This Kerrygold Pound Cake with Powdered Sugar started as a vintage recipe called Imperial Pound Cake, a classic pound cake made with margarine and confectioners' sugar. Recipes like this were common in older community cookbooks because margarine (or Oleo, as my grandmother called it) was widely used. The powdered sugar is what makes the cake a little different, giving it a fine, velvety crumb.
When I first tested the original margarine version, I was surprised at how good it was. The cake had a tight, soft crumb and a dense texture similar to Sara Lee pound cake, with a beautifully even crust. Even so, I couldn't bring myself to post a margarine recipe without trying it again using butter.
The butter version was even better.
From Imperial Pound Cake to Kerrygold Pound Cake
The original recipe used Imperial margarine, which used to contain more fat than it does today. I halved the recipe and baked it in a loaf pan rather than the traditional tube pan.
The texture of the margarine version was very smooth and evenly browned, but I really missed the flavor of butter. Margarine also has a faint palm oil flavor that isn't my favorite. So I tested the cake again using Kerrygold butter. The butter version kept the same fine crumb and soft texture, but the flavor was richer and more balanced.
Why This Pound Cake Uses Powdered Sugar
Most pound cakes use granulated sugar, but this one uses powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar). Powdered sugar dissolves quickly into the butter, creating a batter that emulsifies easily and bakes into a cake with a very smooth, velvety crumb. This technique was common in older recipes and is one of the reasons this cake has such a soft texture. The result is a small loaf pound cake that slices beautifully and tastes almost like a bakery pound cake.
Why Use Kerrygold or European Style Butter
Kerrygold is a European-style butter with slightly higher butterfat than standard American butter, which helps give the cake a richer flavor and tender crumb. It has a rich yellow color and is salty enough to where you don't need to add extra salt. I've since made this with other types of European butter including Plugra, unsalted. If using unsalted, you'll want to add a half teaspoon of salt.
Gluey Streaks in Pound Cake
You may notice small gluey streaks in pound cakes from time to time. These streaks are usually caused by over-creaming the butter and eggs.
When I tested this cake the first time, I mixed the butter and egg mixture very vigorously and used high speed when medium speed would have been better. I suspect that contributed to the small streaks you can see in the slices.
Fortunately, the streaks don't affect the flavor or overall texture of the cake.
Update: Testing Imperial Margarine Again
Out of curiosity I tried the cake again with Imperial margarine, which appears to have been reformulated over the years and now contains more water (about 60 calories per tablespoon).The cake still baked up with a nice shape, but the texture was noticeably different-denser and slightly gummy compared to the butter version. Because of that, I strongly recommend making this cake with butter rather than margarine.
Why This Recipe Is Worth Trying
If you enjoy classic butter cakes, this powdered sugar pound cake is a fun variation. It has a fine velvety crumb, buttery flavor and a beautiful golden crust. It's also the perfect size if you're looking for a small loaf pound cake rather than a large Bundt or tube pan cake.
Tips for Perfect Pound Cake
- Do not over-cream the butter and eggs. Overmixing can create small gluey streaks in pound cake.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Butter and eggs mix more smoothly and create a better crumb.
- Bake in the lower third of the oven. This helps the loaf bake evenly without over-browning.
- Run a buttered knife down the center before baking. This encourages the classic pound cake split.
Recipe
Kerrygold Butter Pound Cake with Powdered Sugar
Ingredients
- 8 ounces salted Kerrygold or other good European style butter cool room temperature
- ½ pound confectioners' sugar (about 1 ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons or 230 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or good quality vanilla
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups cake flour (170 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Grease and flour an 8x4 inch loaf pan. I like to lay a strip of parchment down the center for easy lifting.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, beat the butter until creamy and smooth.
- Add the confectioners' sugar and beat until creamy, scraping sides of bowl often. Add the vanilla and beat until well blended.
- Add one of the eggs and beat on low until incorporated, then increase speed and beat on medium for 30 seconds or until smooth. Repeat, adding second and third eggs one at a time and beating until smooth (about 30 to 40 seconds after each egg is mixed).
- Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and sift in the flour. Stir with a heavy duty scraper until flour is incorporated into the batter, then put the bowl back on the mixer stand and beat with the paddle for about 10 to 20 seconds to ensure the flour is completely blended.
- The batter should be fairly thick. Spread it evenly in the pan. Run a knife down through it in a zigzag patter to distribute it evenly, then run a knife down the center to make a split.
- Bake in lower third of oven for 60 to 70 minutes (check at 60) or until cake is brown and crusty and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
- Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, then loosen the sides gently without removing from the pan. Let it cool in the pan for another half hour or so, then remove from the pan and let cool for several hours. For a more Sara Lee like texture, wrap the completely cooled pound cake in plastic and freeze overnight. Let thaw, then slice.
Heidi says
U used Imperial. The only other brand that Albertsons offered was Blue Bonnet and it had the same amount of fat in it as Imperial.
I do not even own a scale so I never measure my flour. I did use the spoon into my cup method though instead of scooping. That method lessens the volume a bit.
I ate a piece with some raspberry jam on it and that was a lot better than just plain.
beth says
My family loved it! I made mine with butter. My family loved the constancy maybe it was the cake flour. Any time i make a recipe with cake flour they love it. I also made a little lemon glaze on top.
Anna says
Heidi, did you sift the cake flour before you measured it? If you sifted it and measured by volume, your 1 1/2 cups of flour would have only weighed a bit over 5 ounces and you would have been using a lot less flour than I did. 1 cup sifted flour weighs about 3 1/2 oz, while 1 cup unsifted weighs 4. If you weighed the flour or sifted after measuring, there wouldn't be an issue because 6 oz is 6 oz. But sifting changes the fluffiness of the flour and would mess up the volume measurement.
The off-flavor was probably the margarine. What brand did you use?
heidi says
Ok...I made the margarine pound cake tonight. First of all, I can't get over how inexpensive margarine is! It was $1.00 for a pound! That was a nice surprise. I made 2 loaves . They did not turn golden brown at all. My pans are dark non stick Caphalon so I was surprised the loaves didn't brown. I personally liked the texture but my husband didnt. It's a lot different texture than a butter pounf cake. It was fluffy with a tight crumb. Kind of velvety. I'm sure that was also due to the cake flour (that i sifted) and powdered sugar. The flavor was....ummm...just ok. I used vanilla extract and also a splash of Adams butter extract. I've never tasted margarine so I'm guessing the off flavor was due to the margarine. It wasn't horrible but not nearly as good as butter. I wonder what the results would be with half butter and half margarine? I don't think I'd make the all margarine recipe again. But it was a fun experiment.
Anna says
Hi Heidi,
I wish you would make the margarine pound cake and let me know what you think. I am really sensitive to the flavor of palm oil and didn't like that flavor in the background, but I don't think most people are sensitive to that flavor. Also, the brand of margarine could have something to do with it. I used Land o'Lakes brand which advertises itself as being good for baking. The cheaper margarine brands might have a different flavor, but you have to make sure to get one with 100 calories per tablespoon. I think the ones with 70 calories per tablespoon might have more water.
heidi says
I'm totally curious about the margarine version of this cake. I've never bought margarine in my life but I bake with butter almost every day! I've always thought margarine sounded somewhat disgusting but I must say, your cake made with margarine looks delish. I've made many a good poundcakes but I've never been completely satisfied with the texture, which is very important to me. Maybe margarine would give me the texture I'm seeking. You kind of described the texture I'm after - tight crumbed, soft and dense. Was the flavor of the margarine version really that bad?
TxPepper says
Beautiful!
I'm on a cooking/trying new recipes streak right now. Maybe it will extend to some baking this weekend.
Hope you are feathering your nest for your Chicago winter which should be just around the corner. You're going to miss us here in Texas. 🙂
Beth says
This looks good! Another one I want to try!