Jeanne Robertson’s 7-Up Pound Cake
I had this great psychology professor my first quarter of community college who used to talk about how his grandmother had worried about him going to college. “Don’t you get to being one of those educated fools now” she’d say, her only experience with educated folks being that of them looking down on her or seeing them without any common sense at all.
It is a theory held by some folks that you can educate yourself to an extent that you lose all common sense. While I’ve known folks who could fit that mold but I don’t think its so much the extensive education as it is the detachment from your roots that causes you to lose sight of what life is like on the other side of the tracks. Still, I think it takes all kinds of folks to make the world go round and maybe some of us need to be a little detached to be able to do the hard math ~winks~.
Some of the most educated folks I know are as down home and unpretentious as they can be. “Just plain old thangs” as folks would call them, meant as a compliment when referring to someone who was generally highly regarded but didn’t put themselves up on a pedestal or treat anyone as if they were better than them. “She’s got a PHD and all but she’s still just a plain old thang”. That’s about the loftiest praise and were I to ever achieve anything to that extent its what I hope folks would say about me.
This is a wonderful comedian called Jeanne Robertson and today I’m bringing you her talk about why you shouldn’t send a man to the grocery store, a story about her husband, a man who, in her own words ” has over educated himself”. I have seen this countless times and yet I still go back to watch it again every now and then. She got me curious about the cake she talks about in this routine so I mosied over and found it on her website. The tutorial follows.
Lawd, I love this woman.
Now, when you are done laughing and have finished calling your Mama, your neighbor, and a few of your closest friends to tell them about this video, you’ll probably get to thinking about the pound cake she talks about in the video…read on 
You’ll need: Flour, Sugar, Shortening, Butter or margarine, 7-up (or generic “Twist Up” like I’m using), eggs, vanilla, and a bit of lemon flavoring.
Here is a bit closer shot of the flavorings.
I usually use the cheap vanilla but if you swear by the real stuff or homemade or whatever, knock yourself out and I’ll still be happy.
You just need a little bit of the lemon lime coke so you can get one of these cute little baby cans if you like.
Place your sugar, shortening, and butter in a mixing bowl.
Mix that up until well blended.
Add your lemon extract or flavoring or whatever it is you found in your pantry or went out and bought.
Cooking isn’t rocket science. If it were, we’d all be a lot skinnier.
Add in your vanilla.
and all of your eggs.
Mix that up really well
Add in your flour.
and your 7-up-ish type beverage.
Mix all of that up.
Then you’re going to pour that into a greased and floured bundt pan.
Bake at 300 for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
After it has baked let sit in pan for ten minutes and then turn out.
Goodness, can you smell that?
Now we need to make our glaze. Place your confectioner’s sugar in a bowl. Add a wee bit of lemon flavoring.
And a wee bit of milk. Stir that up until it looks kind of like school glue. Don’t worry, it won’t taste like glue If it is a bit thin, just add more confectioner’s sugar. I always end up making mine too thin to begin with and have to add more.
If you end up with any bad spots because you had a friend who was about to leave and you needed to turn it out sooner so you could send some with her, don’t worry about it. We’re here to eat our food, not build a shrine to it.
Enjoy your cake!
Now for more fun, click here to watch Jeanne’s video on why you shouldn’t go rafting with a Baptist. You can visit Jeanne’s website by clicking here.
Jeanne Robertson’s 7-Up Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter or margarine
- 1?2 cup shortening
- 3 cups sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract*
- 5 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 7 fluid ounces 7-Up (Can use diet)
- 1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar (glaze)
- 2 tablespoons milk (glaze)
- 1/4 tsp lemon extract (glaze)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat until it is fluffy and well mixed. Add in lemon extract and vanilla flavoring. Add in all of the eggs and beat again until blended in. Add in all of your flour and then seven up. Mix until smooth and creamy. Pour into greased and floured tube pan (Jeanne just uses Baker's Joy to spray on her pan to make this easier). Bake at 300 for one hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Jeanne says to let it sit for thirty minutes before turning out. I let mine sit for ten because that is just what I'm used to but I'll give thirty a try next time!
- Combine all glaze ingredients and stir until smooth. Add more milk if too thick, more confectioner's sugar if too thin. Pour over cooled cake.
- *Y'all saw how I do this in my Peanut butter pie tutorial. I just give a pour and leave it to God decide how much vanilla goes in there!
- **I added the glaze but the original recipe didn't have it on there. If you make these to freeze, don't glaze them first, wait til you thaw 'em!
Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter or margarine
- 1?2 cup shortening
- 3 cups sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract*
- 5 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 7 fluid ounces 7-Up (Can use diet)
- 1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar (glaze)
- 2 tablespoons milk (glaze)
- 1/4 tsp lemon extract (glaze)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat until it is fluffy and well mixed. Add in lemon extract and vanilla flavoring. Add in all of the eggs and beat again until blended in. Add in all of your flour and then seven up. Mix until smooth and creamy. Pour into greased and floured tube pan (Jeanne just uses Baker's Joy to spray on her pan to make this easier). Bake at 300 for one hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Jeanne says to let it sit for thirty minutes before turning out. I let mine sit for ten because that is just what I'm used to but I'll give thirty a try next time!
- Combine all glaze ingredients and stir until smooth. Add more milk if too thick, more confectioner's sugar if too thin. Pour over cooled cake.
- *Y'all saw how I do this in my Peanut butter pie tutorial. I just give a pour and leave it to God decide how much vanilla goes in there!
- **I added the glaze but the original recipe didn't have it on there. If you make these to freeze, don't glaze them first, wait til you thaw 'em!
Print This Recipe
A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble in the road.
~Henry Beecher
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Posted by Christy Jordan
on Aug 26 2010. Filed under Cake, Dessert.
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Looks so good. Fresh fruit on top YUM YUM. not to gross anyone out but one of my favorite memories of my great-grandfather was he would take a big piece of cake like this and put it right in the middle of his fresh peas and let it soak up the juice. Thank you so much for sharing this cake – can’t wait to try it.
I think thats a sweet memory myself, not that I’d be first in line to try it! My grandparents always did odd things with food, too!
I miss your great grandfather just reading this, and I didnt even know him!
My mother would put pinto beans over chocolate cake! And they wondered why thier kids did strange things??
That is not gross. Don’t know which I’d rather have…cake or a big ol piece of cornbread full of veggie likker. (Awww, who am I kiddin’, you know I’m gonna take the sugar)
This is one of our favorite cakes ever! Thank you so much for always sharing such wonderful stories and great recipes
Oh Jett, thank YoU for sitting through them and leaving such sweet comments!
That Twist Up looks just like 7 Up!
Tastes just like it, too, if ya ask me! lol
Although my cakes turn out good and soft inside sometimes they bake a little crunchy on the outside. They don’t have that nice spongy look yours has I don’t know why. It’s a bit disappointing. I follow all recipes exactly. I’ll even turn down the heat.
There are always such great facebook comments! I like to post them here when I get the chance!
Facebook Chat About This Post:
Mandy- I LOVE her!
Leyla – I love her too!! This is my favorite bit of hers!!! Just hilarious!
Casie – that is laugh out loud funny! Thanks for sharing!
Linda – Love it! hahaha
Lisa – oh my, she’s hysterical!!!! LOVE IT! Will try the cake thanks!!!
Jeanette -It is so true tho! My hubby needs a diagram of everything he’s supposed to buy if he’s sent to the store! UGH – use a little common sense there daddy
Janet – I needed this laugh.. thank you for posting it!!
Christy,
Thank you sooo much for sharing this recipe!! I love, love, love Jeanne Robertson and listen to her on Blue Coller all the time! I will be making this very soon. Oh and the doggie biscuits, gotta make them too!!
Jeanne Robertson cracks me up ….. and obviously loves her husband, but “digs in to” him with only the finest of intentions! I’m sure her cake is wonderful to “dig into” as well!!
Can you use lemon juice or do you have to buy extract? If you can use lemon juice, how much should you use? Thanks!!
Jeanne has some other really hilarious routines on you tube. I just have to love her. You know Christy-you are going to throw some of us northerners who drink “pop” for a loop as you said lemon/lime coke in your tutorial. I know what you mean from your previous posts on the subject , but I had a vision of many lookin ghigh and low for lemon/lime Coca Cola. I hope you didn’t send them snipe hunting!!! Your cake is pretty. I am glad your glaze is more than a drizzle.
Thank you for the laugh, I have seen a couple of her videos but not the rafting one. 7-Up cake has been around a while and we love it. Try some of it instead of milk in the glaze. And I never ever have a bundt cake come out without at least a little piece missing…it’s my signature.
Eve such a good question I was wondering the same thing I don’t have lemon extract and don’t think I have ever used it before.
Christy surely you got some way around buying special ingredients for a recipe and making do with what you got.
I think lemon zest is a better substitute than lemon juice.
OH CHRISTY, CHRISTY, CHRISTY!!!!!!! Let me wring out the corner of my apron! Just viewed the video and was clappibg and laughing so hard I was shedding tears of hysterical delight!!! My brother had to come and check on me… Cackled so hard-I’m SURE I’ve got plenty of eggs to make the cake,too! Thanks for such a great post!!!!!!!!!!! Now pardon me…gotta play that again!
My mom used to make this cake, but I haven’t had one in ages. Thanks for posting…it is now on my list for next week!
Loved the clip! It provided a much needed laugh this morning. Thanks!!
Jeanne is a personal friend of mine, having graduated from Auburn, as well as living in my community. She’s a trip! Anxious to try her cake.
Cake looks delicious, but I LOVE the milk glass platter. Reminds me of a banana boat my mom had… I keep looking on eBay for one like it
Christy, Great post! I loved the video. I can totally relate! I actually had to go to Kroger and write the order of the items in the store – just in case I need to send my hubby. I have to have things ordered, labeled, amounts… or else I end up with a bunch of surprises! Have a fantastic day! Tracie
PS. My Hannah started Kindergarten this past week. She has been sporting a bunch of new bows! All thanks to your idea! As well – she is digging her pink napkins in her lunch!
I’ve baked 7-up cakes for years from a recipe handed down from my Mama. Her recipe does not call for the lemon extract or any kind of glaze and it remains a crowd favorite. Although the original recipe calls for 7-up, I have found that Sierra Mist gives it more flavor. Wonderful as a plain pound cake or served as strawberry shortcake! Sure to be a hit!
Oh now that’s a great idea! Useing it as a strawberry short cake! yum yum!
Oh Christy, that cake looks so moist! And I just looooooove that cake plate! Too cute!
Thank you so much for sharing. That little video just made my day!
I so love that woman, she is a hoot! I listen to her on my car radio in the afternoon when I’m waiting on my dd to get out of school. I may just have to try that pound cake I always make sour cream pound cakes.
Oh this is so funny. She is great!
The recipe looks really good. Where do you find such wonderful things to share with us? Thank you so much!
By the way, thank you so much for the signature plate for my cookbook. What a wonderful idea. Now I am even more excited to get my book!
You are such a precious treasure. I don’t want to miss any of your posts!
If I send my “left brain” to the grocery, I wonder what they’ll do when he asks for “lemon lime coke”? You are too Southern for words!
Be sure to check out the video on bungee jumping in Canada (after you’ve recovered from laughing at the one posted here).
Loved her! Went to Utube and listened to all of them! Community service! LOL!
Christy -
Absolutely great cake. I have even made it with Diet Dr Pepper (without the lemon extract). Just wanted to comment on the gorgeous copper measuring spoon that you used with the extracts. Love it!! Any hints on where I can find one? Thanks for always raising our spirits, with words, funny clips and good recipes.
This cake is also great made with orange crush and orange extract. It is always a favorite during the holidays at our house. A little grated orange zest in the glaze is delicious. I have made the 7-up cake and we always like it as well.
Christy,
I see you use a bundt pan vs. a pound cake pan, why is that? I have been looking for the old fashion pound cake pans forever the ones that look like an angel food cake pan that doesn’t come apart. Do you know if they still make them? I have one my mom found me last summer at an antique aution in North Dakota while she was up there but it is OLD, came with a pin hole that foil fixes and won’t last forever. I treat it with great care. I have my husband’s grandmother’s pound cake recipe that has the crunchy top and I want to keep making it but it doesn’t turn out in any other pan if it isn’t the poundcake one I am talking about. Do you have any advice or info that may help me?
Hi Melissa -
You might try Williams-Sonoma.com or if you have a Williams-Sonoma store near you – they carry just about any kind of pan you need, or could probably order for you. The Wilton Company may also have them.
Christy will probably know of others, but those are two options that come to mind. Happy Baking!!
Judy
Thanks! I tried Williams-Somona already. I look for them whenever I travel. Wilton only makes the angel food pans. One of the local specialty shops here has been searching for them also. The owner has a list of 15 people looking for them. LOL! I have been hitting estate sales and all. I want a ‘NEW” one per say. I will continue the hunt.
That was so funny!!!!!!! I love the 7-pound cakes, I had an employee at work request that cake all the time!
Just last week, I sent my hubby to the store with a simple, written out, note and he came back with odd items…..LOL and I needed a few things this week and he started to say he could pick them up and I stopped him and said, don’t even go there, I’ll go myself!!!!! This video hit the spot with me and I’m still laughing!!!!! Thank you for sharing!
Christy, I too love Jeanne Robertson, she is so funny. She is what we all need at the end of a long day. Can’t wait to try this cake. Have a happy
hi
i see your website , your work is very good and mostly i like this video nice video
u web is good looking Best of luck
thanks for Sharing
I love how you called it “lemon lime coke”. Everythings a coke…down here.
Hi Christy!
Last week on my blog I poted Jeanne’s vidoe. I had several people ask about the recipe. So, I hope you don’t mind, I just made a little post sending folks over here for the recipe.
wow, I really need to proof read my comments before entering them! LOL
Christy – - I just watched your Author Video and it was FANTASTIC!!!! You described everything we love about you and Southern Plate. Great job girlie.
{grin and wink}
Just watched this video, and LOVED it!! Thank you for my first big hearty laugh to start my day! I love to bake, and plan to do my OWN grocery shopping today, so I would love to try this recipe!.. Have a great weekend! ~tina
I had heard Jeanne’s story before and wondered about 7-up cake. I was excited to see the recipe. Baked one yesterday and everyone loved it! Will become a favorite around here. Just north of the Mason-Dixon line. Thanks!!
Baking one hour at 300 deg. isn’t long enough. I have pound cake recipes which range from baking at 325 for 80 to 90 minutes to baking at 350 deg. for 70 minutes. I felt the temp and time were insufficient, and the proof is sitting in my oven right now – underdone. I’m continuing to bake it, probably for another 20 at least (will test with a toothpick at that time).
Made this for the Hubbys birthday this morning and it smells heavenly!!!!
I’m going to be looking to see if I have everything for this recipe and make it this weekend.
And I LOVED LOVED LOVED the video clip – I’m going to have to send that one around to some “transplanted” northerners – I’m betting they will understand it perfectly
Thanks for sharing
Did anyone else have problems with the cooking temperature/time? I would like to make this but my first bundt pan cake experience ended in disaster. By disaster I mean half of the uncooked cake came plopping out all over the counter when I turned it. Any advice would be very much appreciated!
p.s. note to Christy- I have tried your crockpot chicken and dressing and corn casserole so far and both came out excellent- I’m new here but love your site and can’t wait to get the cookbook. Thank you!
Hey Laura!
I always go by testing to see if a cake is done. First of all, I see if the top center has risen. If it has, I stick a toothpick in the center. If the toothpick comes out clean, I know the cake is done. If it doesn’t, I bake for ten minutes more and check then. I hope this helps!!!
Oh wow, you just named two of my favorites, I gotta make them soon! Thank you!
Gratefully,
Christy
I made this tonight, baked it one hour and ten minutes and it came out great! Definitely something I will make next time I have company. Thank you again.
Christy, I couldn’t sleep so decided to bake this cake at 2 am! I made it just like you said, let it sit in the pan for 30 minutes exactly, then unpanned it (what is the right term?) onto my cake plate. A little bit of it stuck to the pan just like yours, but no matter. It’s the best bundt cake I’ve ever made! My husband and I both had big pieces of hot cake just now. I didn’t even get as far as putting the glaze on it. It’s so tender and moist and the lemon flavor is great. I’m curious about how it will be after it cools completely! There is only one cake we regularly buy from the store, and it’s a lemon bundt cake that we always seem to walk out of Safeway with. We only go to Safeway once every couple of months but always end up with one of the lemon cakes. This cake tastes like it! Yummy! Also, we loved Jeanne’s video and have watched several others. She reminds me of my elementary school principal, who was another very classy, very tall and skinny, very friendly and funny Southern lady.
LOOOOOOOOOVE THIS CAKE!!!
I wanted to say that I recently made this cake for a party and the cake was so delicious that some of my family members were arguing over who should get the last slice. Now I have multiple requests for the cake. I have one in the oven right now! This cake is so good that my fiance won’t even share a slice with the kids!!
I made this cake 6 days ago and there’s only a little left. Those last 2 pieces still taste good! That’s my idea of a good cake! There are only 2 of us so desserts that last a while are great
I made the glaze too and it was the first glaze I’ve actually really liked. I dislike the flavor of powdered sugar and the lemon covered it up. Also Christy’s advice that the glaze should be like school glue was immensely helpful, turns out I’ve been making my glazes too thick! This time the glaze looked pretty and didn’t drip down the sides of the cake and make a pool 
As a wedding gift we received one of those books to write down favorite recipes in and this is the first one that’s goin’ in.
Christy, I LOVE your recipes and I plan to attempt making this cake. Can you do a fellow southern belle a favor and include a pic of a cut slice of the cakes that you post? I’d like to see how the cake will look when it’s cut into.
I normally do in all of my posts (hope you get to read more of them!). It all depends on whether or not the slice of cake is in the mood to have it’s photo taken. This particular cake was very camera shy so I had to just take a photo of the cake with a slice missing
Cakes are fickle that way!
Gratefully,
Christy
You can also use the lemon/lime drink when making pie crust. Just substitute for the water. It works best if the drink is really cold. Makes a good tender crust.
Thanks for sharing the recipe! I’ve wanted to make this cake ever since I first heard this story. My “left brain” didn’t find it nearly as funny as I did!
Mmmm. Another success. This one I had to share with the neighbors. It was way to good to keep in the house. Thanks Christy!!!
[...] Christy presents 7-Up Pound Cake [...]
Ok just got done with mines and it was awesome. I used swans cake floor and watkins vanilla extract. I really think it makes a huge impact on moistness and the flavor of the vanilla really pops.
[...] a more generally Southern tendency to add soda to cakes and other recipes. The blog Southern Plate gives a recipe for 7-Up Pound Cake that comes from the southern comedian Jeanne Robertson, who does a funny bit [...]
Has anyone experiemented with a smaller amount of sugar for this recipe. I think 3 cups sugar to 3 cups flour sounds like too much. So I tried using 1 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cup applesauce. It is in the oven. We will see how it tastes!
Let us know how it turns out Bev!
Christy, you are a doll! I thought I was the only one whose family (from TX mind you) used the words “lemon/lime coke”! Jeanne Robertson and her wonderful humor have brightened my life ever since my “left brain” bought XM Radio a few years ago. Now I must hustle out to the kitchen and make one of these cakes.
My grandma made these for many people when life caused them to need “a little something to make them feel better.” Unfortunately, she baked from memory and none of us grandkids had the good sense to write the measurements down. 