Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Pound Cake

This is a true Southern-style pound cake that uses both butter and shortening for a crumb that’s rich but incredibly tender. The butter brings flavor while the shortening keeps the texture soft and almost velvety. Five whole eggs added one at a time build structure and give the cake its signature dense, fine grain.

Buttermilk is the star ingredient here. Its acidity reacts with the baking soda to provide a gentle lift, and it leaves behind a subtle tang that balances all that sugar and fat. You’ll taste the difference compared to a regular milk pound cake.

The alternating method matters: adding dry ingredients and buttermilk in batches, starting and ending with flour, prevents the batter from breaking and keeps everything emulsified. Dump it all in at once and you’ll end up with a heavy, greasy cake.

Test with a toothpick one inch from the edge, not the center. Tube pans cook from the outside in, so the center is always the last to set.

Chef Tips

• Bring butter, shortening, eggs, and buttermilk to room temperature before starting. Cold ingredients won’t cream properly.
• Cream the butter, shortening, and sugar for a full 5 minutes. This step builds the air pockets that make the cake light.
• Cool in the pan for exactly 10 minutes. Too long and it steams; too short and it falls apart.
• This cake keeps beautifully wrapped at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Variations

• Add lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice for a lemon buttermilk pound cake.
• Fold in fresh blueberries tossed in a tablespoon of flour to prevent sinking.
• Drizzle with a simple glaze of powdered sugar and buttermilk while still warm.