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!
I’ve made this three times in the last two weeks. We rented a cabin in TN and a local grocery had a boxed “loaf cake.” The kids loved it, so of course I wanted to make it from scratch. This is SOOO good. My oldest is going back to college tomorrow, so I had to make a loaf for him. Thank you for sharing!!!!
So glad you are all enjoying it, Lori :) Thanks so much!
I only have golden yellow sugar and dark brown sugar not light brown sugar, which one should I use in the recipe?
Hi Ariana, Golden Yellow sugar is the “light brown sugar”. Enjoy!
If I use unsalted butter how much salt in total should I put in the recipe?
Add another 1/4 tsp of salt to the batter if using unsalted butter (1/4 tsp for every 1/2 cup of butter is the general rule of thumb).
Is the brown sugar used in the recipe dark brown sugar or light brown sugar?
Hi Yasmin, unless specified. otherwise, “brown sugar” would be light brown sugar.
Really delicious cake. I made this when i was craving a cafe like pound cake but not a plain vanilla cake. I love pound cakes with swirls inside and with the kick of brown sugar and cinnamon in the swirls, we really enjoyed this cake with our morning coffee and as a dinner dessert. Have made it twice so far and is definitely going to be an addition to my pinned recipes. I am not a baker per se but I found this cake easy to make and very no-fuss.
So glad you are enjoying it, Cheryl :) One of my favourites! Thanks so much.
I love this recipe, but the 2 times I’ve made it my loaf just doesn’t rise properly, specially in the middle, any recommendations or idea why this is happening? Thanks for sharing such deliciousness!
Hi Zalma and glad you are enjoying it. If your loaves aren’t rising properly, it is perhaps a mixing method issue. This loaf needs a long, thorough creaming of the butter and sugar, but should be done just at medium speed (not high). You should beat the eggs in thoroughly as well. The mixing in of the dry ingredients though should be just until combined. You don’t want to over-mix after adding the dry ingredients. If you don’t think that is an issue, are you using any substitutions? What size/material is your loaf pan?
Made this recipe and easy instructions to follow. I whipped everything by hand instead of using an electric mixer so a lot more work for me but otherwise its a delicious recipe.
So glad to hear, Tanesha :) Thanks so much!
Hello Jennifer!
I made this recipe today, and everybody loved it including myself! I remember trying a cinnamon swirl cake back in California, and I’ve been craving it ever since. I’ve tried a few recipes but this one is definitely a winner! Thank you so much for sharing.
So glad you are all enjoying it :) Thanks so much!
Absolutely delicious cake and very easy to make. My family loved it!
So glad to hear, Elaine :) Thanks so much!
Greetings from Nova Scotia! I made 2 minor tweaks. Reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup+1/4 cup stevia with no ill effects. I also used the reverse creaming method – it’s the only way my loaf cakes don’t sink in the middle! The crumb is so fine and tender and the cake was absolutely scrumptious – thank you!
Hi Emjay! Glad you enjoyed it and good to know the stevia works here, too. Thanks!
HELP ! How do I store this bread?
I made it on Wednesday and want to eat it on Saturday. Please let me know 🤍
Hi Jazz, no worries. Wrap it really well and freeze. It should freeze nicely. Thaw and enjoy :)
This is my second time making a cinnamon bread and it was the most successful, I’m not sure if it’s because it includes sour cream in this recipe or I accidentally put too much cinnamon.
for the part that said 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, I miss read that and put 3 tablespoons of cinnamon instead. There’s never harm in too much cinnamon, so I proceeded to add 3 tablespoons of brown sugar as well. It was a pleasant accident and I recommend it!
So glad you enjoyed it and yes, there are definitely happy accidents in cooking :) Thanks!
This recipe is fabulous. I’ve made it many times, sometimes using buttermilk instead of sour cream, and it works either way. A truly delightful dessert in winter months.
So glad to hear, Lily and good to know buttermilk works just as well :) Thanks!
Hi,
Looks yummy!
Can you use lactose free sour cream?
Thanks!
Jill
Hi Jill, I haven’t tested it, but I feel like it should work just fine.
Thank you, I’ll give it a try!
It is simply amazing. I’ll give it 6 out of 5 😜 because 5/5 won’t do justice to this fabulous recipe. Do give it a try your family will certainly ask for more.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)