This lemon pound cake is dense and moist and made with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest that makes the flavor pop! It is topped with lemon glaze and tastes so delish.
This cake is perfect for summer and for lemon lovers! This cake is zesty and has the perfect balance of sweet and lemony. I can't wait for you to try this recipe!
If you like lemon desserts as we do, try out our lemon curd cookies, lemon poppy seed muffins, lemonade bundt cake, lemon cooler cookies, lemon tart, and lemon curd cake.
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Why this recipe works
- This cake is topped with a delicious lemon glaze.
- Its made with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest which gives this cake the best lemon flavor.
- Perfect for summer and will light up your day!
- Made with simple ingredients.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this cake.
Eggs- you will need eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Lemon juice- use fresh lemon juice for this recipe. Fresh lemon will give you the best result. We don't recommend using store-bought lemon juice. This will make the flavor pop!
Lemon zest- you will need ½ teaspoon of lemon zest. We recommend zesting the lemon first and then juicing it.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking powder– baking powder allows the cake to rise. Make sure that your baking powder is not expired.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Sour cream or Greek yogurt-Â you can use either Greek yogurt or sour cream. Get your sour cream to room temperature. Any percent of fat will work for this recipe.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Milk- use whole milk for this recipe.
Kosher salt- you will need about ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the lemon glaze:
Lemon juice- use fresh lemon juice for this recipe. Fresh lemon will give you the best result.
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Pinch of salt- to balance the sweetness.
Melted butter- use unsalted butter for this. You don't want a salty glaze.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 12x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a big mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and kosher salt, and mix with an electric hand mixer until it's creamy.
Add the sour cream (or Greek yogurt), eggs, and lemon juice, and mix until the mixture is well combined.
Add ½ of the milk, ½ of the flour, and baking powder, and mix it until almost combined.
Add the other half of the flour and milk and mix until just combined.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it with an offset spatula. Bake in a 180c (350f) oven for about 55-65 minutes (depending on the oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Make the lemon glaze:
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the powder sugar, lemon juice, kosher salt, and melted butter. Mix with a spoon or a mini whisk until the mixture is smooth and silky.
Top the cake with the glaze and let it sit for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
Faq's
We love to make a delicious lemon glaze and top the cake with this beautiful glaze. Serve this cake next to a cup of coffee or tea.
We use all-purpose flour for this cake, cake flour will work great as well.
This cake will last up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out.
We used a 12x5-inch loaf pan. This loaf pan is quite big. You can also use two smaller loaf pans.
Storing
It’s okay to store this cake at room temperature. Make sure that you store this cake in an airtight container so it won’t dry out.
Freezing
This cake is very easy to freeze. After baking, let the cake cool to room temperature, transfer it into a freezer-friendly Ziploc bag, or wrap it tightly with a plastic wrap. Freeze up to 3 months.
To thaw: place the cake in the refrigerator overnight or place it a room temperature for a few hours.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter. Do not use margarine. It will change the flavor of this cake and leave a weird taste. Also, replace the milk with vegan milk.
Variations
White chocolate- add mini white chocolate chips to the cake batter for a delicious white chocolate flavor.
Powder sugar- top this cake with powder sugar instead of the glaze.
Lemon zest- add even more lemon zest for a stronger lemon flavor and aroma.
More cake recipes
Fudgy flourless chocolate cake- This flourless chocolate cake is rich, fudgy, made with both dark chocolate and dutch cocoa powder, and is made with a few simple ingredients!
Dark chocolate sheet cake- This dark chocolate sheet cake is super moist, made in one bowl chocolate cake that is topped with dark chocolate buttercream frosting.
Marble loaf cake- This marble loaf cake is moist and flavorful and topped with a layer of chocolate ganache, it's so beautiful and so delicious.
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 230 g Butter unsalted
- 1 â…“ cups Granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon Lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- â…“ cups Sour cream or greek yogurt
- 4 Eggs large
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 3 cups Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ cup Milk
Lemon glaze:
- 2 cups Powder sugar
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon Butter melted
- 1 pinch Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 12x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a big mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and mix with an electric hand mixer until it's creamy.
- Add the sour cream (or greek yogurt), eggs, lemon juice, and mix until the mixture is well combined.
- Add ½ of the milk, ½ of the flour, and baking powder, and mix it until almost combined.
- Add the other half of the flour and milk and mix until just combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it with an offset spatula. Bake in a 180c (350f) oven for about 55-65 minutes (depending on the oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Make the lemon glaze:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the powder sugar, lemon juice, kosher salt, and melted butter. Mix with a spoon or a mini whisk until the mixture is smooth and silky.
- Top the cake with the glaze and let it sit for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
- Â
Sara
It's incredibly good!
Thanks for the recipe!
Sara
Padmini
Since I dont consume eggs, what is the substitute for eggs.But I want to try out this cake
Janise
Butter: 230g (US customary) or 150g (metric) ???
RichandDelish
Butter is 230g (US customary)
Nargess
I am sorry I am confused . If we are following metric we should use 150g butter? And if we are following US customary we should use 230g ????