Champagne Pound Cake
Featuring champagne in the cake batter, this Champagne Pound Cake is a fun and festive dessert for New Year’s Eve!
New Year’s Eve is almost here! How are you planning on celebrating the big night this year? Are you a fancy night out on the town kinda person, or would you rather stay home? As much as I love going out, my wife and I always stay in on New Year’s Eve. I guess it’s kinda developed into a tradition for us. We stay in, make homemade pizza, and watch college football and the New Year’s Eve celebrations on tv.
That might sound kinda anti-climactic, but I’d much rather be in my warm house in comfy clothes than out fighting crowds and lines of people. (Plus, it’s much safer when you don’t have to drive anywhere on New Year’s Eve.) Don’t get me wrong. We love to head out for a night on the town…just not on New Year’s Eve. Instead, we make delicious food and drinks and hang out by the fireplace. But we always make a special dessert for New Year’s Eve, and this year it’s this Champagne Pound Cake!
I chose to bake this Champagne Pound Cake in smaller bundt pans for a different look. However, you could easily bake this cake in a regular bundt pan or even muffin tins for smaller cakes that would be perfect sweet treats to serve at a New Year’s Eve party.
This cake only calls for 1 cup of champagne, which means you’ll most certainly have champagne left over. As the baker, I think you’re entitled to sample the leftover champagne…you know, just to make sure it’s good and all! Here’s to the end of one great year and the start of an even better one!
Champagne Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1¼ cups unsalted butter softened
- 2½ cups sugar
- 5 eggs room temperature
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup champagne
For the Icing (Optional)
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk or heavy cream
- ½ Tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Using the paddle attachment in a countertop mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light in color and fluffy (~5 minutes on medium speed).
- Add eggs one at a time, and mix on low after each addition until fully incorporated.
- Add salt and flour 1 cup at a time, and mix on low after each addition until fully incorporated.
- Add champagne, and mix on low until a smooth batter forms (1-2 minutes).
- Pour batter into a greased tube or bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees for approximately 90-100 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. (Note: I used a smaller bundt pan, and it only took 45 minutes to bake, so keep an eye on the time depending on the size pan you use.)
- Meanwhile, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth. (Optional)
- Once cake is finished, allow it to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before removing from pan. Allow cake to cool fully before adding Icing on top. (Note: The Icing is optional. As you can see in the pictures, I chose to dust the top of the cakes lightly with powdered sugar rather than use Icing.)
These are so cute!! Will be perfect for New Year’s eve night. We always stay in too..a tradition of sort. Much safer to have your champagne indoors lol!
PS: I have that cake stand in white and I love it!! Now I have to hunt for it in black. Home Goods right?
Sounds like we have the same tradition on New Year’s Eve! (and after the craziness of Christmas and the whole season in general, I really look forward to that down time.) And yes, that cake stand did indeed come from Home Goods…I’ve never seen it in white, so now I’ll have to go on the hunt as well. I love Home Goods for props!!
We usually stay home for New Years as well. These cakes look so cute. I like how you made the even more festive by making them into smaller cakes. Happy New Years!
Thanks so much, Laura! I love making things mini-sized…then I can eat more. 🙂
What a great idea! I just recently rediscovered my mini Bundts and can’t wait to put the to good use. We don’t go out for NYE either. We’d much rather stay in and cook and make cocktails.
Thanks, Jennifer! I am a huge fan of this pound cake. It was like my standard vanilla pound cake with just a hint of champagne…but enough to be noticeable. Very festive! Hope you have a great New Year’s Eve!!
I’m with you – I’d much rather stay at home with family on NYE than risk being out. Now I have been out before to bars on NYC, so it’s not like I don’t know what I’m missing 😉 I love champagne, so I’d love this pound cake even more. Happy New Year, David!
Thanks for stopping by, Carla! And I hope you have a great (and low-key) New Year’s Eve!!
How many little cakes does this make? I plan on making for New Years! Thank you for sharing.
Lisa
Hey Lisa! The number of cakes will depend on the size of your pan. The recipe will make 1 large bundt cake, but I used a mini-bundt pan that had 4 medium bundt shapes in the pan. I was able to get 4 medium cakes from the batter. If you chose to go with muffin tins, then you should get probably 18-24 mini-cakes. Sorry there isn’t one easy answer…it all depends on the size of your pan! No matter the size, I hope you enjoy these fun little treats!! Happy New Year!
Thank you for the quick response….I will double or triple the recipe. I have the mini bundt pan that my grandmother passed down to me…so excited to be able to use them.
Awesome! I hope you enjoy them…and worst case scenario is you’ll have a few extras. (Not that that’s a problem!)
One more question…how full do you fill the pans? Just curious, don’t want overfill…lol
My pan makes 6 small bundt cakes. I was able to make 16 cakes, with one batch.
Hey Lisa! Sorry I didn’t see your first message about the amount in the pan, but it sounds like everything worked out. Let me know what you think once you eat one!!
I love these beautiful pound cakes! Pound cake is a favorite of mine and Champagne happens to be one of my favorite drinks…can you tell where I’m going with this? I’m pinning this now to make tomorrow! I can’t wait! We do the same…stay in and make an awesome dinner. Nothing better. Happy New Year to you! So nice to have found your lovely blog!
I think I see exactly where you’re going with this, Caroline! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great New Year’s Eve!!
Whew, I am so behind on blog reading. I just took a quick scan of your posts, and now want one of everything please. My friend would go crazy for this cake, she adores Champagne:-) I plan on enjoying some wine, and just relaxing at home for NYE:-) BUT I am thinking, I wish I had one of these cakes to go with my relaxing celebration! Gorgeous, Take care, Terra
Hey Terra! I’m all about some a glass of wine (and maybe some champagne closer to midnight). Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great New Year’s Eve!!
What a beautiful pound cake! Champagne? Yes please! *SWOON* and pinned! 😀 Happy Friday David!
Thanks so much for all the visits, Anne! And yes, anything with champagne earns an A+ in my book! Happy Friday back at ya!
Hi David!
I just want to know if champagne should be room temperature? Thanks!!
Hey Melba! Great question. I used chilled champagne, and it worked out just fine! (and that way I was able to drink the extra champagne, too) Enjoy!!
Is this recipe complete.?
No baking powder?
Hey Catalina…this recipe is indeed complete. It doesn’t need any baking powder. I hope you enjoy!
Hello! Just wondering, have you tried this with a wine substitution? If yes, how did it turn out?
Hey there! I have not tried this pound cake using wine, but I suspect that it wouldn’t work too well. The carbonation in the champagne actually serves as a leavener here helping the pound cake rise. Now you could use a sparkling wine if you wanted…but then you’re getting back close to the idea of champagne again. Sorry I can’t be of more help! But if you do try it with wine, let me know how it turns out? Thanks!!
Happy New Year Eve David.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I made it as written but baked it in a standard 10 size Bundt Pan. It took only 75 minutes to bake. I made the cake to take to work but I did have to take a slice out to sample it. My husband and I both love the cake and I will be making this cake again very soon. I did not frost it. I just sprinkled powder sugar on it.This is now one of our favorite recipes.
Hey Cynthia! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know how the cake turned out. I’ve always made this one in mini-form, but I really don’t know why. Maybe because it’s New Year’s Eve so it feels like snacking? 🙂 I’ll have to try it in the larger form next time! I’m really glad you enjoyed this cake!! Thanks again for your comment, and Happy New Year to you and your husband!