Looking for a dessert to impress your family and friends? This Cherry 7 Up Pound Cake is packed with flavor and is beautiful too! This is THE BEST pound cake recipe you’ll make!
Readers love our cakes, and our cherry chip cupcakes are one of my personal favorites. Delicious frosting on a sweet chocolate cupcake!
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
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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.
This recipe looks wonderful, can not wait to try it. Favorite family recipe….hmmm…would have to say stuffed cabbage…or pierogi’s. My grammy could COOK! Miss her and her cooking 🙂
This cake looks so wonderful! Can not wait to try it! Favorite family recipe is stuffed cabbage…or pirogi’s. Grammy had some wonderful recipes…I miss her and her cooking 🙂
Our family favorite recipe is lasagna which was given to my mom by the neighbor 50 years ago.
I have a fruitcake recipe that mom had before I was born so it is from the 30s or 40s. It’s the only fruitcake I like.
I love pound cake & this looks like a winner! I think the grandkids are in for a treat this weekend 🙂 A favorite family recipe is probably my chili recipe, all my girls make it & love it.
Love this , can’t wait to make this.
I love pound cakes and cherries, so this is a win-win for me.
I think the Cookie Monster is a blood relative; cookies are a favorite food group, especially oatmeal. I think this pound cake is definitly going on the menu. It looks lovely, too.
This looks wonderful! I love the addition of the cherry. Can’t wait to try it!
What gorgeous shots!! I have tried “soda cakes” before but never in a pound cake. I just remember taking a bite of her pound cake back in December and it was AMAZING! So I am sure this one is at well!
amazing cake fro A to Z, I love the inside, the way you covered it with cream, the pieces of cherries on the top…every thing is perfect on the cake
This cake looks AMAZING! And if you say it’s the best pound cake you’ve ever eaten, then it’s clearly the best because you’ve made one or two cakes in your life 🙂 I love that you went with Cherry 7up too!
Every blogger I’ve seen who’s made Jocelyn’s recipes just looks awesome. Like EVERY cake is a cake I want to make!
What a gorgeous cake! Thank you for sharing. My favorite family recipe would have to be my great-grandmother’s Mississippi Mud.
fave family recipe: Fudge Pie… so easy I can do it (as long as I buy a pie crust LOL)…I don’t have a good history with pies.
I totally agree with you that we are surrounded by some of the best food bloggers that we get to call close friends! It’s awesome! And this pound cake? Holy cow! I love the cherry addition to it. I definitely want to try this one from Jocelyn’s book too!!!
Ok so this twist on the 7 up cake is EVERYTHING. I am so glad to be surrounded by talented friends like you every single day. And I adore this cake and now have to try it with this because you have inspired me!!!!! I love you hon. Thank you so much for being part of this!
My one and only family recipe is a tomato sauce based macaroni and cheese.
Dear Aimee, I feel the same way. I have made so many wonderful friends through blogging and it is wonderful to be able to visit with you all each day.
Like Taylor said, I too recently discovered how carbonated drinks make baking cakes easier and sometimes healthier! It’s a go-to trick of mine. This bundt looks moist and wonderful. I love Grandbaby Cakes…such a fabulous blog and cookbook. I admit my favorite family recipe is lasagna. It’s worth every bit of work and it brings back so many fond memories of being in the kitchen with my parents. xo, Catherine
Oh my goodness! This is gorgeous and it sounds so delicious!
I JUST discovered how magical adding carbonated beverages to cakes is! I bet this cake is so light and moist and I am loving that cherry flavor! Pinned!