This Lemon Pound Cake Recipe is moist, buttery, and packed with fresh lemon flavor. It’s made from scratch with simple ingredients, baked until golden, and finished with a sweet lemon glaze for the perfect balance of tangy and sweet.
If you love classic lemon desserts, this homemade lemon pound cake is a must-try. With bright lemon flavor in every bite and a simple glazed finish, it has the rich, buttery texture of a traditional pound cake and the bakery-style look of a lemon loaf. For another bright lemon dessert, try my Lemon Custard Cake, too.
Why You’ll Love This Lemon Pound Cake Recipe:
- Moist and buttery texture – This cake has a dense yet tender crumb, just like a classic pound cake should.
- Fresh lemon flavor – Fresh lemon juice and zest give the cake a bright, real lemon taste.
- Simple lemon glaze – The sweet glaze adds extra lemon flavor and gives the cake that pretty bakery-style finish.
- Made from scratch – No cake mix needed, just simple pantry ingredients.
- Perfect for any occasion – Serve it for brunch, dessert, holidays, potlucks, or with a cup of coffee.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- All-purpose flour – Gives the pound cake structure.
- Baking powder – Helps the cake rise without making it too light or airy.
- Salt – Balances the sweetness and enhances the lemon flavor.
- Unsalted butter – Adds rich, buttery flavor and classic pound cake texture.
- Granulated sugar – Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender crumb.
- Eggs – Add richness and structure.
- Sour cream – Keeps the cake moist and tender.
- Fresh lemon zest – Gives the cake a bright, real lemon flavor.
- Fresh lemon juice – Used in both the cake and the glaze for fresh lemon flavor.
- Vanilla extract – Rounds out the lemon flavor.
- Powdered sugar – Used for the lemon glaze.
- Milk or heavy cream – Optional, for a whiter, creamier bakery-style glaze.
What Makes This Lemon Pound Cake So Moist?
This lemon pound cake gets its rich, moist texture from a combination of butter, eggs, and sour cream. The butter provides classic pound cake flavor, while the sour cream helps create a tender crumb that stays soft for days. Fresh lemon juice and zest add bright citrus flavor without drying out the cake.
Unlike lighter lemon cakes, a traditional pound cake has a denser texture that pairs perfectly with a simple lemon glaze.
How to Make Lemon Pound Cake
- Prepare the Pan
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides for easy removal.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the Butter and Sugar
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This step helps create the cake’s tender texture.
- Add the Wet Ingredients
- Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Combine the Batter
- Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Avoid overmixing, which can make the cake dense and tough.
- Bake
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
- Bake until the cake is golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the Lemon Glaze
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. For a thicker, whiter glaze, replace part of the lemon juice with milk or heavy cream.
- Spread the glaze over the cooled cake and allow it to set before slicing.
Tips for the Best Lemon Pound Cake
- Use room temperature ingredients. Butter, eggs, and sour cream blend together more easily and create a smoother batter.
- Don’t skip the lemon zest. The zest contains natural oils that provide much more lemon flavor than juice alone.
- Measure the flour correctly. Too much flour can make pound cake dry and heavy. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife.
- Avoid overmixing the batter. Mix just until the flour disappears to keep the crumb tender.
- Let the cake cool before glazing. If the cake is too warm, the glaze will melt and run off instead of setting on top.
- Adjust the glaze consistency as needed. Add a little more lemon juice for a thinner glaze or more powdered sugar for a thicker glaze.
- For a bakery-style white glaze, replace part of the lemon juice with milk or heavy cream. This creates a creamier, less translucent finish.
- For extra lemon flavor, stir a little finely grated lemon zest into the glaze or brush the warm cake with a light lemon syrup before glazing.
How to Store Lemon Pound Cake
Store lemon pound cake tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
For the best texture, let refrigerated slices sit at room temperature for about 20–30 minutes before serving. This helps the cake soften and brings back more of the buttery texture.
Can You Freeze Lemon Pound Cake?
Yes, lemon pound cake freezes well. Let the cake cool completely, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, or place slices in an airtight freezer-safe container.
Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before serving. For best results, freeze the cake without the glaze and add the lemon glaze after thawing.
FAQ
Pound cake is richer and denser than most regular cakes because it contains more butter, sugar, and eggs. It is often baked in a loaf pan, which is why many people refer to it as a lemon loaf cake. The result is a moist, buttery cake with a tight, tender crumb and a more substantial texture than a typical layer cake.
Butter, eggs, and sour cream help create the rich texture of lemon pound cake. Properly measuring the flour and avoiding overbaking are also important for keeping the cake moist.
Fresh lemon juice is recommended for the best flavor, but bottled lemon juice can be used if needed. For the strongest lemon flavor, always use fresh lemon zest.
Fresh lemon zest provides the strongest lemon flavor because it contains natural lemon oils. For the brightest flavor, use both fresh lemon zest and fresh lemon juice in the cake and glaze.
A crack along the top is completely normal and is one of the classic characteristics of homemade pound cake. It happens as the batter rises and expands while baking.
Yes. Lemon pound cake is a great make-ahead dessert because the flavor often improves after a day. Store it tightly covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
For a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar. For a whiter, bakery-style glaze, replace part of the lemon juice with milk or heavy cream.
More Lemon Desserts
- Lemon Custard Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Lemon Lasagna
- No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Bars
If you love pound cakes with rich fillings and crumb toppings, be sure to try my Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake, too.
Print
Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes- Cook Time: 65-75 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Category: Dessert
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
Description
This Lemon Pound Cake Recipe is moist, buttery, and packed with fresh lemon flavor. Finished with a simple lemon glaze, this classic homemade loaf cake is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g)all-purpose flour-spooned and leveled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter-softened to room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 eggs- room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sour cream – room temperature
Glaze:
- 1 1/4 cup (150 g) powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3–4 teaspoons whole milk or cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan (do not use a smaller pan) and line with parchment paper, leaving a large overhang on the sides.
- Stir together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter for 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and mix on high speed for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add aggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, sour cream, and vanilla extract, then mix on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The mixture might seem curdled, but that’s fine.
- With the mixer running on low, gradually add the dry ingredients mixture and mix just until combined. Do not over-mix the batter!!! You can stir it with a spatula if needed to ensure everything is well incorporated, since the batter is very thick. But do not mix too much at this point, or the cake will turn out too dense and flat.
- Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 65-75 minutes, or until the centre is set and a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out almost clean. Tent the top with aluminum foil if it starts browning too much.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then release the edges and lift it from the pan by pulling the parchment paper overhang.
- Cool completely on a rack before adding the glaze on top.
- To make the glaze, stir powdered sugar with lemon juice and milk or cream (one teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. It should be pourable but not too runny. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add more milk or cream (or lemon juice).
- Spread it over the cake and let it set 15-20 mins before slicing and serving.
- Store covered for up to 2-3 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the fridge.
Notes
All ingredients must be at room temperature. Do not add cold eggs or sour cream from the fridge into the butter and sugar mixture.
Measure the flour correctly, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level off with the back of the knofe. Or better use a kitchen scale if you have one. Too much flour will make the cake dry.
When preparing the lemon zest and juice, first grate the zest, then squeeze the juice. It is easier that way. Grate only the yellow part of the zest, the white part can be bitter, and won’t add any flavour.
Pound cake is dense and needs a lot of time to bake completely in the center. Tent the cake with foil after 40 minutes of baking time if it is browning too quickly. The foil will protect the top of the cake from heat in the oven and prevent it from overbaking.
When making a glaze, I like to sift the powdered sugar before adding liquids, but it is optional.
You can make the pound cake ahead of time and freeze it up to 3 months, but do not add the glaze before freezing, so you can wrap it tightly. Bake the cake, cool it completely, wrap it with plastic wrap, and then with a layer of aluminum foil. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temperature, make the glaze, top the cake, and serve.
1 comment
How a out dome measurements for ingredients in recioe