Looking for a dessert to impress your family and friends? This Cherry 7 Up Pound Cake is packed with flavor and is beautiful too!
Why This Recipe is Best
My good friend, Jocelyn, from the blog Grandbaby Cakes sent me her beautiful family photo album. Okay, I kid. It’s her gorgeous cookbook, aptly titled Grandbaby Cakes.
However, flipping through the pages I feel at times like I am snooping through her family history and secret family recipes!
Her recipes include stories and her stories include recipes. And there are plenty of family photos as well to draw you right in.
Jocelyn asked me to make one of her recipes, adding my own twist if I wanted. I was immediately drawn to her 7 Up Pound Cake.
My biggest change was I replaced the 7 Up with Cherry 7 Up and added in some maraschino cherries. Plus a heavier cherry glaze!
- The texture of this pound cake is perfectly moist and hearty
- The crust on the outside is just heavenly
- And that cherry flavor throughout is such a fun twist
And this is just one of many gorgeous recipes in her book. You should definitely go to Amazon and buy your own copy (it would make a GREAT gift for the holidays too).
Ingredient Notes
- Butter – I use unsalted butter in all of my baking so I can control the amount of salt in my recipes. Also, it’s important to let it soften on the counter.
- Eggs – I use 5 large eggs in this pound cake. They bind the dry and wet ingredients together so you get that dense, yet tender, old-fashioned pound cake texture.
- Cake Flour – Yes, it’s important. It creates the perfect texture and crumb when it comes to baking a cake.
- Cherry 7 Up – This replaces the baking soda in traditional pound cake recipes, adding pockets of air to your batter, along with a bit of citrus and cherry flavor.
- Maraschino Cherries – We are using the cherries in the cake batter, and also the juice from the jar in the glaze on top.
Easy Instructions
Step 1. Prep. Preheat oven to 315 and generously coat a large Bundt pan with cooking spray.
Step 2. Make batter. Beat the butter in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment for 2 minutes on high until pale in color. Add in sugar and salt and cream together for an additional 7 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mixture will be very pale yellow and fluffy.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Slowly add in flour and turn the mixer down to low to avoid over beating. Pour in the Cherry 7 Up and mix just until combined. Fold in the maraschino cherries.
Step 3. Bake and cool. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 75-85 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate and cool completely.
Step 4. Glaze. Put 1 cup of powdered sugar in each of 2 bowls. Add the maraschino cherry juice to one and the milk to the other bowl. Whisk each one until smooth. Pour the white glaze over the cake and then drizzle with the cherry glaze. Cut and serve!
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure you use a large bundt cake, or tube pan. This is a a very large pound cake, and it rises high, so make sure you’re not using a pan that is too small.
- Once you’ve added in your flour do NOT overbeat. I mix JUST until the flour is incorporated, then I use a spatula and mix gently without the electric mixer.
- Bake at a lower temperature for longer. You’ve got to trust this, but it works and it’s amazing. And after one bite of this cake, you’ll say, “that’s the best and most perfect pound cake ever!”
- Save the juice in your jar of maraschino cherries! It not only gives the glaze the pretty pink color, but also the great flavor!
Recipe FAQs
Cake flour is important for the texture in a pound cake, but you can make your own cake flour. Substitute 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour plus 1/3 cup cornstarch for 3 cups cake flour.
Yes! To freeze this cake, wrap your cake slices in parchment paper, then in a ziploc freezer bag. Remove from freezer and place at room temperature to thaw. Freezing slices allows you to only pull out exactly what you need (or crave)!
Be sure to beat butter and sugar at medium speed. Do NOT over beat the flour, add slowly and gently until combined.
More Cake Recipes
- Pina Colada Pound Cake
- Apple Pound Cake
- Lemon Crumb Coffee Cake
- Lemon Bundt Cake
- Cherry Margarita Pound Cake
Cherry 7 Up Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 large eggs
- 3 cups cake flour
- ½ cup Cherry 7 Up
- ½ cup maraschino cherries stems removed, patted dry
For the glaze:
- 2 cup powdered sugar divided
- 3 Tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 315 F. (yes, it’s a lower temperature than normal). Prepare a Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray, set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, attached to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, but the butter for 2 minutes on high until pale in color. Add in sugar and salt and cream together for an additional 7 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple times. Mixture will be very pale yellow and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Slowly add in flour, being careful not to over beat (turn the mixer down to low at this time). Pour in Cherry 7Up and mix just until combined. Fold in maraschino cherries.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 75-85 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then invert on serving plate. Cool completely before adding glaze.
- For the glaze, divide the powdered sugar in half by adding 1 cup to two bowls. To one bowl, add in cherry juice. Whisk until smooth. To the other bowl, add in milk, whisk until smooth.
- Pour the white glaze over the top of the cake first. Then drizzle with the cherry glaze. ENJOY.
Notes
- Once you’ve added in your flour do NOT overbeat. I mix JUST until the flour is incorporated, then I use a spatula and mix gently without the electric mixer.
- Bake at a lower temperature for longer. You’ve got to trust this, but it works and it’s amazing. And after one bite of this cake, you’ll say, “that’s the best and most perfect pound cake ever!”
- Save the juice in your jar of maraschino cherries! It not only gives the glaze the pretty pink color, but also the great flavor!
- To freeze this cake, wrap your cake slices in parchment paper, then in a ziploc freezer bag. Remove from freezer and place at room temperature to thaw. Freezing slices allows you to only pull out exactly what you need (or crave)!
Nutrition
This stunning Cherry 7Up Pound Cake recipe was originally published in September 2015 and has been updated in March 2018.
I don’t even have the cake out of the oven but if the finished product is half as beautiful as the batter it will be a winner. I followed the directions exactly but sifted my flour again. I used 4 turkey eggs and 1 regular egg and put a little flour on the cherries to hold them in the batter.. The batter is incredibly soft and light. It is a thing of beauty. It was so smooth but stood up in the bundt pan like meringue. I am really excited to see the cake in 1 hour 9. It is for my brother’s 74th birthday. I think he will be pleased!!!
I tried to bake this Cherry 7 Up Pound Cake twice, but they failed and I throw them away. I think preheat oven to 315 F. wasn’t worked out good. Disappointed me.
I love bringing this cake to cookouts :). Calling soda pop. You must be from Ohio too :P.
Cake looks delish, but can’t find cherry 7up in my area, what would you suggest?
Just use regular 7UP 🙂 Still delicious
Hi. Do you have a chocolate pound cake recipe using cake flour.
Stuck to the pan ????
Mine stuck to the pan, too. And then became a crumbly mess. I wonder if high elevation has anything to do with it?
This Bundt cake looks amazing and seems it taste amazing too. Definitely I have to make it. My question is why you use the wisk attachment to if the recipe requires butter? Is that makes a difference?
Thank you for the lovely recipe. I couldn’t even keep it overnight as it was finished off so fast by my children and my niece. Please let us have some more of your wonderful recipes. If will be deeply appreciated.
Great cake! But, OMG! 3 cups of sugar! Really, really too much !!! I used half and it was perfect!
Thank you and greetings from Italy
Made this cake for daughter’s birthday. Came out ok, but I believe it needs vanilla extract added to recipe to enhance flavor. But very pretty cake.
It says to add cream…….no cream mentioned in recipe????
Can all purpose flour be used instead of cake flour? This recipe sounds delicious!
Hi, may I know this recipe is for what size pan? Is it suitable for Nordic ware 10cups bundt pan?
I would go with the 12-cup size bundt pan, this has a lot of batter 🙂
Are the cherries not chopped (or at least halved ) before adding to the batter? The pictures don’t even show cherries inside of the cake. I don’t want to start making this before I know how to do it!
I added the cherries whole. It’s not very many of them, and since they sunk to the bottom they are all near the top of the cake (covered in icing). The cherry flavor comes more from the icing 🙂 ENJOY
Heads up 7 up!! This is just lovely!!
haha, I just totally pictured myself in second grade playing that game 🙂
Pound cake is always a good idea in this household! We are looking forward to trying one with cherry flavor. My favorite family recipe is the sweet pickles my aunt made from store-bought sour pickles.
Oooh, sweet pickles sound delicious 🙂
This looks absolutely delectable.
This looks amazing! I am going to try it gluten-free, as I am gluten-intolerant. Our favorite family recipe would have to be a tie between my GF chocolate fudge cupcakes w/ almond buttercream, and my GF pineapple-coconut carrot cake w/ cream cheese frosting.