Why does this pound cake weigh 15 ounces and not a pound?

Pound cake label photo by Pat Z Anthony
@PatZAnthony (14749)
Charlotte, North Carolina
June 20, 2017 3:41pm CST
A pound cake should weigh a pound if it is advertised as a pound cake, shouldn't it? Maybe not! The original pound cake was named that because it contained one pound of each ingredient. Imagine the size of the cake pan that held that! An article shared on Wikipedia explain the details. Many here may already be well aware that a pound cake does not have to weight a pound. Do you make pound cakes?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_cake,
22 people like this
24 responses
• United States
20 Jun 17
First thing I thought of tho is that it should weigh a pound..why are they doing it at 15 ozs? Because most people will think they are getting one pound, though that is not why it is called pound cake lol
2 people like this
• United States
23 Jun 17
@PatZAnthony Either way, I love pound cake and would love a bit now.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
Yes @TiarasOceanView So, it can seem to some that this is not right, but it actually is just as it should be.
1 person likes this
• United States
20 Jun 17
Yes I do and I have never weighted one LOL! A pound isn't what it used to be!
2 people like this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
20 Jun 17
Nothing is @AbbyGreenhill
1 person likes this
• United States
20 Jun 17
@PatZAnthony that's life!.... Unfortunately.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (135365)
• India
21 Jun 17
Silly reason I say. Not just this you must see the reasons for so many other names
2 people like this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
Yes, there are silly reasons that many things have the names they have @allknowing
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
20 Jun 17
No I don't make them I buy them, Sarah Lee makes a very good one.
2 people like this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
Many people do buy pound cakes rather than make their own @BelleStarr
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217941)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Jun 17
I sure don't! I generally don't make sweets. But I eat them.
2 people like this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
That is the way it is with many people these days @TheHorse
@CRK109 (14556)
• United States
21 Jun 17
I've never made one myself but I do enjoy eating them!
2 people like this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
These would not be too hard to make @CRK109 Ours don't have animal products or wheat! Try doing that and making it delicious
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
21 Jun 17
So, a name can be misleading as that pound cake doesn't weigh a pound.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
Guessing many things that have labels are not what they seem @1hopefulman
1 person likes this
@Nawsheen (28643)
• Mauritius
21 Jun 17
I don't really make pound cakes. I buy them most of the times
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
It seems many people do just buy these not @Nawsheen
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (470823)
• Switzerland
21 Jun 17
It's weird, your link brought me on a "non existing" page on Wikipedia, but I searched and with the same link I get the right page. It's weird. We call the cake "quattro quarti" ("quatre-quarts" in French) it means four quarters. Because no matter the weight of the cake, you need the same quantity of the 4 ingredients you use.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
That is correct @LadyDuck No clue why some links don't work here, but I have had this happen too.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
22 Jun 17
I guess I never thought about it before but it's interesting to know about it. It does seem like we are shorted some when we buy a pound cake, expecting it to be a pound and it isn't.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
It is an interesting story @simone10
@bluesa (15022)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
22 Jun 17
@PatZAnthony , ah ha...I was one of those who thought a pound cake was supposed to weigh a pound. Meantime it was one pound of each ingredient, yikes!
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
Yeah, we would not have a cake pan large enough to bake that! Maybe they were dividing the batter into separate pans @bluesa
1 person likes this
@bluesa (15022)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
23 Jun 17
@PatZAnthony that might just be the case
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121503)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Jun 17
Since that pound cake only weighs 15 ounces, does that make it a low-fat pound cake? haha
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
No, but might have less servings in each cake @moffittjc
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121503)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Jun 17
@PatZAnthony I probably shouldn't admit this, but when I buy pound cake, I only get one serving out of it...
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
22 Jun 17
I haven't made one in years and never gave it a thought. lol
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
We would not have thought about it if someone had not questioned it while we were in a store @DianneN
@just4him (317004)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
21 Jun 17
I didn't know that. I just automatically assumed that it weighed a pound. Good to know.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
It is just a silly bit of trivia, isn't it @just4him
1 person likes this
@just4him (317004)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
23 Jun 17
@PatZAnthony Yes it is.
1 person likes this
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
20 Jun 17
Hmmm, now I understand thanks! I don't make them though but love eating of course.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
It seems many do enjoy eating these @salonga
1 person likes this
@Hate2Iron (15727)
• Canada
20 Jun 17
I would have thought that it should weigh a pound... I would love to know how they talk their way out of that one lol!
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
The details are in the article @Hate2Iron
@jstory07 (139366)
• Roseburg, Oregon
21 Jun 17
A pound cake is just the name of the cake. That does not mean it will weigh a pound does it.
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (50866)
• Canada
20 Jun 17
No, I don't make pound cakes, or even 15 oz cakes for that matter.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
Many of us don't bake these days @Juliaacv
1 person likes this
@hostessman (11871)
• Tucson, Arizona
20 Jun 17
i don't but my wife does a lot of baking
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
Many who bake already know the story of the pound cake @hostessman so she probably could tell you the same information shared here.
@pannyme (30)
• Shanghai, China
21 Jun 17
I thought a pound was 16 ounces,which is 15 ounces LOL!
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
23 Jun 17
It could confuse some @pannyme We thought it was just an interesting bit of information.