A classic pound cake recipe transformed into a "quarter" pound cake! Baked in a small baking dish, this buttery, tender and golden mini cake recipe yields the perfect amount for one or two people.
A classic pound cake never disappoints. It's a simple cake, not at all fancy or pretentious.
A pound cake doesn't need overly sweet icing or frosting to coat its crust. It's perfect as is, and completely wonderful when paired with a cup of coffee or tea, with perhaps a dusting of powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream and fresh fruit.
Why This Recipe Works
I wanted to create a mini pound cake recipe that was totally reminiscent of the pound cake I love. This cake is about a quarter of the size of a traditional pound cake and I call it a "quarter pound cake". I've adjusted the ingredients in my pound cake recipe so that it will serve one or two people.
This delightful cake is baked in a small baking dish or it can be baked in two smaller ramekins. The texture is light and airy, and the flavor is incredible.
Ingredient Notes
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Butter: Use salted butter. Make sure the butter is soft, not melted. A good way to check to see if your butter is the right consistency is to make an indention in the butter with your finger. If it’s easy to make an indentation and the butter keeps its shape, then it’s the correct temperature.
- Sugar, vanilla, salt, and lemon juice: For excellent flavor.
- Egg: An egg provides structure in cakes and one large egg is all you need.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder: This ingredient helps the cake rise.
- Milk: Milk adds moisture to the cake batter. Use any percentage of cow's milk or almond milk.
How To Make This Recipe
- Beat the butter and sugar until well mixed.
- Add in egg, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.
- Stir in the milk.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is golden.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting over a plate.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients left over from this recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Eggs: Cheesy Baked Eggs, Pasta Carbonara, Breakfast Casserole
- Lemon juice: Lemon Curd, Lemon Bars, Lemon Scones
- Vanilla: Panna Cotta, Bananas Foster, Tiramisu
- Milk: Banana Cream Pie, Baked Oatmeal, Potato Soup
I'm confident that this is the best pound cake and I truly think you'll love it too.
Expert Tips
- Be sure to use real butter, not margarine.
- Make sure the butter is soft, not melted. A good way to check to see if your butter is the right consistency is to make an indention in the butter with your finger. If it’s easy to make an indentation and the butter keeps its shape, then it’s the correct temperature.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy for a smooth, velvety texture. Beat for 2-3 minutes depending on the speed of your blender.
- Don’t scoop the flour with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour first to loosen it and then spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level it off using the flat edge of a knife.
- Check to make sure your oven is the proper temperature. It’s common for an oven to not be calibrated properly. Many ovens heat too high or too low compared to what the temperature is set at. I recommend investing on an oven thermometer to test your own oven temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Traditionally, a pound cake is made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. The French call it quatre-quarts, which means "four-fourths".
Using these traditional measurements, the size of the cake made it possible to serve many people and was also very dry and dense.
The pound cake appears to have originated in England in the early 1700's. By the mid 1800's, as people began to desire lighter cakes, pound cake began to change.
Today, many pound cakes are made with leaveners such as baking powder and different proportions of the main ingredients to produce a lighter cake.
The pound cake as we know it today is rich, buttery, and velvety in texture. It's delightful eaten on its own, garnished simply with fruit, or used as a base as in our Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake.
The tender, buttery pound cake of our times is the one I wanted to recreate as a single serving or mini cake.
It's best to store a pound cake at room temperature with an airtight cover. It will remain fresh for 4-5 days at room temperature.
The success of this recipe depends on the size of the baking dish you use. I use a 5-inch baking dish which measures 5-inches x 5-inches and is 1 3/4-inches deep. This dish holds about 1.5 cups and has an area of 25 square inches.
A 4×6-inch dish has an area of 24 square inches and will work as well. For best results, use a dish of similar size.
Two small 8-ounce ramekins or two mini loaf pans would work well with this recipe too.
If you would like additional information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
Other Mini Cake Recipes
If you like this recipe, you might also like to try these mini cake recipes:
- Mini Pineapple Sheet Cake
- Tres Leches Cake
- Icebox Cake
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Oat Cake
- Carrot Cake
- Gingerbread
- Spice Cake
If you’ve tried this pound cake or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup salted butter softened, plus 1 tablespoon more for greasing
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup low fat milk
How To Video
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° F (177° C)
- Grease a 5-inch baking dish with butter. Place baking dish on top of a baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until well mixed.
- Beat in egg, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.
- Stir in the milk.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is golden.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting over a plate.
- Best if served warm.
Notes
- Be sure to use real butter, not margarine.
- Make sure the butter is soft, not melted. A good way to check to see if your butter is the right consistency is to make an indention in the butter with your finger. If it’s easy to make an indentation and the butter keeps its shape, then it’s the correct temperature.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy for a smooth, velvety texture. Beat for 2-3 minutes depending on the speed of your blender.
- Don’t scoop the flour with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour first to loosen it and then spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level it off using the flat edge of a knife.
- Check to make sure your oven is the proper temperature. It’s common for an oven to not be calibrated properly. Many ovens heat too high or too low compared to what the temperature is set at. I recommend investing on an oven thermometer to test your own oven temperature.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Could i use a 6in round cake pan?
Yes, this recipe has been tested in a 6 x 2 -inch cake pan and it will work just fine.
I tried it and it was delicious!!! So nice to have a pound cake recipe for one! I used my kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients to ensure accuracy. I used my 5 inch baking dish and it came out perfect. Thank you for an excellent recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the cake, Cindy. Thank you so much for your feedback.
I love Pound Cake and am anxious to try.
Do you have a cookbook for recipes for one??
I am a senior citizen and would love to get one as I have waisted way to much food, either throwing away or adding to my waist by over eating.
Yes I have frozen a bunch but its just not the same…
Yes, we do have a cookbook. It’s called The Ultimate Cooking For One Cookbook and you can read more about it on our website – https://onedishkitchen.com/ultimate-cooking-for-one-book-order-page/. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the pound cake.
Can’t wait to try this. Can a bit of sour cream be added or substituted in this recipe?
This recipe has not been tested with sour cream as an ingredient so I can’t tell you how it will turn out.
can I use regular milk
Yes.
I would like to bake this in a 4 1/2″ springform pan. Your thoughts?
No, a 4.5-inch springform pan will be too small. A 6-inch diameter springform pan will work.
Excellent! What a joy to have pound cake so easily without the temptation and guilt of a full-sized cake. This was just as delicious as any pound cake I’ve ever enjoyed.
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the cake, Lisa. Thank you so much for your feedback.