Sara Lee Pound Cake

The Sara Lee pound cake can be the base for a strawberry shortcake, or it can go well with a cup of coffee. This was one of my first CopyKat recipes, so you can enjoy Sara Lee Pound Cake at home. You are going to enjoy every forkful of this delicious pound cake when you prepare this lemon pound cake.

Homemade copycat Sara Lee Pound Cake and fruit on a plate in front of the cake on a serving platter.


Making Sara Lee Pound Cake at home

The Sara Lee pound cake has long been a fixture in the frozen section of your grocery store, and now you can make it at home. This pound cake will go well with a cup of coffee. Or, it can be the base for a strawberry shortcake – you may want to butter the sliced pound cake and toast it to make a nice change.

The Sweet Beginnings

Sara Lee was only eight years old when Charlie Lubin, an enterprising baker, hit on the idea of naming his new cheesecakes after his daughter. He told his daughter that the product “had to be perfect” because he was naming it after her.

In 1956, Lubin’s company was purchased by Consolidated Foods, where Lubin remained as a senior executive for many years. The brand name of Sara Lee became so popular that in 1985 Consolidated Foods decided to call itself the Sara Lee Corporation.

Sara Lee has often appeared in television ads for the company’s bakery products. Read more about the history of Sara Lee.

Pound Cake Used to Weigh Four Pounds!

Pound cake originated in Europe in the first half of the 18th century, and all of the ingredients together weighed in at four pounds – a pound of each of its four ingredients – flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. This is why it was called pound cake.

As you can imagine, this early way of making pound cake produced a pretty big cake. In modern times, the recipe for pound cake has been modified and today’s pound cake is lighter and richer with a prominent butter flavor.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need:

  • Butter you can use salted or unsalted butter
  • Sugar
  • Large eggs
  • Cake flour is preferred, you can use all-purpose flour in a pinch
  • Powdered milk
  • Corn syrup
  • Lemon juice
  • Salt
  • Vanilla
  • Nutmeg
  • Baking powder
  • Mace (optional)
Ingredients for homemade copycat Sara Lee Pound Cake.

How to make this copycat Sara Lee Pound Cake recipe

This was one of my first CopyKat recipes. To make this pound cake, I recommend taking out cold ingredients from your refrigerator ahead of time to let them warm up – they combine best at room temperature.

  1. Cream butter and sugar together with a mixer until light and fluffy.
  2. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. be sure to use the mixer’s lowest setting to blend in the eggs.
  3. Add in flour, powdered milk, baking powder, and corn syrup. Beat each in well.
  4. Add the juice of half a lemon, salt, vanilla, nutmeg, and mace.
  5. Make sure everything is well blended, and pour cake batter into a greased loaf pan (prepare pan by spraying non-stick spay into the pan.)
  6. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.
  7. Remove cake from the oven, and rest cake on a wire rack to cool.

Recipe Notes

It’s unnecessary to sift the flour, so putting this together will take just a couple of minutes. You can bake this in a standard-sized loaf pan which measures 9″ x 5″ x 2-1/2″. Learn more about cake pan sizes.

And, please use a preheated oven. When this pound cake comes out of the oven, it will be wonderfully warm and completely irresistible.

Homemade copycat Sara Lee Pound Cake in a serving dish.

If you can resist enjoying a slice straight out of the oven, let the cake cool down to room temperature then let it get cold in your refrigerator. This is when the cake will go from a bit crumbly to much denser in texture just like Sara Lee. This pound cake will be one of your family’s favorite desserts.

I hope you enjoy this copycat recipe for Sara Lee Pound Cake.

Homemade copycat Sara Lee Pound Cake and fruit on a red plate.

How to store your buttery pound cake

Once this poundcake cools completely you will want to wrap it with plastic wrap. It will stay fresh for about 3 days. You can freeze this if you double wrap it with plastic wrap in your freezer for up to three months. I know you are going to enjoy this loaf of pound cake no matter how you decide to serve it.

How to serve pound cake

I know you are going to love the iconic Sara Lee flavor this old-fashioned pound cake has, here are a few ideas for you when it comes to serving this delicious cake. Best of all this recipe is so easy, you don’t need to be a regular baker to make a tasty dessert.

  • Use cake slices for a simple strawberry shortcake
  • Cut into small pieces and turn into a trifle
  • Toast small pieces in butter of leftover pound cake and turn this into your base for strawberry shortcake
  • Use for tiramisu

Variations on this recipe

Love pound cake consider adding a variety of extracts to change the base flavor of this cake. Enjoy many pound cake dreams when you start with this simple recipe. You can any of the following to the finished batter to change the flavor of the cake.

  • a teaspoon of orange extract for an orange flavor
  • a teaspoon of almond extract if you enjoy almond lfavor
  • a teaspoon of almond extract and two tablespoons of poppy seeds will make you a delicious almond poppy seed pound cake.
  • a teaspoon of cinnamon if you love cinnamon

Love cake? Check out these cake recipes you have to try

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Homemade copycat Sara Lee Pound Cake with fruit in front of the cake on a platter.

Sara Lee Pound Cake

You can make your own homemade version of the famous copycat Sara Lee Pound Cake at home. 
4.72 from 21 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cake Recipes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 10
Calories: 225kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 2 tablespoons  dry powdered milk
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup
  • 1 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon mace optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Allow butter to reach room temperature if you can try to use unsalted butter. Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.
  • Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Add in flour, powdered milk, baking powder, and corn syrup. Beat each in well.
  • Add the juice of half a lemon, salt, vanilla, nutmeg, and mace. Make sure everything is well blended, and pour into a prepared loaf pan 9" x 5" x 2 1/2.
  • Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, checking for doneness by inserting a toothpick and seeing if it comes out clean. You almost want to underbake this.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 380IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 0.3mg

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heidi

    4 stars
    The pound cake is delicious, I’m not a nutmeg fan so if you’re like me and don’t like it leave it out, I put it in this time but wouldn’t again, I didn’t think it needed it, to me it didn’t really taste like Sara Lee’s but it was delicious none the less

  2. Shasmira Frans

    2 stars
    This cake is not even close to the Sara Lee brand pouncake. And for sure don’t use the mace powder. I’m sorry. Texture is good but maybe will try it again like I said with no mace.

  3. Nitha

    5 stars
    Wow! The cake turned out so good and yum. The texture and flavour is just perfect. I gave it a chocolate coating and its amazing.

  4. Marianne or Ron Gasparas

    All purpose flour or better to use cake flour? Just wondering if the cake flour would be a lower gluten hit due to it being a different wheat variety. Do you put a little pan of water in the oven to prevent drying?

    • Stephanie

      Cake flour may give a different result, I did not develop the recipe for cake flour. I have never added a pan of water to keep the cake from drying out. This recipe was developed in an extremely humid environment.

    • A.M. Newman

      Cake flour has Gluten in because of the wheat. The same wheat as in regular bleached and unbleached. flour. Gluten isn’t measured in quantity.

    • Queen

      Make it eggless yourself as you would any recipe. Using flaxseed, applesauce, banana, or arrowroot powder etc.

  5. Jeannie Alday

    5 stars
    The cake is in the oven. Just a peak and it looks and smells perfect. I am going to be making smaller loaves for Christmas gifts to go with pear preserves we canned this fall. Do you know what temp and time I might need to use for 5″ x 3″ x 2″ small aluminum loaf pans?

4.72 from 21 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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