Vanilla pound cake, combines with a cinnamon swirl and a crunchy brown sugar and cinnamon topping for an easy and delicious cinnamon loaf.
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Cooler weather just cries out for cinnamon! This Cinnamon Swirl Pound Cake Loaf is sure to warm you up as the weather cools.
This loaf is a cinnamon lovers dream, that will fill you with all the warming Fall feelings. With it’s lovely swirl of cinnamon cake, combined with the vanilla pound cake and a crunchy brown sugar and cinnamon topping, you’ll never be tempted by the coffee shop version again!
Ingredient Notes
Sour Cream – full fat sour cream is recommended, for best results. Alternately, a full fat Greek-style yogurt would also work here.
Milk – again, whole milk (3.5% b.f.) will give you the best results, though 2% will also work, if that’s all you have on hand. I wouldn’t recommend a lower fat milk. I haven’t tested this recipe with non-dairy milk.
Butter – Salted butter is fine here. If you only have unsalted, you can a touch more salt.
You will also need – white sugar, eggs, vanilla, all purpose flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Recipe Video
Baking Tips
I used my tea loaf pan for this loaf. It’s pretty close in volume to a standard 8 x 4-inch loaf pan, but just slightly bigger, at 4 x 10 inches, so it produces a slightly narrower, longer loaf and shorter loaf. Of course, there is method to my madness with this choice of pan. The narrower, longer, shorter loaf means I can take a thicker slice, without actually eating any more than a thinner slice of a taller loaf (are you still with me here? :). And if you are a frequent loaf slice consumer, you know that the best part of those coffee shop loaves is the thick slices!
If you don’t have a tea loaf pan, the standard 8×4-inch will work just fine. The 8×4 loaf may take an extra few minutes in the oven.
When it comes to pound cake baking, starting with room temperature butter, eggs and sour cream is important, for best results. Simply remove them all from the fridge for 45-60 minutes before you start baking.
Measuring the flour is another area that can make or break your pound cake. Stir your flour first, the scoop or spoon it into your dry measuring cups, then level off with the back of a knife. The “scoop and level” method of measuring flour. It can make a huge difference in the finished result of your baking!
Top Tip
For best results, try your best not to over-bake this one. Even a few minutes of over-baking can result in a drier loaf. Test often towards the end of baking and remove when as soon as a tester inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
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Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Swirl Pound Cake Loaf
Ingredients
Loaf:
- 1/2 cup (113 g) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (190 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup (75 ml) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
Cinnamon Swirl:
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon milk
Topping:
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (not fan assisted) and grease an 8 x 4-inch or 4 x 10-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add 1/2 of the dry mixture to the butter mixture, then the sour cream, then the rest of the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.
- Remove 1 cup of the batter to a medium bowl. Add the cinnamon swirl ingredients to it - the brown sugar, cinnamon and milk and stir to combine.
- Spoon a thin layer of the plain batter into the bottom of your prepared loaf pan. Using a spoon, drop alternating spoonfuls of the plain and the cinnamon batter into the pan. Top with the remaining plain batter and smooth the top. Using a long skewer or knife, run through the batter in the pan a few times (either lengthwise or from side to side). Just about 3 lengthwise or 4-5 side to side should do it).
- Make topping by combining the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the loaf.
- Bake loaf in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean. (4x10 pan will cook more quickly, 55-60 minutes, while an 8x4 will take a bit longer, closer to 65 or a few minutes more).
- Allow loaf to cool in the pan about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the outside and remove to a cooling rack to cool.
Notes
More Pound Cake Loaves from the Seasons and Suppers Archives
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Anyone know about adjusting bake times for mini loaf pans? Or if that’s even possible? I am making a bunch of mini loaves for a bake sale. Thanks!
I doubled the recipe for my bundt pan, greased with bakers joy spray and put the cinnamon brown sugar topping in the pan before my batter. Cake came out perfectly!!!
Oh wow! That’s great to know :) Thanks so much, Jordan for coming back to share, as I’m sure others will find that helpful.
At the moment, my ingredients are setting out to come to room temperature.
Can’t wait!
The topping cinnamon measurement isn’t clear to me.
” 1/4 teaspoon (1) cinnamon”
Hi Corrine, yes, it is 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. The rogue “1” was somehow added by the unit converter. I have fixed (removed) it now.
Very easy to make and turned out great!
So glad to hear Donna :) Thanks so much!
This was delicious! Planning on making one to freeze and bring on an upcoming trip.
So pleased you enjoyed it, Liz. Thanks!
Cinnamon taste is my favorite. Came out good but need more practice on getting the swirls looking better. Will try again soon.
Glad you enjoyed it, Georgina :) Thanks!
If I do make this in a small bundt pan should I put the “topping” in the bottom of the bundt before the batter so it ends up on top of the cake after removed from the pan? Didn’t know if it would affect the texture.
Hi Mary and no, if opting to go the bundt pan route, I feel like you would have to forgo the topping altogether. I’m pretty sure it would just melt and weld the cake right into the pan. This is really best made as a loaf if you want the topping.
I forgot to add on my recent comment that I used cream cheese instead of sour cream just because I love it better than sour cream.
OMG 😋this cinnamon swirl pound cake is so amazing delicious thank you for sharing 🙏I will never will try find a recipe because this is what I been looking for a good cinnamon pound bread.
So glad to hear, Roxana :) Thanks!
This is my second time making it and I love this recipe!!! It’s super easy and delicious. All my colleagues love it. I substituted the sour cream for Greek yogurt.
So glad you are all enjoying it, Sofia :) Thanks so much!
If I double the recipe do you think it would fit a 12 cup bundt pan?
Hi Jordan, the math works, but I haven’t tried it myself. When you fill the pan, don’t fill too high. Allow some room for expansion even if you have to hold a little batter back.
Can I use a substitute for sour cream if yes what do you advise
Hi Dolly, I highly recommend sour cream, for best results. If you can’t use sour cream, the best substitute would be a full fat Greek-style yogurt I think.
Great recipe very happy with the results!
So glad to hear :) Thanks!
I’m not saying that I let a couple slices dry out in the oven (off, of course) overnight, then used it to make French toast…. but I did, it was gluttonous and it was fantastic. Thanks for the recipe!
Lol! I love it :) And you know I’ll try it next time I make this!