Updated: February 2025 (added more tips to text, new photos, and small revisions on the recipe card)
My mother was a really good baker and Mother's Loaf Cake is one her best recipes (and easy, too). Five ingredients thrown into a mixing bowl, mix for about 2 minutes and pop it into the oven!
Most people would call this a pound cake, but it actually uses shortening instead of butter, so we call it a loaf cake.
It bakes up with a top crust that's wonderful and crunchy and irresistible. Besides that, the loaf cake itself is dense, moist and delicious.
For having so few ingredients, this cake is really very flavorful.
Watch the baking time, though. In a 9x5" loaf pan, it's perfectly done at 1 ½ hour. With a smaller pan, you have to really watch it and add some time or the middle won't get done. These photos are from a 9x5" pan.
You can use vanilla extract or lemon extract. I prefer lemon extract - to me it's perfect.
Mother's Loaf Cake is a comfort dessert at its best. Put a dollop of whipped cream and maybe some fresh berries on top for a special dessert. Or eat it plain - wonderfully richly, flavorfully plain!
Want another great pound cake? Although Mother's Loaf Cake is nostalgically my favorite, Ina Garten's Honey Vanilla Pound Cake is definitely worth a try too!

Mother's Loaf Cake
The best "pound cake" around. It's hard to stop eating this one.
Ingredients
- 2 C. sugar
- 2 C. all-purpose flour
- 1 C. shortening
- 6 eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp. lemon or vanilla flavoring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour a loaf pan.
- Pour all ingredients into mixer and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed (mixture will be fluffy, but thick).
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours (*see note) until cracked on top and firm. Toothpick inserted deeply into the top of the cake should come out with just a few crumbs.
- Let the pan sit on a rack for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges before you remove it. Let cool completely on the rack.
Notes
Tips and Stuff:
I use about 1 tsp. lemon flavoring and ½ tsp. vanilla for a great flavor combination.
It almost fills the loaf cake pan, but that's OK because it won't rise a terribly lot. I use a 9x5" pan, but if you increase baking time, you can use an 8x5" pan.
*Watch the pound cake after 1 hour - mine takes about an hour and fifteen minutes and our oven is spot-on perfect on temperatures. If you press lightly on the top of the cake and it wiggles around, leave it in and check every ten minutes or so. (I had a meeting and had Bret remove one after 1 hour while I was gone and ended up scooping out about one and a half cups of batter because it wasn't done...still tasted great though, was just a little hollow!)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 396Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 36mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 1gSugar: 34gProtein: 5g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
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