Custard

More Dessert Recipes:

• Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Cake
• Sourdough Shortcake with Rhubarb Compote
• Spiced Pear Pie with a Sourdough Crust
• Matcha Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
• Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake
• Einkorn Pear Custard Pie
• Russian Cream (Sour Cream Panna Cotta)
• Triple Lemon Naked Layer Cake

 

Recipe Card:

Originally published on: Apr 22, 2020, at 13:00. Updated on April 7, 2023