Classic Gluten-Free Pound Cake

Why I Love This Pound Cake

• A velvety gluten-free crumb. Oat and almond flours are my absolute favorite gluten-free flour combo because they create such a moist yet sturdy crumb. It's showcased beautifully in this cake, which is rich, dense, and you'd be hard-pressed to identify as gluten-free.
• A no fooling around cake. Hey, no one ever said pound cake was a health food! This is a recipe meant for indulgence, with a whole cup of butter and four eggs. And I love it for that!
• Easily adaptable. You could throw in some mini chocolate chips, similar to my gluten free chocolate chip loaf cake, berries, or citrus zest. Or top it with a chocolate icing or a lemon drizzle.

What is a Pound Cake?

A recipe published in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, my go-to for traditional recipes, shows that a pound cake relies on a formula of 1:1:1:1 (meaning 1 pound each of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs). This classic recipe also does not call for baking powder or milk - something I considered essential when developing this gluten-free version.

Ingredients Needed

Here's a look at the pantry and fridge basics that go into this gluten free pound cake. Make sure to scroll down to my recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full ingredient amounts and instructions!

• Butter - Unsalted butter, please, and bring it to soft room temperature first so that it blends seamlessly into the batter.
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs - I used large eggs, also at room temperature.
• Oat flour - My favorite whole grain gluten-free flour, oat flour adds a base of natural sweetness to the flour mix. If you can't eat oats, try brown rice or white rice flour instead.
• Almond flour - Use fine almond flour rather than ground almonds. Substitute teff flour or another nut flour if you don't eat almonds.
• Baking powder
• Salt - Fine sea salt or table salt is fine.
• Milk - I prefer whole milk here for a bit of moisture and added richness. You may also use 2% milk.
• Vanilla - I used pure vanilla extract (1 tablespoon), and if you don't have that, you can use vanilla bean paste.

Variations You Can Try

• Citrus pound cake - Rub the zest of 1 lemon, orange, or citrus of your choice into the 1 cup of sugar (this will release the citrus oil) before adding it to the batter to infuse the cake with bright citrus flavor.
• Chocolate - Your choice of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate!
• Spices - Make a spiced pound cake with a mix of ground spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom.
• Add a glaze - Try my lemon glaze linked above, or dress up the pound cake with a sweet maple glaze.

Tips & Recipe Notes

• Measure the flour by weight. If at all possible, please use a scale to measure your flour for the best accuracy! Pound cakes are all about the ratios, so this is especially important in this recipe.
• Use a metal pan. I prefer to use my metal loaf pan for all of my loaf cakes because it distributes the oven's heat evenly, leading to a more uniform result (extra nice when baking gluten-free).
• Don't overbake. Check around 50 minutes of baking time; the cake most likely won't be done, but the top may be getting quite brown. Tent a bit of aluminum foil over it so that it doesn't burn. Then check every 10 minutes until done. Pound cakes do take longer to bake, but you don't want to let them go too long because they will get dry.
• Substitute gluten-free flour. You CAN substitute a gluten-free flour mix, although I strongly recommend using my oat and almond flour combination for the best results. Try 210 grams of my homemade gluten free flour blend or another flour blend of your choice.
• Dairy-free. Substitute non-dairy butter or coconut oil for the butter, and non-dairy milk for the whole milk.
• To serve: Whipped cream and berries are an easy, delicious complement to slices of pound cake. Or serve with chocolate sauce and/or ice cream.

Proper Storage

• Counter - Cover the cake with foil or place it in an airtight container and keep it on the counter for up to 3 days.
• Fridge - Place the covered cake in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Freezer - This cake freezes really well! Wrap the whole cake in plastic, then place it in a freezer-safe bag and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before serving.