Pound Cake Lab462 recipes
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What goes into pound cake

The main ingredient list of all 462 recipes, with names merged so one choice counts once: unsalted and salted butter are butter, light and dark brown sugar are brown sugar, kosher and table salt are salt. Different flours stay apart. Frosting, glaze and other extras are counted on their own at the end.

In short

  • For sugar, 88% use white sugar alone and 6% white and brown sugar together.
  • For leavening, 57% use baking powder alone, 24% neither baking soda nor baking powder, and 11% baking powder and baking soda together.
  • For dairy, 33% use no dairy, 16% sour cream alone, and 15% milk alone.
  • For flour, 81% use all-purpose flour alone and 13% cake flour alone.
  • 17% add fruit, 9% spice and 5% nuts; 65% add none of these.

The main choices

Each block sorts every recipe into one group by a single decision. Amounts are the median among recipes in that group, scaled to 380 g of flour, the size of a typical cake. The recipe named under each group is the one in it closest to the typical cake on every ingredient.

White, brown or a syrup

Each recipe counted once, by the sweeteners in its main ingredient list.

  • White sugar only

    median 437 g sugar · closest to typical: Coconut Lime Pound Cake (lecremedelacrumb.com)

    88%409 recipes

  • White and brown sugar

    median 561 g sugar · closest to typical: Peach Cobbler Pound Cake (houseofnasheats.com)

    6%29 recipes

  • Everything else

    5%24 recipes

White sugar includes powdered sugar, in 5% of recipes. Coarse and cinnamon sugar are usually sprinkled on top, so they do not count here.

Baking soda, baking powder or both

Each recipe counted once, by what it relies on to rise.

  • Baking powder only

    median 9 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Coconut Lime Pound Cake (lecremedelacrumb.com)

    57%265 recipes

  • Neither

    closest to typical: Cream Cheese Pound Cake (spendwithpennies.com)

    24%112 recipes

  • Baking powder and baking soda

    median 8 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Coconut Pound Cake (thepioneerwoman.com)

    11%52 recipes

  • Baking soda only

    median 2 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Peach Pound Cake (12tomatoes.com)

    7%33 recipes

Which dairy

Each recipe counted once, by the dairy in its main ingredient list. Butter is counted with the fats.

  • No dairy

    closest to typical: 7UP Pound Cake (africanbites.com)

    33%155 recipes

  • Sour cream only

    median 232 g dairy · closest to typical: Blueberry Pound Cake Recipe (baking-sense.com)

    16%76 recipes

  • Milk only

    median 172 g dairy · closest to typical: Brown Sugar Pound Cake Recipe (africanbites.com)

    15%70 recipes

  • Cream cheese only

    median 230 g dairy · closest to typical: Peach Cobbler Pound Cake (houseofnasheats.com)

    11%51 recipes

  • Buttermilk only

    median 213 g dairy · closest to typical: Perfect Pound Cake (theviewfromgreatisland.com)

    8%37 recipes

  • Everything else

    15%73 recipes

Evaporated milk counts as milk.

Which flour

Each recipe counted once, by the flours it combines.

  • All-purpose flour only

    closest to typical: Coconut Lime Pound Cake (lecremedelacrumb.com)

    81%375 recipes

  • Cake flour only

    closest to typical: Pound Cake (rasamalaysia.com)

    13%64 recipes

  • Everything else

    4%23 recipes

Add-ins

Share of recipes that add at least one of each. A recipe can add several, so the shares do not sum to 100%. 65% add none of these.

  • Fruit17%

    apples 4% · strawberries 3% · blueberries 1%

  • Spice9%

    cinnamon 6% · nutmeg 5% · cloves 1%

  • Nuts5%

    pecans 2% · pistachios 1%

  • Coconut, candy or chips4%

    shredded coconut 2% · candy or cookies 1%

  • Chocolate4%

    bar chocolate 2% · chocolate chips or chunks 2%

How often each ingredient appears

Share of the 462 recipes that list it at least once, for every ingredient in 5% or more of them. The median amount is among recipes that use it and give a weighable amount, scaled to 380 g of flour; for a flour, it is that flour's share of all the flour in the recipe.

  1. Eggs99%

    460 recipes · median 304 g (about 6 large eggs)

  2. Butter96%

    446 recipes · median 345 g

  3. Granulated sugar95%

    440 recipes · median 410 g

  4. All-purpose flour84%

    392 recipes · median: all of the flour

  5. Salt77%

    357 recipes · median 3.2 g

  6. Vanilla77%

    357 recipes · median 9 g

  7. Baking powder68%

    317 recipes · median 8 g

  8. Sour cream18%

    86 recipes · median 226 g

  9. Baking soda18%

    85 recipes · median 3 g

  10. Milk18%

    84 recipes · median 147 g

  11. Cake flour16%

    75 recipes · median: all of the flour

  12. Cream cheese15%

    70 recipes · median 230 g

  13. Lemon zest14%

    68 recipes · median 10 g

  14. Lemon juice11%

    53 recipes · median 64 g

  15. Buttermilk9%

    46 recipes · median 185 g

  16. Whole lemon or orange9%

    45 recipes · median 137 g

  17. Almond extract9%

    44 recipes · median 4.3 g

  18. Brown sugar9%

    44 recipes · median 337 g

  19. Cinnamon6%

    29 recipes · median 2.8 g

  20. Cocoa powder6%

    29 recipes · median 55 g

  21. Nutmeg5%

    27 recipes · median 1.3 g

  22. Powdered sugar5%

    27 recipes · median 253 g

  23. Vegetable oil5%

    25 recipes · median 138 g

  24. Cream5%

    24 recipes · median 151 g

Toppings and extras

46% of recipes (216 of 462) list something beyond the main recipe: a frosting, glaze, filling, crumb topping, a boiling bath or a sprinkle on top. None of it is counted above. The most common extra ingredients, as a share of all recipes:

  • Powdered sugar38% (178)
  • Butter12% (58)
  • Vanilla11% (51)
  • Cream10% (48)
  • Milk9% (45)
  • Lemon juice7% (36)
  • Salt6% (28)
  • Granulated sugar4% (20)
  • Brown sugar3% (18)
  • Cream cheese3% (16)

How the ingredients are counted

A recipe uses an ingredient when any line of its main ingredient list names it. Names are merged by the words in them, so “1 cup unsalted butter, softened” and “salted butter” are both butter, and a line that offers a choice (“walnuts or pecans”) counts as the first one named. Canola, vegetable and other neutral oils are one oil; coconut and olive oil are listed on their own.

Lines only for greasing the pan are left out. Lines for brushing, sprinkling or serving, and lines that belong to a frosting, glaze, filling or topping, count as extras.

Amounts come from the grams on each recipe page: printed by the source, or converted from cups and spoons with standard densities. Scaling them to 380 g of flour lets a small recipe and a double batch line up. Percentages are rounded down.