7up Cake Recipe (Homemade Pound Cake With 7-up Glaze)

7up Cake is a classic old-fashioned southern recipe that is buttery, moist, perfectly sweet with a tender crumb, and a simple 7up glaze. The 7up lemon lime soda gives the pound cake its light texture and subtle citrus flavor that makes it stand out from a traditional pound cake.

7up Pound Cake Recipe (7-up Bundt Cake)

A pound cake is a rich, dense, and buttery cake traditionally made with one pound each of four core ingredients; flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. This classic recipe yields a heavy, moist texture that is often flavored with vanilla, baked in a loaf pan or bundt pan, and served with a simple glaze. 

For this 7up version the lemon lime soda provides a subtle citrus flavor, and lightens up the cake with a lighter texture. 

How To Make 7 Up Cake (Printable Recipe Card)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-cup bundt pan with softened butter and a light layer of flour covering it. Set aside. 

7up Pound Cake : Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take at least 2-3 minutes to get it fluffy, cloud-like looking, and much paler in color. 

Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed throughout the process to make sure everything is getting incorporated and whipped well. 

Add in the vanilla extract and sea salt, and mix until combined. 

Alternate mixing in the flour and 7up until everything is well incorporated. This means add half of the flour and mix. Add half of the 7up and mix. Repeat this with the remaining halves, making sure to beat on low or medium-low speed between each addition, just until combined. 

Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth out the top. 

Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then turn the cake out onto a wire rack and cool completely. 

7up Glaze : Add the powdered sugar into a small bowl, and slowly whisk in the 7up until the mixture reaches your desired consistency. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake, cut into slices, and enjoy!

Pro Tips From The Test Kitchen

• Make sure you are using a 10-cup bundt pan for this recipe. It can be an intricate, styled designed bundt pan or a classic bundt pan. Sometimes instead of 10 cups, the bundt pan can also be labeled as 9.5 inches or 10 inches. So use a 10 cup bundt pan, or a bundt pan listed as 9.5 inches or 10 inches. I have linked two bundt pans that I love in the recipe card below. 
• Because pound cakes do not have any leavening agents – such as baking soda and baking powder – it is so important that you follow the recipe and spend several minutes (like 7-8 minutes) beating and whipping the ingredients. Beat the butter and sugar for at least 2-3 minutes to incorporate lots of air until it’s fluffy looking and pale in color. Then, make sure to beat well after each egg addition. The leavening happens by all the beating and whipping. 
• Because of all the beating needed; I highly recommend using the bowl of a stand mixer to prepare the cake batter. This will make it hands-off and much easier to beat everything as much as is needed for this pound cake. 
• If using salted butter you will need to reduce the sea salt to 1/4 teaspoon. 
• Any carbonated lemon-lime soda will work like generic store brand, 7up, or Sprite. I prefer 7up. 
• The best way to butter the bundt pan is to use your clean hands to spread it all over the inside surface of the bundt pan – including every curve, design, crevice, etc. So the more intricate designed ones you will obviously have to spend more time spreading the butter evenly. For the flour, toss about 2 tablespoons of flour into the buttered bundt pan, and then tip the bundt pan and move it around to coat the butter in the flour. Let any excess flour fall out of the bundt pan. Add more flour as needed to cover the entire surface of butter. 

Recipe FAQs

How Do I Serve 7UP Cake?

7up cake is perfect served as is with the simple glaze on top. This is how I always serve this cake when I make it. If you want to serve it alongside something, a great option is fresh fruit or fresh berries, and even a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream works well. 

Can I Intensify The Lemon/Lime Flavor?

To enhance the lemon and lime flavor, add 1/2 teaspoon of fresh zest from both a lemon and a lime to the pound cake batter. You could also incorporate the zest into the glaze depending on how much you want to boost those flavor. I prefer zest baked into the cake because it’s not as strong and bitter. Sometimes adding fresh zest to the top of a cake, can lead to a more bitter taste because of the citrus rind. Another option is to use fresh lemon juice instead of 7up in the glaze. 

How Do I Grease The Pan With Butter and Flour?

To grease the pan with butter and flour, use softened butter and spread it evenly (with clean hands is the easiest way) across every curve and surface inside your bundt pan. After that, sprinkle flour over the butter (like 2 tablespoons) and dust it all around the pan to cover the butter layer. If there is extra flour just let it fall out of the pan. This helps to form the crust and also makes it easier to release the cake from the pan after baking. If you have Baker’s Joy – which is a nonstick baking spray with flour in it, you could use that – but I prefer the butter and flour method. 

Can I Use A Designed or Shaped Bundt Pan, or Does It Need To Be Smooth?

You can use either option. Just make sure that whatever the design is, that you get the butter into all the bends and shapes of the design. It’s obviously easier to do with a smoother bundt pan or one with only several larger ridges, but any bundt pan can be used. 

Is There Another Kind of Pan I Can Use If I Don’t Have A Bundt Pan?

If you don’t have a bundt pan, you can also use two loaf pans to bake your cake. You will still butter and flour the loaf pans the same way. You will just end up with a loaf type cake instead of a bundt cake shape. 

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