Lemon Pound Cake

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The best lemon pound cake recipe full of lemon juice and lemon zest! So moist, and topped with a delicious lemony glaze.

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

Hi, Deb here from Cooking on the Front Burner and get ready to pucker up with 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, pop and of course make some great desserts with lemons as well. This Lemon Pound Cake is one of my favorites! 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!

How to make lemon Pound Cake

PREP. Heat oven to 325°F and then you will grease and flour a bundt pan; set aside

BATTER. In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter at medium speed, be sure to scrape 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 then the buttermilk and scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Add lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Continue beating until well mixed.

Note: At certain points, the batter may look slightly curdled. Don’t worry the batter will smooth out. 

BAKE & COOL. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake 55-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate and cool completely.

LEMON GLAZE

While the naked cake would be good on it’s own, adding some lemon glaze really kicks it up a notch! Simply stir together powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons lemon juice and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in small bowl.

Drizzle over cooled cake and add as much or as little as you like.

Tips and Troubleshooting

Why is my cake heavy and gluey? I found a great tip from the bakers at King Arthur Flour. When you overmix a cake, the gluten develops too much. This means the cake will rise beautifully, but disappointment sets in when the cake 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.

What kind of pan do you use for a pound cake? I love using a decorative bundt pan. Standard, and even mini bread loaf pans, can also be used. 

Additions and Toppings:

• Add a tablespoon of poppy seeds to the batter for a lemon poppyseed flavor!
• Top with lemon zest, powdered sugar, or whipped cream with fresh berries

How to store lemon pound cake: Allow the cake to cool completely before storing. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or place in  an airtight container. Store at room temperature for 3-5 days, or wrap again with aluminum foil and freeze for 1-2 months.

Now you have one pretty lemon glazed cake to serve to guests (or keep to yourself!)  If you don’t share, I won’t tell anyone… mum’s the word!

And for more lemon recipes, check out:

• Lemon Blossoms
• Better than Starbucks Lemon Loaf
• Frosted Cake Mix Lemon Cookies
• Mini Lemon Drop Cakes

Lemon Pound Cake Recipe

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5 from 14 votes

The best lemon pound cake recipe full of lemon juice and lemon zest! So moist, and topped with a delicious lemony glaze.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 12

Calories 458 kcal

Author on lilluna.com

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup butter softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 tbsp lemon zest freshly grated
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Glaze

• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1-2 tbsp milk

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 325°F and then you will grease and flour a bundt pan; set aside

2. In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter at medium speed, be sure to scrape bowl often, until creamy. Continue beating, adding 1 egg at a time, until well mixed.
3. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. On low speed alternately add the flour mixture and then the buttermilk and scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Add lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Continue beating until well mixed.
5. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake 55-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate; cool completely.
6. Stir together powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons lemon juice and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in small bowl. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Nutrition Facts

Lemon Pound Cake Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 458 Calories from Fat 153

% Daily Value*

Fat 17g26%

Saturated Fat 10g63%

Cholesterol 97mg32%

Sodium 322mg14%

Potassium 99mg3%

Carbohydrates 70g23%

Sugar 46g51%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 575IU12%

Vitamin C 1.5mg2%

Calcium 45mg5%

Iron 1.7mg9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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