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 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!
This is the first time I made this. My husband came into the kitchen and said it smells so good, just like a bakery! Can’t wait for it to cool. I’ll be making smaller versions and giving them to friends and family. Susane
So glad to hear, Susane :) Thanks so much!
can i use buttermilk in place of sour cream?
Hi Kyla, I don’t know really, as I’ve never tested it. Yogurt probably would be a better substitution.
Can l make this in a tube pan by doubling the recipe? If so, how long does it take to bake it?
Thanks, Shirley
Hi Shirley, you probably can. You’ll have to figure out the volume of your tube pan vs. the volume of the loaf pan and increase the recipe accordingly. I’m sorry, but I have no idea how long it would take to bake, as I’ve never done it myself.
This pound cake is delicious! Really hits the spot when craving something with cinnamon in it. I’m enjoying a slice of it right now with some strong Vietnamese coffee. Took a little bit more effort than the usual cake loaf but it’s well worth the time. Thank you!
So glad you are enjoying it, Victoria :) Thanks so much!
I’ve made this recipe several times and every time it turns out AMAZING! (side note: I am atypically an awful baker).
I made it as a full loaf, as well as in 3 smaller tins (one recipe divided by 3). With the smaller tins, they took 35 minutes. I also added chopped walnuts to the top to give it an extra crunch. I would highly recommend.
When using full tins, I doubled the recipe and didn’t use the electric mixer but they still turned out great. I was surprised.
Otherwise, both times. I followed the recipe without any amendments.
I gave these as a gift to friends and family and everyone enjoyed them as a nice coffee cake.
So glad you are enjoying it, Kate! Thanks so much :)
Since we’ve been on lock down I’ve been baking twice a week. So happy I came across this recipe. Followed the directions exactly and it came out perfect. I only had fat free sour cream and it was still very nice. Can’t wait to try it with full fat sour cream to see how much better it can get. I’m definitely going to make this again but without the sugar on top.
So glad to hear, Chelsea :) Thanks!
About to make this! Just wondering if a glaze has ever been thought of and do you think one would work on this or if its not needed?
Hi Jamie, You’ve probably already finished it, but I feel like a glaze isn’t really needed, as the streusel on top is already quite sweet. That said, if you want to really dress it up for some reason, a drizzle of glaze would be pretty :)
Deliciously buttery and moist . Easy to follow recipe .
Happy to hear, Claudia :) Thanks so much!
Can it be made in 9 × 5 loaf tin? Can you please guide me on the baking time? Thank you
Hi! It could be made in a 9×5-inch pan. It will, of course, be wider and thinner. I don’t know about baking time, as I’ve never made it in that pan myself. I suspect it will be similar, but you’ll need to check regularly and test often :)
I tried this recipe exactly as listed with the exception of 15 more mins in the oven & it came out delicious !! Thank you for the recipe. Definitely will make this again soon !!
So happy to hear, Sara :) Thanks so much!
I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried making this into 6 mini-loaves? I want to make this for holiday presents, but want to use my mini loaf pan. Do you have any suggestions for baking time or recipe alteration? Thanks!
I haven’t made this as mini loaves. I’m not sure you’d get 6, unless your mini loaf pans are really small. I usually just start filling them (2/3 full or so) and see how far the batter goes. Baking time will be considerably less. You’d have to watch closely and test often :)
Thank you! I’ve just tried this out. The bake time is between 25-30 minutes (I tested at 15, 20, 25, and 30). 25 didn’t come out completely clean, but 30 seems to be a little over. Will try for 27 on the next bake. Also, the amount of batter this recipe makes is ~8 mini loaves.
One other question for you. I’m baking at altitude in Denver, CO. The cake seems a little dry. Would you recommend increasing the sour cream? Maybe by a Tbsp?
Thanks for letting me know how it worked out! Very helpful :) And yes, an extra Tablespoon of sour cream would probably be a good addition at altitude.
This is one of the best desserts I’ve ever made, and in the last 40 years or so, I’ve made a lot! It’s a perfect pound cake-not too heavy, not too light-just dense enough with an amazing crumble. I put a little less brown sugar topping because, although I have a wicked sweet tooth, I try to keep it light, and I used a little bit of whole wheat flour and Truvia instead of granulated refined sugar. Thanks so much, Jennifer! I’m hooked, and your vanilla and chocolate pound cake is in my oven right now, can’t wait! Next I’ll try your lemon glazed pound cake, although I’m hoping I can substitute it with a lime, as I have one at home right now and am looking for something to do with it…
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
This turned out really yummy, but mine just crumbled when I tried to take it out of the pan and again when I tried to cut it. Any suggestions?
Hi Mary-Anne, it’s hard to say where it went wrong. It’s usually a problem with technique (did you beat the full 3 minutes, for example?) or ingredients, either flour measuring or possibly using low or no-fat sour cream or using something other than butter?
Hi There,
I was wondering what the measurements for everything would be if this recipe was doubled? I’m just new to baking and I’m not sure how to safely do so. I made one and everyone in my house loved it and have asked for more so I thought about making two lol!
Thanks so much
Hi Tymara, As someone who has messed up doubling a recipe more times than I can count (by doubling some ingredients and forgetting to double others :), I highly recommend that you use the handy dandy feature on the recipe card in the blog post next to “Servings” (under the Total Time). You’ll see it now says “10”. Change that number to “20” to double the recipe and the ingredient amounts will automatically double for you! You’ll see .5 tsp in some cases, which is 1/2 tsp and for the sour cream, the .67 cup is 2/3 cup. Just remember when you are adding to your two pans, that you’ll be dividing the batter and topping between the two pans. Hope that helps :) Enjoy!
I made this today. And here is my honest feedback. I used a 9×5 loaf pan as that is standard and doubled the recipe. I also used a different crumble recipe as I wanted a traditional crumble topping. I weighed all my ingredients with a scale. I lined and sprayed my loaf pan. I used a kitchen aid mixer with paddle attachment to mix the batter. I allowed the 3 ingredients to come to room temp as directed. Flavor wise I’d give this 5/5 also the swirl was beautiful. In case anyone is wondering if you double the batter and fill a 9×5 loaf pan Make sure you overline the pan as it will rise above the edges and take 92 minutes to bake properly. I had 2 issues. 1 the middle of the loaf sank taking the crumble with it I read others had this issue as well as I read all comments before baking. I made sure to cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy double in size and properly incorporated the eggs both on medium speed. I didn’t over mix the flour. I think the loaf sunk because there was a bit to much batter for the pan or due to the weight of the crumble and the batter rising high taking the heavy crumble with it. If I bake this again I’d remove 1 cup batter for a 9×5 and shorten the bake time accordingly. I’d like to hear the authors opinion on why she thinks it sunk! I’m curious. After 45 minutes I tested the loaf every 5 minutes till a skewer came out clean it was a labor of love to get the middle to bake an hour 32 minutes is a long time but that’s on me wanting a huge loaf. The only other issue I had was I didn’t find the texture reminded me of pound cake. My white part of the batter was a little more yellow than her photos and the cake didn’t have as many air holes as hers. Not sure why?? Texture wise I found the cake heavy but chewy and bouncy..not dry but could have been a bit more moist. Only change I made was adding 2 tbsp more sour cream for moisture as another comment said. I just found the texture to be bouncy almost like bread not cake it had a chew to it and normally pound cake is dense heavy cakey at least that’s what I expect. This could have been my fault due to how much batter it had and needing a longer bake time. I’d like to hear the authors opinion on this or to know what should the texture be like? I’d give this a 4/5 but again any issues I had probably my doing. Will attempt again but probably buy the loaf pan she recommends which is 4×10. I also used an aluminum 9×5. Thank you for recipe any feedback is appreciated!
Hi Jackie and thanks for sharing your experience. A 9×5 loaf pan is only 25% larger than the recommended 8 1/2×4 1/2 inch loaf pan, so doubling and using 100% more batter is bound to create issues. This is almost certainly why your loaf sank as the loaf ran out of pan to rise against, but continued to try to rise, causing it to collapse inward. Overfilling a pan is one of the most common reasons why loaves sink. It is also why your loaf took 92 minutes to bake :) The weight of the loaf no doubt caused the texture issues you noted. If you’d like to use a 9×5 pan, consider scaling the recipe to only 125% or try it again in the smaller pan size.
Hi there thank you for replying your explanation makes perfect sense! How would I scale it to fit a 9×5? Again I totally own any issues being my fault thank you again
Hi Jackie and in order to scale it, ideally you would use a scale and the gram measurements for the main ingredients. So for example, for the butter 100% now is 113g, so 125% would be 141g (then you would weigh out the butter needed). The sugar would increase to 237g and the flour to 225g. All the other ingredients would increase by 1/4 (or 25%). It’s a bit of work (and math) to start, but once converted, it’s done for you for future bakes. Hope that helps.
This looks yummy!! Question, are you using granulated brown sugar or packed brown sugar?
Hi Robin and I’m using packed brown sugar here. I appreciate it’s getting confusing with more and more sugars available to use these days :) I will always use the term “brown sugar” to refer to the packed version or “turbinado” for the granulated. Hope that helps :)
Hi! I was wondering if this recipe would work in a slightly bigger pan…the only one I’ve got is 5×9.
Hi Connie, it will work, but will produce a shorter loaf. As it is shorter, it will probably bake more quickly, so you’ll want to watch it closely and test often :)
How many mini loaves would this recipe make?
How would I adjust the bake time and can I bake them all together?
Hi Mitzi, I can’t really say how many mini loaves you might get. That would totally depend on how big your mini loaf pans are. This recipe makes a standard 8×4-inch loaf, so you could probably google that with your exact mini loaf pan size. You should have no problem baking them all together. Baking time will be less, though again, can’t say exactly how much less.