These Summer Pound Cakes are Everything We're Loving Right Now

Be right back, we're grabbing our Bundt pan.

These so-Southern cakes make the perfect base for enjoying summer's freshest fruits. From peaches to blueberries and lemon to lime, summer flavor abounds in these sweet treats. We love pound cakes for their easy prep and always-delicious results. In fact, we never met a pound cake that we didn't love. Try our Pound Cake Cupcakes if you're serving a crowd at a shower or casual summer lunch. For a classic to always have on the sideboard, check out our Million Dollar Pound Cake. If you're looking for bright, citrusy flavor, Lemon-Lime Pound Cake is certainly what you're after. All of these recipes make delicious additions to any summer menu. Serve a slice a la carte, or with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. You can even make a batch of homemade ice cream to serve with any of these cakes—now that’s an idea!

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Million Dollar Pound Cake

Southern Living

Recipe: Million Dollar Pound Cake

We bet you have every single one of the ingredients for this 7-ingredient pound cake already in your pantry.

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Key Lime Pound Cake

Jen Causey

Recipe: Key Lime Pound Cake

Beat the heat of summer with a slice of the Florida Keys. 

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Lemon-Vanilla Pound Cake with Lavender Glaze

Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Lemon-Vanilla Pound Cake with Lavender Glaze

Traditional pound cake is dressed up for the season with the addition of vanilla bean paste and lemon juice. Give it a flavorful finishing touch with Lavender Glaze.

 

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Key Lime Pound Cake

Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Key Lime Pound Cake

Skip the Key lime pie and finish your summer supper with a fresh slice of Key Lime Pound cake.

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Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Hector M Sanchez

Recipe: Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This red, white, and blue pound cake is perfect for Memorial Day or the 4th. You can even add strawberries and blackberries to the mix, if you prefer.

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Lemon-Lime Pound Cake

Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Lemon-Lime Pound Cake

This quick pound cake will remind you of the childhood favorite, 7UP pound cake. We used lemon-lime soft drink (such as 7UP) and doused it in Lemon-Lime Glaze.

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Pound Cake Cupcakes with Browned Butter Frosting

Recipe: Pound Cake Cupcakes with Browned Butter Frosting

Cupcakes are making a comeback, especially with recipes like this featuring Browned Butter Frosting. These easily transported mini desserts are perfect for kids or for the young at heart!

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Lemon-Coconut Pound Cake Loaf

Jennifer Davick; Buffy Hargett (styling)

Recipe: Lemon-Coconut Pound Cake Loaf

Skip the bundt pan and make this pound cake in an easy-to-slice loaf. Each bite tastes like summer thanks to the delicious coconut flavored cake and delicious lemon glaze.

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Pound Cake Cupcakes

Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Pound Cake Cupcakes

Bite-size pound cake cupcakes take the guesswork out of portion sizes. These little gems are perfect for entertaining—no slicing, plating, or serving necessary.

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Pound Cake French Toast

Recipe: Pound Cake French Toast

Purchase pound cake from a bakery or a frozen loaf pound cake to save time. Or bake your favorite, and freeze it the weekend before. Thaw frozen cake in refrigerator overnight.

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Bite-Size Sour Cream-Pound Cake Cupcakes

Southern Living

Recipe: Bite-Size Sour Cream-Pound Cake Cupcakes

Top these petite pound cakes with a dollop of store-bought buttercream for a quick and easy dessert that will wow your summer crowd.

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Cream-Filled Grilled Pound Cake

Recipe: Cream-Filled Grilled Pound Cake

Talk about jazzed up pound cake! We thought pound cake couldn’t get any better until we tasted this grilled recipe. Grilling adds sweetness by caramelizing the sugar in the pound cake. Try with our Lemon Pound Cake recipe or in a pinch, opt for the convenience of store-bought pound cake.

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Sour Cream Pound Cake with Fresh Peaches

Recipe: Sour Cream Pound Cake with Fresh Peaches

We love this classic pound cake recipe for its tender crumb. To tap into summer flavor, we’ve paired this recipe with sweetened cream and fresh sliced peaches from our local farm stand.

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Lemon Pound Cake with Mint Berries and Cream

Recipe: Lemon Pound Cake with Mint Berries and Cream

Citrus and mint add summertime freshness to this show-stopping dessert. We like to purchase fresh mint in the 1-oz. packages so that there’s enough mint sprigs left for garnishing. As every Southerner knows, it’s as much about the flavor as it is the presentation.

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Pound Cake Banana Pudding

Recipe: Pound Cake Banana Pudding

You'll be hard-pressed to find a Southerner who doesn't love banana pudding. Sliced pound cake adds an unexpected update to take this classic summer dessert over the top. 

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Lemon Geranium Pound Cake

Recipe: Lemon Geranium Pound Cake

You're going to love the unexpected flavor of this unique pound cake recipe. 

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Our Favorite Sour Cream Pound Cake

Recipe: Sour Cream Pound Cake

This reader recipe came to us from Anita Guidry in Church Point, Louisiana, and quickly became one of our most popular pound cake recipes. Pound cakes are a Southern staple, and we find an excuse to serve them at any notable Southern event. If you're having a baby shower, you'll likely find a pound cake gracing the dessert table. If someone's in the hospital – send them a pound cake. When your new next-door neighbors move in, a pound cake is the perfect 'welcome to the community' gesture. This sweet dessert recipe fits in with everything we do, and has made its way into the most classic Southern recipes that we hold dear. Many families have a pound cake recipe that's been passed down through generations – which is the sentiment behind Ms. Anita's recipe as well. With its soft, fluffy texture and perfectly browned crust, Sour Cream Pound Cake should be in every good Southern cook's repertoire.

Ms. Anita sent in her famous pound cake recipe – with slight hints of lemon and almond extracts – in 2006. We loved it so much that it became our June 2006 cover, complete with a hearty helping of bright, fresh peaches. Nearly ten years later, Anita's daughter Paula wrote a letter to our Editor in Chief telling her mom's story.

"I wanted to touch base with you concerning the June 2006 cover of Southern Living. The pound cake recipe on the cover is my mother’s recipe, Anita Guidry, from Church Point, LA. She is currently 95 years old so when that recipe was published she was a mere 86 years old. She is remarkable as she still cooks for herself and others, checks her stock on her computer and is self-sufficient. She is still a Southern Living reader to this day, I would guess one of your older readers and contributors. I don’t need to tell you, that us Southerners are all about good food and eating and my mother is no different, she was always a great cook, winning many competitions for her cooking. She also made sure that we all (of her children) knew how to cook and we in turn have made sure that all of our children know how to cook. Needless to say Southern Living has played a big part in this story. Thanks for all of the years of great recipes, garden tips and travel articles, we have greatly enjoyed your publication. The photo is of her and my children and 1 spouse. She is the one in the middle."

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Georgia Peach Trifle

Recipe: Georgia Peach Trifle

The pound cake flavors marry with the juiciness of the peaches to create a delicious make-ahead summertime treat.

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