This Almond Pound Cake is the collision of two of my most favorite things: pound cake and almond.
I passionately love anything almond. Almond cakes, almond tortes, macarons, almond danishes, amaretto, and just about anything with almond extract.
And there are few desserts that I love more than a perfectly executed pound cake.
But this cake isn’t just about adding almond extract into a boring pound cake. This pound cake it seriously delicious!
It’s got a lighter texture than some of my other pound cakes and has tons of great flavor thanks to 3 sticks of butter.
And if all that almond in the cake itself weren’t enough, we’re gonna go all in and add some almond extract to the glaze AND sprinkle some sliced almonds on the top. It’s like almond-a-palooza up in here! Whew!
Y’all are lucky there was even any of this left for me to photograph. See that big ol’ piece missing in that photo above? Yeah, that was me. And I’m not sorry about it. Not one bit.
Now I get not everyone is as big of a fan of almond extract as I am, so you can certainly scale back on the amount of almond extract in this recipe.
You can even leave it out completely and have a super delicious butter pound cake. I wouldn’t, but you can. I mean, it’s totally up to you, but I would add it. I mean it’s delicious without it, but even more delicious with it. But you can leave it out… (~whispers~ but don’t.)
One thing to note: As with most of my other pound cakes, I call for you to cream the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes in the beginning step. No, that’s not a typo. It’s 5 whole minutes. Just trust me.
Y’all enjoy!
Recipe Card
Almond Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 teaspoons almond extract
For the topping:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 10 to 12-cup bundt pan. Set aside.
- Use a mixer to cream the butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
- Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time, and mix well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- Add the dry ingredients and the milk to the mixture, alternately. Start with 1/3 of the dry, then half the milk, another 1/3 of the dry, the other 1/2 of the milk, then the remaining dry. Mix well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- Add the vanilla and almond extracts. For lots of almond flavor, add 3 teaspoons. For less, only add 2. Mix to combine.
- Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Bake times may vary. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then place a plate or platter over the pan and invert to turn the cake out onto the plate. Allow to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the cooled pound cake and sprinkle the almonds over the top.
This cake was so delicious! I dared to share it untested and it got rave reviews. I made a couple of modifications so that it was gluten free and dairy free. Nobody knew it. I kicked it up a notch and added orange zest to the batter and to the icing. Wow. My husband declared it a 10 and asked, “You kept this recipe, right???” Oh, yeah.
Ha! Love hearing that!
This sounds so good! Could you tell me if this gets a crinkly top when baked?
It does!
The best pound cake ever! I use 1 cup of milk instead of 1/2 cup and use 1 tsp of almond extract and it came out perfect! Thank you!
Thank you so much Michele?
Made it today for company. Everyone loved it. So moist and tasty. I used almond liquor to make the glaze and served it with Homemade almond cherry ice cream. So good.
That sounds AMAZING!
This cake is amazing and I make it quite often. It falls every time I make it but it’s so good I don’t care! Any ideas or tips that will help it not fall. Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Most pound cakes fall because they aren’t cooked enough. This could have something to do with the temperature of the oven being off or the cook time not being long enough. It’s really hard to say.
PERFECT!! I made this last night, exactly as written. Came out beautifully and tasted divine. Thank you!
Awesome! So glad to hear that!
New to cooking. Can you explain how much 9/16 of milk is.
It sounds like maybe the portion sizes have been changed on the recipe card. The recipe actually calls for a 1/2 cup of milk.
I made this cake yesterday and it is AMAZING! I have made numerous pound cakes in my life and nothing comes close to this one. Thank you so much for sharing this treasured recipe!
Awesome! It’s one of my favorites so I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Instead of using regular sugar could I use Splenda is it any different
Hi Maryanne! Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience with low/no sugar baking. Since baking is so much about chemistry, I’d hate to make any guesses. Maybe another reader will have some insight to share with us.
Can unsweetened Silk almond milk be used instead of regular milk?
I don’t see why not. Enjoy!
Do you have a favorite bundt pan that you use??
Size, steel, aluminum, non-stick?? I need a new one (I think) …
I love everything almond as well.
I do! It’s a thick-walled, aluminum Bundt pan that a sweet lady gave me years ago. It’s probably about 50 years old.
If making in a loaf pan would I just half the recipe?
You certainly could!
I would like to know if it is possible to make cake using almond flour instead of wheat flour.
If so, what are the adjustments?
I am looking forward to baking this
Thank you
Hi Joana! I’ve not tried that, so I can’t say for sure. Hopefully someone else who has tried can chime in and help out.
I only have salted butter on hand. Would I omit the salt in the recipe?
I wanted to make this recipe today, so I searched the internet for an answer. Sorry I’m impatient, but, this is what I found.
Thanks for the recipe. I can’t wait to try it, I just LOVE almond flavor!
“If your recipe calls for unsalted butter and you want to use salted, reduce the amount of salt by 1/4 teaspoon. If your recipe calls for salted butter and you’re using unsalted, increase the amount of salt by 1/4 teaspoon.”
Glad you found an answer! Sorry I couldn’t get to your question sooner.
Seriously no worries. I made this cake and it lasted maybe 3 days! Everyone loved it. I will be making this recipe again and again. Thanks again for sharing!
So glad everyone enjoyed it!
If granny wasn’t cremated I would dig her up and slap her, then give her a kiss.
Made it for my sweetie’s Birthday. WOW! was she impressed. It’s easy guys, try it.
She hardly eats desert, and she ate 2 slices and took some to work for the girls.
I seriously can’t love this comment enough! So glad you enjoyed it!
Hey Stacey,
I’m a big fan of the good ol pound cake and the touch of almond takes it to another level. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I tried it and it turned out well. It was a tad sweet for my taste, so tempered down the sugar by 30% the next time I made it. Also, it’s hard to find unsalted butter easily in Mumbai, so used salted butter. Thanks a bunch!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Sunita!
I don’t have any all purpose flour on hand, only self-rising flour. How would I substitute self-rising flour in this recipe? Would it still be 3 cups of flour? Thanks
Yes. The measurement would be the same.
Virginia needs to that she should omit the baking powder and salt when using self-rising flour. If she’s an experienced cook, she will already know this.
Oops! Left out a word….needs to KNOW….that she should….
I figured that might be the case, but you are 100% correct.
Hello Glenda and Stacy…..yes, I would leave out the salt and baking powder when I use self-rising flour. Thanks for your comments though. This recipe looks wonderful, and I am so anxious to try it. Pound cake is so such a great cake and I like to think it is ‘…..so Southern…..’
Hope you enjoy it!
Is the amount of milk correct? Shouldn’t it be a whole cup?
It’s correct.
I Love anything Almond
Me too! So very much!
OMG! I’m so glad to know that there is another who’s just as crazy about almonds and almond flavor as I.
I love pound cakes and I absolutely love anything almond. I have all the ingredients on hand to make this as well as having some sliced almonds that need to be used up.
Thank you Stacey for sharing this recipe.
Claudine in Fort Worth, TX
It’s got to be one of my most favorite flavors. Hope it turns out great for you!
Could you use an Almond liquor in the glaze or even poke cake with a fork and use a TBSP. or 2 of the almond liquor sprinkled over cake before glazing?
Absolutely!