Lemon Pound Cake
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This lemon pound cake is the ultimate dessert for lemon lovers.
Calling all lemon lovers! This lemon pound cake is a dessert made just for you. The recipe incorporates both lemon zest and lemon juice into the cake batter, infusing the cake with a lovely lemon flavor. But the real magic happens after baking — the cake is generously doused with lemon syrup and then drizzled with a tart lemon glaze, delivering an intense burst of lemon flavor with every bite. The recipe yields two ultra-moist loaves that stay fresh for days on the countertop or can be frozen for later. If you’d like to switch things up, try my popular lemon poppyseed cake and lemon blueberry pound cake variations. A big thank you and shoutout to Karen Tannenbaum, one of my longtime readers, for inspiring this wonderful recipe!
What You’ll Need To Make Lemon Pound Cake
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Start by zesting and juicing your lemons. And be sure you zest the lemons first, otherwise, it will be impossible once they are juiced. The best tool for zesting is a rasp grater but any fine grater will do.
Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. I always add dry ingredients in little piles so I don’t forget what I’ve already added.
Whisk and set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
With the mixer on low speed, beat in one-quarter of the flour mixture, then one-third of the buttermilk mixture. Beat in another quarter of the flour, then another third of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat with another quarter of the flour and the remaining buttermilk mixture. Finally, beat in the remaining flour mixture.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and give a quick mix to make sure all of the ingredients are well-incorporated.
Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pans and smooth with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the top is golden and a tester comes out clean.
Set the cakes on a cooling rack, and cool in the pans for 10 minutes.
Carefully run a knife along the unlined sides of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan. Using the parchment slings, lift the cakes out of the pans and place onto the rack, leaving the parchment paper in place under the cakes. Let cool for about 1 hour.
When the cakes are almost cool, make the syrup. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
To make the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Add more confectioners’ sugar or lemon juice as necessary to make a thick but pourable glaze (it should be a little thicker than you’d think, about the consistency of molasses or honey).
When the cakes are cool, carefully transfer them to serving platters. Gradually brush the warm syrup all over the cakes, including the sides, letting it soak in as you go.
Finally, spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.
Let the cakes sit for about one hour to allow the glaze to set before serving.
How To Freeze Lemon Pound Cake
The cakes can be frozen without the glaze for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, double-wrap them securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place them in a heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving. (Add the syrup before the cake is frozen and add the glaze after the cake is thawed.)
Note: This recipe was updated in 2022; to see the original version, click here.
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- Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
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Lemon Pound Cake
This lemon pound cake is the ultimate dessert for lemon lovers.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk (low-fat is fine) (see note)
- 2 tablespoons (packed) grated lemon zest (see note)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
For the Syrup
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
For the Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray two 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the long sides of the pans with parchment paper “slings” and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray again.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
- With the mixer on low speed, beat in one-quarter of the flour mixture, then one-third of the buttermilk mixture. Beat in another quarter of the flour, then another third of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat with another quarter of the flour and the remaining buttermilk mixture. Finally, beat in the remaining flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and give a quick mix to make sure all of the ingredients are well-incorporated.
- Divide the thick batter into the prepared pans and smooth with a rubber spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the top is golden and a tester comes out clean.
- Set the cakes on a cooling rack, and cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife along the unlined sides of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan. Using the parchment slings, lift the cakes out of the pans and place onto the rack, leaving the parchment paper in place under the cakes. Let cool for about 1 hour.
- When the cakes are almost cool, make the syrup. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
- When the cakes are cool, carefully transfer them to serving platters.
- Gradually brush the warm syrup all over the cakes, including the sides, letting it soak in as you go.
- To make the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice. Add more confectioners' sugar or lemon juice as necessary to make a thick but pourable glaze (it should be a little thicker than you'd think, about the consistency of molasses or honey). Spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Let the cakes sit for about one hour to allow the glaze to set before serving.
- Note: If you’d like to make your own buttermilk, check out the easy method here.
- Note: You'll need 4 to 5 large lemons for the entire recipe.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cakes can be made up to 1 day ahead of time and stored in a cake dome or airtight container at room temperature. They can also be frozen (without the final glaze) for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, double-wrap securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place them in a heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving. (Add the syrup before the cake is frozen and add the glaze after the cake is thawed.)
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (16 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 313
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 59g
- Sugar: 40g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Sodium: 143mg
- Cholesterol: 51mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This cake came out amazing and beautiful! I used nonstick spray and sugar coating. This recipe totally won thanksgiving and it came out of my complexly patterned bundt pan beautifully.
The sugar on the pan instead of the flour was a disaster! I baked this to take to Thanksgiving dinner and it looks absolutely awful! Not a happy baker!
Excellent!!!
We make this cake always for birthdays as request by our kids, it always turns out wonderful. But did it not have lemon zest in the frosting?
That’s correct — it just has lemon juice — no zest. Glad your kids like it! 🙂
Can I replace the all purpose flour with cake flour? If so, should I omit any of the other ingredients?
Hi Teresa, Cake flour might work here but I’d be hesitant to recommend it w/o trying it first. Sorry!
I tried it with cake flour and it was fine.
Great lemon flavor but it broke coming out of the pan. Haven’t had that happen in 50 years. Next time I’ll use solid Crisco to grease the pan, then sugar it.
Is this 2 cups and a 1/4 of sugar
Yes 🙂
Just wanted to leave my review for this Amazing Lemon Cake! This is my third time making it and it has always been delicious! Thank you for taking the time out to help people that don’t know how to cook or bake how to! You are a Amazing Cook!!
God bless you
P.S I will do better at leaving my reviews!
Love Tarasia
💕
I made this cake and I absolutely love it. I followed the exact recipe and it turned out perfectly. This is a cake I will make over and over again. This is well worth 5 stars!!!!
Can I use some corn flour instead?
I wouldn’t recommend it here – I’m sorry!
Dang it! I followed the recipe exactly and was very generous with my buttering and sugaring of my *brand new* bundt pan, but it still stuck and only half of the cake came out. I let it rest about 12 minutes, inverted it, nothing, so I loosened it carefully with a spatula, still wouldn’t come out, and then only the top half came out and the other half was stuck as all get out. The cake tastes DELICIOUS, but shame on me for not having a backup plan because now I have nothing to present to my mom tomorrow on her birthday. Lesson learned for me: stick to the butter and flour method. I can see how the sugar is very neat with the “crust” but it’s just too risky I think.
Hi Jessa, I’m sorry you had a problem with this sticking (and that it was for your mom’s b-day)! If you want to make this again, I’ve developed a different method that uses two 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pans and with these, you won’t have to worry about sticking!
Sorry to leave a negative review. Followed recipe exactly. After 50 minutes the top was already brown and on testing the inside was cooked. Despite pan being very well prepared (good Nordic ware pan) and cooling the cake for 10mins before turning out, it broke up badly. Poured on the syrup and ate some of the broken bits but found the cake to be excessively sweet. The texture was good though. The cake is needed for a party tomorrow so I’m now going to make my usual lemon drizzle cake.