These mini brown sugar pound cakes are moist, velvety-soft, and they make a great homemade gift. Top with a sweet icing and festive decorations!

Mini brown sugar pound cake bundt on a white stand with white icing, white sprinkles, and a sprig of royal icing holly leaves & berries, with holiday greenery and a red checked napkin in the background.

This is a sponsored post, written by me and created in partnership with Domino® Sugar. All opinions expressed herein are straight from my heart.

Hey there!

We are really getting down to the wire now with Christmas prep! I can’t believe there are only a few days left to get ready! Do you have everything in order?

I’m never able to get it together to get all the things done ahead of time, but I think I’m in pretty good shape! I’ve got a lot done, but still just a few loose ends that need tying up.

Isn’t it funny how even when you think you’re in a really good place, there are always a few last-minute surprises? Recently, I was out shopping with a friend and she mentioned how we should probably get a little something for our kids’ violin teacher. I was like “Oh dang! I hadn’t even thought of that but yes!”

At times like these, I’m really glad I keep a fully stocked baking pantry. It’s amazing what you can whip up last minute with just a few simple basics!

Like these sweet little mini brown sugar pound cakes.

Mini Brown Sugar Pound Cakes: I made these as holiday gifts for my kids' teachers and they were a big hit! LOVED the caramel-y flavor from the brown sugar, and they're so moist and buttery! SPONSORED BY DOMINO @realdominosugar #food #desserts #cake #brownsugar #poundcake #bundt #minibundt #baking #recipes

Aren’t they just the cutest? And so yummy too. There’s nothing else quite like a pound cake. So moist, buttery, and velvety-soft! Imagine sitting down to one of these with a hot cup of goodness.

WHAT IS BROWN SUGAR POUND CAKE?

If you aren’t familiar with pound cake, boy are you in for a big treat!

Pound cake has a dense yet velvety-soft texture, and a buttery taste that practically melts in your mouth. It’s made without any chemical leaveners, so that first step of creaming the butter and sugar together is crucial to make it nice and fluffy.

This version sticks closely to the original, only it’s baked with brown sugar. Brown sugar gives this the most warm, deep flavor. It’s like pound cake taken to the next level!

You can learn lots more about pound cake here: Traditional Pound Cake Recipe.

HOW TO MAKE BROWN SUGAR POUND CAKE

Pound cake is perfect in its simplicity, and with recipes like this, it’s really all about the technique.

The absolute most important thing is to cream the butter and sugar until they are SUPER fluffy and pale. The mixture should double in volume and look very pale. Give it at least 5 full minutes on medium-high speed. This will ensure that your cake rises properly as it bakes.

Next, add the eggs, one at a time. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of your mixing bowl with a silicone spatula after each egg goes in, so you don’t get any lumps. Then stir in the vanilla.

Last step is to fold in the flour and salt. Take care to only mix until *just barely* combined. Once the flour goes in, you want to be really careful not to overwork the batter, or your cake could come out tough. (I like to use cake flour when I make pound cake. You can read more about that here: Why Use Cake Flour?.

Immediately transfer the batter to a well-greased pan, and get it right into a hot oven.

You’ll know your brown sugar pound cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted in the thickest part comes out clean.

Once it’s completely cooled, you can add your decoration. I’ve drizzled mine with a sweet rum glaze (it’s festive, and it brings out the caramel flavors), and sprinkled them with frosty sprinkles in different shapes and sizes. So wintry and perfect for the season! And a few holly sprigs, piped in royal icing, are the finishing touch!

Mini Brown Sugar Pound Cakes: I made these as holiday gifts for my kids' teachers and they were a big hit! LOVED the caramel-y flavor from the brown sugar, and they're so moist and buttery! SPONSORED BY DOMINO @realdominosugar #food #desserts #cake #brownsugar #poundcake #bundt #minibundt #baking #recipes

LIVE RECIPE DEMO

I’ll be demo-ing this recipe LIVE on my Facebook page at 11am (east coast time) tomorrow (December 22, 2017), so be sure to tune in and see just how they’re made, and how to package them up as a perfect little gift! See you then!

UPDATE: Here is the live video; hope you enjoy!

WHAT KIND OF SUGAR TO USE

I’ve been baking with Domino® Sugar ever since I can remember. It is THE sugar in the Philadelphia area, where I live. But if you’re not on the east coast, you might know it as C&H® Sugar. If they don’t sell Domino® Sugar in your area, look for C&H® Sugar, the sister brand of Domino® Sugar.

I used light brown sugar for the mini brown sugar pound cakes you see here. It has a slightly nutty, caramel flavor and it’s ideal for cakes like these.

But if you want more of a deep, rich molasses flavor, you could substitute for dark brown sugar (in equal measure). Either option will yield a magnificently moist result.

CAN THIS BE BAKED IN A DIFFERENT SIZED PAN?

For what you see here, I used a mini bundt pan with a 5-cup capacity. It’s the Nordic Ware Anniversary Bundtlette Pan. If you don’t have a mini bundt pan like this one, you can use any kind of pan with a 5-cup capacity. A loaf pan would be perfect!

Or, you can double the recipe and bake this brown sugar pound cake in a standard, 10-cup bundt pan.

Just keep in mind that different sized and shaped pans may require different bake times. You’ll know your brown sugar pound cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted in the thickest part comes out clean.

CAN THIS BE MADE AHEAD?

Brown sugar pound cake is a great make-ahead treat!

Pound cake keeps very well at room temperature for around 3 to 5 days. Just keep it tightly wrapped so it doesn’t become dry or stale.

You can prolong the shelf life by keeping it in the refrigerator. It should last a week to 10 days, chilled.

Or you can freeze it. Wrap it tightly, seal it in a zip-top bag, and keep it in the freezer for a couple of months. Thaw it in the fridge or at room temperature, and serve!

Mini brown sugar pound cake bundt on a white stand with white icing, white sprinkles, and a sprig of royal icing holly leaves & berries, with holiday greenery and a red checked napkin in the background.

I have lots more great homemade gift ideas like this one in the “Gift-able” section of my recipe index!

Here are a few of my favorites:

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Mini brown sugar pound cake bundt on a white stand with white icing, white sprinkles, and a sprig of royal icing holly leaves & berries, with holiday greenery and a red checked napkin in the background.
3.88 stars (8 ratings)

Mini Brown Sugar Pound Cakes

Servings: 6 servings
Prep Time: 55 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
These mini brown sugar pound cakes are moist, velvety-soft, and they make a great homemade gift. Top with a sweet icing and festive decorations!

Ingredients

For the cakes:

For the decorations:

Instructions
 

To make the cakes:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and generously mist a bundlette pan with non-stick spray.
  • In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes).
  • Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.
  • Scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the vanilla, mixing on medium speed until smooth.
  • Add the flour and salt, mixing on medium speed until just barely incorporated.
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the thickest part of a cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
  • Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To decorate:

  • Place the confectioners sugar, rum, and vanilla in a medium bowl and stir together until smooth.
  • Add more milk, if needed, to get the proper drizzling consistency. (If too much liquid is added and the icing is too thin, more confectioners sugar can be added to thicken it back up.)
  • Drizzle the icing over the cakes, and sprinkle with sugar pearls, white nonpariels, and sparkling sugar.
  • Pipe holly leaves with green royal icing, and berries with red royal icing.
  • Allow the decorations to fully dry, then package the cakes in cello bags with ribbon, greenery, and a gift tag.
Calories: 862kcal, Carbohydrates: 116g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 40g, Saturated Fat: 25g, Cholesterol: 183mg, Sodium: 440mg, Potassium: 146mg, Sugar: 92g, Vitamin A: 1300IU, Calcium: 74mg, Iron: 1.1mg
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
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