Comparing Store Bought Pound Cake | Down the Baking Rabbit Hole Series
Pound cake is a great basic cake staple that works perfectly as a blank slate to eat on its own or with delicious toppings. Sometimes, though, you don’t have a lot of time to make a cake from scratch. It’s helpful to have a great store bought pound cake option to turn to when you want a quick dessert. That’s why I’m comparing store bought pound cake!
To figure out which store bought pound cake is the best one to spend your money on, I did a side-by-side analysis that examined 4 elements of each cake: appearance, textures, flavor, and cost. Below are all of the details and results of my experiment.
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Watch “Comparing Store Bought Pound Cake”
What Products Did I Compare?
- Sara Lee All Butter Pound Cake
- Entenmann’s All Butter Loaf Cake
- Betty Crocker Pound Cake Mix
- Pound cake from Brown Sugar Bakery in Chicago, IL
How I Tested the Store Bought Pound Cakes
To prepare each store bought cake, I followed the methods below:
- Sara Lee: I thawed the whole cake at room temperature.
- Entenmann’s: Simply removed it from the cardboard box and removed the wrapper.
- Betty Crocker: Baked the recipe according to the recipe on the box.
- Local Bakery: Removed the pound cake from the bakery box.
A visual analysis was used for the appearance and texture components. I also tasted each cake to report on the texture and flavor.
Cost was determined based on what I was charged on my receipt from the store.
Comparing Store Bought Pound Cake Results
Sara Lee:
Appearance
- No crack on the top of the pound cake, likely due to baking at a lower temperature. A crack is typically present on a pound cake.
- Has large air bubbles along the side of the cake where the crust came in contact with the foil pan. It’s not clear why these are present.
- The browning on the cake is even all the way around (i.e., along the bottom, sides, and top).
- The color is a dull brown.
- The cake is short in height. About half the height (at least) of normal pound cakes.
- Baked in an aluminum loaf pan.
Texture
- Very soft cake texture and a soft crust. Soft crust usually happens on a pound cake when it’s been sitting for an extended period of time. Since this cake is originally frozen and then thawed, it’s possible condensation during the thawing process contributes to the soft crust. This
- Easy to cut through.
- Interior texture is dense (typical of a pound cake) with very small and tight air bubbles.
- The cake is very moist, almost to the point of leaving an indent when gently pressed.
- Has a tender crumb.
- Leaves greasy residue on your fingers, but does not leave a greasy mouthfeel when eating the cake.
Flavor
- Strong vanilla flavor and the cake also tastes rich, presumably from the butter.
- Overall, this is a good tasting cake. As I note in the video, the flavor is surprising considering the way it looks.
Cost
- I purchased the pound cake for $4.49 from my local grocery store. I needed to wait approximately 1 hour for the cake to thaw before serving it.
Betty Crocker:
Appearance
- Has the characteristic crack down the middle of the cake. This is typical of a pound cake.
- Consistent and even browning around the cake (i.e., bottom, sides, and top).
- The color is a dull brown.
- Baked in a loaf pan.
Texture
- The cake crust is hard, which is indicative of a freshly baked pound cake. The crust will typically soften over time.
- Easy to cut through.
- Dense interior texture with mostly small air bubbles. This is typical of a pound cake. There are some larger air bubbles throughout.
- Has a tender crumb.
- Feels moist when touched with a finger but doesn’t leave grease on the fingers.
- The interior of the cake is dry when eaten.
- Has a firmer, typical pound cake texture.
- Provides textural contrast between the harder exterior crust and the softer interior.
Flavor
- Artificial vanilla flavor that is associated with box mixes.
- The cake tastes ok.
- This cake would benefit from macerated fruit.
Cost
- I purchased the pound cake for $3.99 from my local grocery store. It’s important to note that you also need to pay for additional ingredients like eggs, milk, and butter. This also required about an hour and a half to make, bake, and cool the pound cake before serving.
Entenmann’s:
Appearance
- Comes wrapped in a paper liner. When the liner is removed, the crust on the side of the cake is removed in patches. This results in an uneven appearance around the edge of the cake. In other words, some parts are golden brown, some parts are white.
- Dark golden brown color that is even along the top of the cake.
- Has the characteristic crack down the middle of the cake. This is typical of a pound cake.
- Baked in a loaf pan.
Texture
- Very soft texture that leaves indents when gently touched with a finger.
- The crust of the cake almost feels sticky when touched with a finger. Pound cake crust will typically soften over time. This cake is likely soft due to sitting on the shelf for extended epriods of time.
- Leaves a large amount of grease on your hands after handling the cake.
- Easy to slice through.
- Dense interior texture with small air bubbles. This is typical of a pound cake. There are some larger air bubbles throughout.
- Spongy texture that is similar to angel food cake. This is not typical of pound cake.
Flavor
- Has an artificial flavor.
- There is a subtle vanilla flavor, but it mostly has a neutral flavor.
- This would benefit from fruit or some other flavor addition.
- Additional note: This cake is labeled as an “All Butter Loaf Cake,” but it’s made with both butter and oil (aka NOT just butter).
Cost
- I purchased the pound cake for $5.79 from my local grocery store. It required almost no time at all to prepare and serve.
Local Bakery:
Appearance
- Golden brown color that is even across the entire cake (i.e., bottom, sides, and top)
- Baked in a circular bundt pan.
- When looking at the slice, there is a thicker ring of crust around the outside of the cake.
- The color of the interior is a little darker than all the others. This color is likely due to the ingredients that were added into the cake.
Texture
- Hard crust, which is indicative of a freshly baked pound cake. The crust will typically soften over time.
- Provides textural contrast between the harder exterior crust and the softer interior.
- Has a moist and tender crumb.
- Dense interior texture with small air bubbles. This is typical of a pound cake. There are some larger air bubbles throughout.
- Not greasy.
Flavor
- Tastes delicious.
- Has vanilla and (possibly) brown sugar notes.
- Some caramel flavor – possibly from the caramelized crust or from ingredients in the cake.
Cost
- I purchased the pound cake for approximately $37 from a local bakery. This required driving to and from the bakery, but the cake was ready to serve once arriving home.
Windy City Baker’s Ranking for Store Bought Pound Cake
Winner! – Local Bakery
This was the clear winner. The flavor and texture was far superior than all of the other products. The contrast between the crust and interior was perfect! While this was the most expensive option, I, personally, think this cake is definitely worth the money.
With all of the other products, you are getting artificial ingredients and preservatives that make the product shelf stable for a longer time. This not only affects the flavor, but it also affects the texture. When you buy a product from a bakery, you are likely getting a product that is free of most artificial flavors and preservatives (unless the bakery uses box mixes).
2nd Place – Betty Crocker
This one looked more like a homemade pound cake. The actual structure of it is more robust. When you put your fork in, it doesn’t just collapse due to how soft it is. While there were other cakes that I preferred the flavor of (e.g., Sara Lee and the local bakery), this is a cake that is made at home so the flavor can be “doctored.” For example you could add more vanilla, lemon zest, or chocolate chips to give it a little more flavor.
This is the best cost-conscious option especially since you can add additional mix-ins to make the flavor a little better.
3rd Place – Sara Lee
I liked the flavor of Sara Lee more than Entenmann’s and Betty Crocker, but I was not fond of it’s appearance or texture. A pound cake needs a dense crumb but it also shouldn’t dissolve in your mouth because it’s lacking in structure. I, personally, would not buy this cake again.
4th Place – Entenmann’s
While it looks like a pound cake, especially with the crack on top, the texture is too soft for what I would want in a pound cake. The flavor is a little more artificial when you can taste it. I, personally, would not buy this cake again.
Notes
All opinions and observations are my own. This post is not sponsored by any of the brands that I reviewed. It’s important to note that these are the opinions of a single person. It’s possible that my opinions will not match your opinions or the opinions of the general public. Feel free to leave a comment down below with your thoughts about what the best store bought pound cake should be.
Learn more about Sara Lee and Entenmann’s in my video on the History of Pound Cake
Check Out the Other Posts in this Pound Cake Series
- History of Pound Cake
- Making a Pound Cake from 1747
- Comparing Pound Cake Ingredients and Substitutions
- Making Chocolate Orange Pound Cake – Recipe Development
Want To Make Your Own Pound Cake From Scratch?
Watch “Comparing Store Bought Pound Cakes”
If you want to see the detailed video of me comparing the pound cakes, check out my video on Comparing Store Bought Pound Cakes.
