“Old-fashioned 7-Up pound cake recipe made from scratch, the true southern way! Velvety soft, perfectly moist, and finished with a classic 7-up glaze!”

Watch Me Make This Old-Fashioned 7-Up Pound Cake From Start to Finish!

My grandma Barb’s homemade 7-Up pound cake is THE TRUTH. But mine…is better! *drops mic* Love you, grandma, but this 7-up pound cake is out of this world good! (No worries, she encourages a little friendly banter and competition now and then : )

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Classic, nostalgic Southern flavor, you grew up with
  • Velvety soft, buttery, and moist
  • Simple staple ingredients
  • Tested and perfected over many years
Old fashioned 7-Up Pound Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

  • All-purpose flour
  • salt
  • unsalted butter
  • butter-flavored shortening
  • granulated sugar
  • eggs
  • vanilla extract
  • lemon extract
  • lime extract (optional)
  • lemon zest
  • lime zest
  • 7-Up soda
  • heavy whipping cream

GLAZE

  • Powdered sugar
  • 7-Up
  • vanilla extract (optional)
  • lemon extract (optional)
  • lime extract (optional)
  • pinch of salt
Old fashioned 7-Up Pound Cake Recipe

Updated video and recipe card with clearer steps and improved texture tips.

7-Up Pound Cake Recipe

Get the Recipe:

Old-Fashioned 7 Up Pound Cake

4.50 from 431 ratings
OLD FASHIONED 7-UP POUND CAKE RECIPE MADE FROM SCRATCH THE SOUTHERN WAY! VELVETY SOFT, MOIST AND FINISHED OFF WITH A CLASSIC 7-UP  GLAZE!”
Servings: 10 people
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
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Ingredients 

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour sifted
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • ½ cup butter-flavored shortening
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1 teaspoon lime extract (optional)
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • 1 cup 7-Up soda (room temperature)
  • ¼ cup heavy whipping cream (room temperature)

7-UP GLAZE (see doubled recipe in notes)

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons 7-up
  • ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
  • ⅛ teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
  • ⅛ teaspoon lime extract (optional)
  • salt (generous pinch)

Garnish (optional)

  • lemon zest
  • lime zest

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325 F. Generously grease and lightly flour a 12-cup bundt pan. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk flour and salt and mix until combined. Set aside.
    3 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt
  • In a large bowl, cream together butter and shortening until combined and whipped.
    1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup butter-flavored shortening
  • Add sugar and set a timer for 3 minutes. Mix the sugar for 3 minutes on low/low-medium speed.
    3 cups granulated sugar
  • Mix in the eggs one at a time. Mix well after each egg.
    5 large eggs
  • Stir in the vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lime extract (if using)
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, 1 teaspoon lime extract
  • Fold in the lemon zest and lime zest.
    Zest of 1 lemon, Zest of 1 lime
  • Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, alternating with the 7-Up and heavy whipping cream, mixing until the batter is whipped and fluffy.
    ¼ cup heavy whipping cream, 1 cup 7-Up soda
  • Spoon batter evenly into the prepared pan.
  • Bake for 1 hour and 10-15 minutes (check on it after the 1 hour mark) or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  • Let the cake sit in the pan until the pan is warm to the touch (about 10 minutes)
  • Remove cake from the pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.
  • Make the glaze by stirring together all glaze ingredients, and drizzle with 7-Up glaze over the cooled cake.
    1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons 7-up, ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon lemon extract, ⅛ teaspoon lime extract, salt
  • Garnish with lemon and lime zest if desired.
    lemon zest, lime zest

Video

Notes

Double the glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons 7-Up, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract, 1/4 teaspoon lime extract, generous pinch of salt.
Cuisine: American, southern
Course: cake, Dessert, pound cake
Author: Monique Kilgore

Nutrition

Calories: 731kcal, Carbohydrates: 104g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 137mg, Sodium: 156mg, Potassium: 84mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 75g, Vitamin A: 774IU, Vitamin C: 0.04mg, Calcium: 29mg, Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @divascancook on Instagram or tag #divascancook.

Monique’s Recipe Testing Notes & Tips

  • Creaming the butter, shortening, and sugar for the full 3 minutes makes a huge difference in the finished cake crumb. Don’t shorten this step.
  • When incorporating the dry ingredients, do so just until the flour is well combined. Mixing too long will cause a dry, crumbly cake.
  • This cake’s flavor and texture get even better the next day!

FAQs

  1. Can I use all butter instead of shortening? Yes, you can. The texture will be a bit different, but it works.
  2. Can I use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour? Yes, you can, but I think all-purpose flour gives the best texture for this recipe.
  3. Is this cake good for special occasions? Yes, this is a classic 7-Up pound cake is perfect for special occasions or just because.

The Story

This 7-Up pound cake packs all the flavor of a good old-fashioned pound cake, but the texture is incredible, thanks to one of my favorite pound cake ingredients: heavy whipping cream.

I don’t think my grandmother has discovered the magic of heavy whipping cream in pound cakes yet. She made a 7-Up pound cake, a classic pound cake, and cream cheese pound cake ALL.THE.TIME. when I was growing up.

7-Up Pound Cake Recipe

Like, seriously, y’all, there really was a pound cake made every week! We ate it plain most of the time, but occasionally it was drizzled with a glaze, or we’d top it with fresh strawberries and Cool Whip.

This year was actually my first time making a homemade 7-Up pound cake. I don’t know what took me so long.

7-Up Pound Cake Recipe

The sweet, comforting, and familiar aroma filled my house with the scent of vanilla, sugar, and lemons all day! This classic pound cake is a true winner! It only gets better the next day!

If you’ve never experienced a true 7-Up pound cake, then let me be the first to introduce you to a cake that could easily become your favorite! My little Ethan couldn’t get enough!  It’s velvety soft, sweet, and bursting with a lemon-lime flavor.  Adding the soda really enhances this cake’s texture and flavor.

Don’t worry if you’re not a fan of 7-Up because I’m not either, yet this cake is still one of my favs!

Some say that you can replace the 7-Up with any kind of lemon-lime flavored soda, but to many (Southerners mainly), that is an abomination, and it MUST be made with 7-Up. Mehh, I’m not getting into that one.

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turned out for you in the comments! Did you stick with the classic version, or did you add a little extra something?