This high altitude almond pound cake is moist, dense and rich, made with both almond flour and almond extract, and finished with a drizzle of sweet almond icing and crunchy almonds. It’s a perfect any occasion cake, or for something special during the holidays.
You might also love this vanilla bean cream cheese pound cake, maple pound cake, and snickerdoodle bundt cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
No Mixer Needed. Most pound cake recipes require the use of a stand mixer, for creaming butter, sugar and eggs. But today’s easy almond pound cake recipe uses melted butter, and the batter comes together in minutes with just a bowl and whisk.
Simple but Satisfying. When it comes to cakes, I really love a good and simple pound cake, sometimes even more than a beautifully decorated layer cake with buttercream. Almond pound cake is pure comfort food. The rich, dense, buttery crumb and the golden crust is just impossible to resist.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Cake
- Butter. To add the most incredible flavor to this cake, don’t skip the step of browning the butter first.
- Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
- Whole Milk + Sour Cream. Adds fat, moisture and a little acidity for a moist, tender cake.
- Vanilla + Almond Extracts. Flavor.
- Eggs. Give the cake strength and moisture.
- Flour. All-purpose flour gives the cake structure and strength.
- Almond Flour. The almond flour not only adds more almond flavor, but also moisture and a nutty richness that makes this cake just so good.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent, so the cake rises when it bakes.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the almonds.
- Cardamom. A popular spice in Scandinavian countries, cardamom complements the flavor of the almonds in almond pastries and baked goods.
Icing
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the icing.
- Vanilla + Almond Extracts. Flavor.
- Cream. I like to use heavy whipping cream for the icing, as it makes it thick and smooth. You can also use milk, but you’ll need to use less milk than cream.
- Sliced Almonds.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a loaf pan with a parchment paper “sling” so the paper hangs over two sides. Then spray the paper and ends of the pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until nutty, golden brown solids form at the bottom of the pan, and the butter has a layer of foam on top. Immediately remove from the heat and scrape the butter, including the browned bits, into a mixing bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the sugar to the butter and whisk until combined, then gradually add the milk, sour cream, extracts and eggs, whisking until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk the batter for about 15 seconds, until smooth.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake until a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it and the crust is golden brown and slightly cracked. It should take about 45-55 minutes to bake.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes, then grab the paper to lift the cake out of the pan and onto a cooling rack. Cool until slightly warm or room temperature, before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days, or freeze indefinitely.
Icing
- For the icing, combine the powdered sugar, almond extract and cream until smooth, then drizzle over the cake while it’s slightly warm.
- Sprinkle with the almonds before the icing crusts over. Let the icing set completely before slicing.
Recipe Variations
Dust with Powdered Sugar.
Instead of the icing, a simple dusting of powdered sugar is lovely.
Add a Crumb Topping.
Almond pound cake with crumb topping is just fantastic. Combine these ingredients until moist and crumbly, and sprinkle over the batter before baking.
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (add 2 more tablespoons flour if the mixture is too moist)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
I used the USA 1 lb Bread Loaf Pan. The pan baking dimensions are 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75.
Store the leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days. Pound cake also freezes extremely well, wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap for up to 3-6 months.
No, this recipe will not work well in a bundt pan. It has a higher ratio of sugar than some of my other bundt cake recipes, which causes it to stick to bundt pans, even when the pans are thoroughly greased.
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Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Almond Pound Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup whole milk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup finely ground almond flour
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
Icing
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp almond extract
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 5-6 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp chopped or sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a loaf pan with a parchment paper "sling" so the paper hangs over two sides. Then spray the paper and ends of the pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until nutty, golden brown solids form at the bottom of the pan, and the butter has a layer of foam on top. Immediately remove from the heat and scrape the butter, including the browned bits, into a mixing bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the sugar to the butter and whisk until combined, then gradually add the milk, sour cream, extracts and eggs, whisking until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk the batter for about 15 seconds, until smooth.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake until a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it and the crust is golden brown and slightly cracked. It should take about 45-55 minutes to bake.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes, then grab the paper to lift the cake out of the pan and onto a cooling rack. Cool until slightly warm or room temperature, before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days, or freeze indefinitely.
Icing
- For the icing, combine the powdered sugar, almond extract and cream until smooth, then drizzle over the cake while it's slightly warm.
- Sprinkle with the almonds before the icing crusts over. Let the icing set completely before slicing.
Notes
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Your cold dairy ingredients (butter, eggs and milk) need to be at room temperature before mixing this cake. Set them out several hours before you plan on baking so they can warm up.
- Leftovers: Pound cake freezes extremely well, so leftovers can be wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container to enjoy later.
Hi Heather,
I tried this recipe & it was a hit with the family. I live at sea level, worked perfectly didn’t need any alterations. Thank you for sharing great recipes with such generous tips. Kisses from Bahrain in the middle east x
This is my husband’s favorite pound cake to date! I live at both sea level in Florida and in Denver. I altered the recipe for sea level and it worked perfectly!
Someone asked what loaf pan you used. Your response was a “1-pound loaf pan”. Sadly mine doesn’t say. Can you please give us a size in inches? I have 9-4.5 more or less. But I also have an 8″.
Laura, my response links to the exact pan that I used. The name of it is the USA 1 lb bread loaf pan, and it’s available on Amazon. Pan baking dimensions are 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75.
Can this be made in a standard bundt pan too? Reduce the baking time maybe?
No, it cannot. When testing this recipe multiple times in a bundt pan, it would not release cleanly. I have many other bundt cake recipes you can check out, though: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/category/cakes/bundt-cakes/
Hi Heather! I tried your Almond Pound Cake and I think I did something wrong. I live in Fort Collins so I didn’t make any adjustments to the recipe, but the cake is very dry unless it’s drowned in glaze. It also isn’t as tall as the one pictured with the recipe. It’s maybe 3 inches tall at the short edge (slightly taller in the middle but we haven’t cut that far in yet.) It tastes fantastic with the glaze but I don’t know why it’s so dry by itself. Any suggestions? Thank you!!
Sounds like something went wrong with your measurements, either too much flour or not enough liquid. When measuring your flour, be sure you’re doing it correctly by fluffing it up into the canister, spooning it into the measuring cups, then sweeping it off the top to level it. Never use your measuring cups to scoop the flour, which will pack too much in and result in dry, dense baked goods.
I followed the recipe as written and it was perfect. Such a bonus not to need the mixer- whisking as instructed worked just fine. Great almond flavor with the nuttiness of browned butter and a tender crumb. I toasted the sliced almonds, sprinkled them on the warm loaf and sifted powdered sugar after cooling. Thank you for this terrific recipe.