This moist and delicious Lemon Pound Cake is full of lemon juice and lemon zest! Topped with a delicious lemon glaze – it’s irresistible.
If you’re a fan of fruity desserts, you’ll love this Lemon Pound Cake – a flavorful spin on Cream Cheese Pound Cake! Similar to our Lemon Bundt Cake, this recipe is a little lighter with a tasty lemon glaze!
Pound Cake for the Lemon Lovers
This is the most luscious Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze!
If you are a lemon lover like me, you must put this on your to-do list—like today! I always have lemons in the house. I add them to water, soda, and of course, make some great desserts with lemons as well.
We love Lemon Bars, but this Lemon Pound Cake Recipe is also a favorite! It’s moist, luscious, and has just the right amount of sweet lemony flavor!
Why is it called a pound cake? A true pound cake uses a pound of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. Although this recipe doesn’t use those exact measurements, it’s still pretty true to the ingredients and consistency of a classic pound cake—with the addition of lemon flavor, of course!
recipe for Lemon Pound Cake
PREP. Heat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a bundt pan; set aside.
WET INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter at medium speed, be sure to scrape the bowl often, until creamy. Continue beating, adding 1 egg at a time, until well mixed.
DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
COMBINE. On low speed alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk and scrape the sides of the bowl often, until well mixed. Add lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Continue beating until well mixed.
BAKE. Spoon the cake batter into a prepared pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate; cool completely.
Lemon Glaze for Pound Cake
While the naked cake would be good on its own, adding some lemon glaze really kicks it up a notch!
MIX. Simply stir together powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in a small bowl.
Drizzle over the cooled cake. Add as much or as little as you like.
additions + toppings
Here are a few ideas of extra things to add to this cake:
- Add a tablespoon of poppy seeds to the batter for a lemon poppy seed flavor!
- Top with lemon zest, a dusting of powdered sugar, or soak with lemon syrup.
- Pipe on a thicker Lemon Buttercream Frosting.
- Add Whipped Cream with fresh berries to each slice.
Recipe Tips
Heavy cake. I found a great tip from the bakers at King Arthur Flour. When overmixed, the gluten overdevelops. This means the cake will rise beautifully, but starts to sink as soon as it is taken out of the oven. The sinking cake results in a dense and gluey center.
Mixing it just the right way can be tricky because the more air you can beat into the batter the fluffier the cake will be, but mixing too much can yield a sinking center. So what is the solution? Cream the sugar, butter, and eggs slowly, no higher than medium speed. Then, add the flour and mix gently.
Pan to use. I love using a decorative bundt pan or a tube pan, which has smooth sides. A couple of standard, and even mini bread loaf pans, can also be used. If you are using standard 9×5 inch loaf pans you will want to bake them at 350°F for about 60 minutes.
Grease and flour a pan. Properly prepare the pan to keep the cake from sticking to the bundt pan.
- Grease every nook and cranny with cooking spray, shortening, or butter.
- Scoop about ¼ cup of flour into the pan, then tip the pan in all directions allowing the flour to coat the bottom and sides.
- Discard excess flour.
Ingredient Tips + Storing
The buttermilk in this cake adds moisture, a tangy flavor, and the acidity reacts with the leavening agent to help it rise. Easily make your own buttermilk using milk and vinegar.
- Another alternative is to combine ¾ cup of sour cream with ¼ cup of milk. Whisk until smooth and measure out ¾ cup to use in this recipe.
Fresh lemons. A medium-sized lemon can produce 2-3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice which is perfect for this recipe. The peel can also produce 1 tablespoon of zest.
Using a citrus zester is the easiest, but you can also use the small side of a cheese grater.
STORE cooled Best Lemon Pound Cake recipe wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for 3-5 days.
FREEZE. Wrap again with aluminum foil and freeze for 1-2 months.
Recipe FAQ
To achieve the perfect pound cake you want to make sure all of your ingredients are room temperature, always mix at a low-medium speed, use real butter, and don’t rush the baking process!
Let the cake cool, tap the pan firmly a few times and shake it gently to help loosen the cake. Invert the pan onto a rack, lift the pan, and let the cake continue to cool on the rack before serving.
for more lemon recipes, try:
- Lemon Blossoms
- Better than Starbucks Lemon Loaf
- Frosted Cake Mix Lemon Cookies
- Mini Lemon Drop Cakes
- Lemon Buttermilk Cake
- Lemon Lasagna
Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest freshly grated
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Glaze
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a bundt pan; set aside
- In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter at medium speed, be sure to scrape the bowl often, until creamy. Continue beating, adding 1 egg at a time, until well mixed.
- In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- On low speed alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk and scrape the bowl often, until well mixed. Add lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Continue beating until well mixed.
- Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate; cool completely.
- Stir together powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in a small bowl. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
This cake turned out fantastic. Moist and perfect♥️ I will be making this again for certain! Thank You!!!
Yay! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the cake!!
I appreciate the recipe; however, it never says what you’re supposed to add the buttermilk to. The butter and sugar and egg mixture is in one bowl. The flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt: flour mixture is in another bowl. When does it say which mixture to add the buttermilk to? I had to guess that I was supposed to add the buttermilk to the flour mixture. Then it didn’t say blend the butter, sugar, egg mixture with the flour mixture (that I’m assuming I was supposed to add buttermilk to). I want to get the recipe correct and not knowing which mixture to add buttermilk to, threw me off. I still appreciate the recipe tho.
Sure! Good question. So the instructions say: “On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and then the buttermilk and scraping bowl often, until well mixed.” So you have your bowl with sugar/butter eggs and then you’ll alternate adding a scoop of the flour mixture and then some of the buttermilk. Then scrape the sides. Continue alternating until all the flour mixture and buttermilk have been added. Then you’ll add the lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice and continue beating until well mixed. Hopefully that helps clear up any confusion! 🙂
Hi- currently making this delicious cake now but I’m using the pound cake pans-how long and what is the temp? Is it the same time and temp?
Yes – it’s the same time and temp. Bake 55-65 minutes at 325 degrees F or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes and then invert onto a serving plate. Hope this helps!
Hello! currently making this delicious cake now but I’m using the pound cake pans-how long and what is the temp? Is it the same time and temp?
Hello, I’m currently making this cake and just wondering should I wait to make the glaze (cake literally just went in the oven) or does it not matter. My fear was it hardens while waiting for the cake to bake.
Thanks! Super excited to taste!!
Hi Terrell! I usually make the glaze after the cake has come out and cooled a bit. I hope the cake turned out well!
This is one of those classic recipes that never goes out of style. Plus, it’s got the most wonderful lemon flavor. I savor every moist bit!
Okay, first of all, pound cake is the BEST. Then add in the lemon flavor?? Absolute heaven.
this lemon pound cake is amazing and I cannot thank you enough for sharing this amazing recipe! I love how lemony this is!