Sara Lee pound cake is a ready-to-use freezer dessert everyone knows and loves. You can slice it for a simple strawberry shortcake, cut it into cubes and layer in a  trifle or eat a forkful right from the tin! But it’s not hard to capture the iconic Sara Lee flavor in a pound cake recipe at home.
And this recipe does just that.


Recipe by taste of home

Ingredients

Ingredients​

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature (113g)
• 1-1/2 cups sugar (300g)
• 3 large eggs
• 1-1/2 cups plain flour (180g)
• 1/2 cup thickened cream (116g)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Tip: I use a food scale to measure certain ingredients by weight rather than volume.

Directions​

Step 1: Cream butter and sugar​

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy; a minimum of 5 minutes. It takes longer than you think to cream butter and sugar

Step 2: Add the eggs and vanilla​

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, on your mixer’s lowest setting. Stir in the vanilla.

Step 3: Mix in the flour and cream​

Gradually add in the flour and the thuckened cream in alternating amounts until fully incorporated. The finished batter should be smooth, creamy, and have an almost mousse-like consistency.

Step 4: Bake​

Transfer the batter to a 9×5 inch loaf pan that has been greased and lined with baking paper

Place the pan into a COLD oven. Do not preheat! Then set the oven to 160°C / 140 °D fan-forced and bake for 60-75 minutes.

Using a cold oven improves the texture and rise of dense cakes, like pound cake. It slowly and evenly warms the batter so the outside of the cake doesn’t dry out before the inside can come to temperature.

Step 5: Cool and slice​

When the pound cake is golden and fully set, remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan. Then, transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling before slicing and serving, as desired.

How to Add different Flavor to Pound Cake​

• Lemon Pound Cake: Add the zest of 1 lemon and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
• Almond Poppy Seed Pound Cake: Add 2 teaspoons of poppy seed and 1 teaspoon of almond extract.
• Orange Pound Cake: Add the zest of 1/2 an orange and 1 tablespoon orange juice
• Spiced Pound Cake: Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.