Brown Sugar Pound Cake
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Oct. 31, 2024
This Brown Sugar Pound Cake is buttery rich, moist, and dense. It’s unbelievably delicious when drizzled with a milky caramel your family and friends will rave over!
In This Article
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Video: watch us make this Recipe
Why This Recipe Stands Out
We love a good pound cake, and this Brown Sugar Pound Cake recipe has quickly become one of our favorites. Here’s why:
- Rich and Moist: This pound cake is packed with brown sugar, giving it a rich, dense texture that we can’t get enough of. Our Healthy Chocolate Cake is also the epitome of a moist cake!
- Buttery Soft: The combination of butter and whole milk in this recipe ensures that every bite is moist and buttery, a lot like our Easy Yellow Cupcakes.
- Creamy Caramel Drizzle: The sweetened condensed milk caramel drizzle takes this pound cake to a whole new level. It’s similar to the homemade caramel sauce we use in our Apple Cake with Caramel.
- People Love it for Dessert or Brunch: This pound cake is the perfect brunch treat, next to your favorite cup of coffee. It’s also a fabulous dessert.
- Secretly Easy: Despite how fancy it looks, this pound cake is surprisingly easy to make.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Salted Butter – The two sticks of salted butter are the creamy source in our cake. It provides a rich, buttery flavor to the cake and helps to keep it moist. If you opt for unsalted butter, then add 1/4 tsp salt to your dry ingredients.
- Light Brown Sugar – We use two cups of tightly packed light brown sugar to sweeten our cake. The molasses in the brown sugar adds a depth of flavor and moisture to the cake.
- Eggs – They help bind the ingredients together and also add structure to the cake.
- Whole Milk – We use one cup of whole milk to add moisture to the cake. The fat in the milk also helps to keep the cake tender. Try to use whole milk and not low fat.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – It gives the caramel a thick, creamy texture and a sweet, rich flavor that’s hard to beat.
Substitutions And Variations
Here are some of our favorite variations and substitution ideas:
- Nuts or Candy Bits: Feel free to add 1 cup of roasted/chopped pecans or toffee candy bits to the cake batter. You can also top it with chopped Candied Pecans before serving – so good!
- Glaze: If you’re not a fan of caramel, you can simply dust the cake with powdered sugar or even serve it as is. We also love it with this 4-Ingredient Salted Caramel Sauce or our Hot Fudge Sauce.
- Spices: Add a teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to give the cake a warm, cozy flavor perfect for fall.
- Frost it: You can also frost this cake with a buttercream frosting of your choice. We also love it with the topping we use in our Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and prepare a 9.5-10″ bundt pan. Beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs, beat, then add milk and beat again.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add this mixture to the butter batter and mix.
- Transfer the batter to the bundt pan and bake for 80-82 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove it from the pan and allow it to cool completely.
- For the caramel drizzle, combine condensed milk and brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and whisk. Then, reduce heat and simmer.
- Add butter and vanilla to the mixture and simmer/ whisk for another 5 minutes.
- Drizzle the warm caramel over the cooled cake.
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
Here are our top prep-ahead tips and strategies for this recipe:
- Make the Cake Ahead of Time: You can bake the pound cake in advance and store it airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days. It also freezes well for 1 month. Do not frost or drizzle with any toppings until ready to serve.
- Prepare the Caramel Drizzle: The caramel sauce can be made ahead of time and stored airtight in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. When you’re ready to serve the cake, simply warm the caramel on the stovetop until it reaches a pourable consistency.
Commonly Asked Questions
What type of brown sugar is best for this pound cake?
For this pound cake recipe, we recommend using light brown sugar. It has a milder flavor compared to dark brown sugar, thought you can also use dark brown sugar if you prefer a deeper flavor and color. Most importantly, be sure your brown sugar is super fresh and has not begun to dry out at all.
Why do I need to leave room at the top of the bundt cake pan?
Leaving room at the top of the bundt cake pan is important because the cake will rise as it bakes. If there isn’t enough room, the batter may overflow, and you’ll lose that pretty bundt cake shape. So, be sure to choose a pan that has enough capacity for the batter and leave at least 1.5″ of margin at the top.
How long does this brown sugar pound cake keep?
This cake can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for 1 month.
Did you make this?
Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!
Brown Sugar Pound Cake
This Brown Sugar Pound Cake is buttery rich, moist, and dense. It's unbelievably delicious when drizzled with a creamy, milky caramel sauce!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 ½ cups salted butter, softened
- 2 cups light brown sugar, tightly packed
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs, room temp
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup whole milk
For the Caramel
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- ⅔ cup brown sugar, tightly packed
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F, with rack on lower middle position.
- Generously grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 9.5-10" bundt pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars until fluffy and light using medium-high speed. Add eggs and beat to combine. Add milk and beat to combine.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to the butter batter on low speed, just until combined; do not over mix.
- Transfer to prepared bundt pan. There should be about 1.5" margin left at the top, if pan is large enough. If not, be sure to leave room at the top for rising.
- Bake 80-82 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean, with a few tender crumbs attached. If cake browns too quickly, cover lightly with foil during the last 15-30 minutes of baking.
- Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes. Very carefully separate the cake from pan by running a very thin knife around the sides and center. Gently remove cake from pan and let it cool completely on wire rack.
- When almost ready to serve, make the caramel drizzle: In a saucepan, combine sweetened condensed milk with brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking often. Once it starts boiling, immediately reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, whisking often.
- Whisk in butter and vanilla and whisk over low heat for another 5 minutes. Caramel should be a thickened consistency. If not, whisk a bit longer and let it cool a bit to thicken to a glaze consistency. Drizzle the caramel while it is still quite warm. Once it cools, it will become thick and sticky.
Notes
- When measuring your flour, be sure to spoon flour into a measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. This will ensure you are not using too much flour, which can result in a dry cake. We show more details about this in our Brown Sugar Cookies Recipe.
- Feel free to add 1 cup of roasted/chopped candied pecans or toffee candy bits to the cake batter; fold them in right before transferring to the bundt pan.
- Be sure to generously grease and flour your pan, so the cake doesn’t stick to it.
- It’s important to watch the caramel and keep stirring. Be sure to drizzle it over the cake while it’s very warm.
- This recipe is part of our Sweet Breakfast Recipe collection.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 643kcal | Carbohydrates: 83.3g | Protein: 7.2g | Fat: 32.6g | Saturated Fat: 16.9g | Trans Fat: 0.8g | Cholesterol: 130.3mg | Sodium: 324.2mg | Fiber: 1.6g | Sugar: 60.9g
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