Lemon Pound Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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.
You May Also Like
- Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Lemon Bars
- Cake Pans to Cookie Sheets: 16 Essential Baking Pans
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I baked this to take to work. I followed the recipe as is and it turned out great! I used the shortening and sugar method and it didn’t stick. Looked so pretty. Everyone loved it. I will make it again!
Hi, Jenn, I love your recipes and have used many of them many times, but this one was a fail for me. My bundt pan is new and non-stick, I used generous veg shortening and dusted the pan with sugar, followed the instructions exactly but the darn thing would not leave the pan. I patched it together near my kitchen sink, but all was not lost until it slipped of my cooling rack onto the floor when I moved back to the island. My husband who was in another room wondered why he didn’t hear me crying — it made me laugh. All the best and thanks for your great recipes.
Ugh!! Better to laugh than to cry. 🙂
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!
Baked this cake about two weeks ago. Me and my family loved it so much baked a second one today. I’m not a baker and typically don’t make cakes by scratch. This recipe makes me never want to buy boxed cake again. Delicious.
First off, I am not a baker. With that being said, I was attracted to Jenn’s recipes because of the explanation of various ingredients, especially her tips shared from erroneous trials. I thank you for being brave and selfless for sharing not only your journey and detail with each recipe, but also explaining what works best for you! There are not many people who could provide such detail and finesse. It’s so easy to be negative, and I’m sorry that you have to endure such remarks! Ok…let me get off my high horse 😂…I tried three of your recipes so far. I read thoroughly and took into consideration your tips and how to handle each ingredient. I ran and bought a hand mixer for $20, a mixing bowl set and spatulas. Overall? ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I gifted some to my friends and they couldn’t believe that I baked it! (Really shows you that I am not the baker!) Each oven is different, each baking tool is made with different material. With that in mind, I stayed within your guideline of time frames and checked it every 5 minutes thereafter. This cake is my favorite. I popped it right out of the pan. I used the butter stick to grease the pan, and sprinkled sugar. I rolled the pan around to evenly coat it. I used the exact ingredients (no margarine here!) and made sure not to over mix once I added the eggs. (In a previous recipe you stated over mixed eggs create a tough cake) My co-workers asked me to make it again and said they would even purchase these cakes! Thank you, Jenn. You really created a masterpiece of baked goods 🥰
Thanks so much for your very sweet words, Mia — glad you enjoyed this! 💗
Just made this DELICIOUS lemon pound cake out of boredom and to bump my Vit C-Ha!. It turned out perfectly moist. Some tips:
-Used the metric directions for scale measurements
-Generous spray of Bakers Joy and then dusted the bundt pan with sugar
-Used whole buttermilk and packed the lemon zest in the measuring spoon
-Baked in two small bundt pans for about 55 min- then used a Therapen instant-read thermometer and took out at an internal reading of 208 degrees
-Doubled the glaze to accommodate for the edge drips
How much flour should be used by weight? Measuring by volume makes it difficult to replicate a recipe.
Hi Shade, this recipe has conversions to weight/metric measures. To view them, scroll down to the recipe and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Hi, I’m just wondering why there’s no vanilla called for in this recipe? Curious because it’s usually a staple ingredient for cakes.
Hi Ciara, I honestly don’t remember the reason behind not using vanilla, but I suspect I thought it had enough flavor without it. If you’d like to add a little though, that would be fine. 🙂
Jenn- I’ve done all these steps and I’ve cooked the cake well over and 1.5 hr at 325 degrees and my cake looks still like liquid. What in the world could I have done wrong ? I’m very irritated and this is a first attempt at a scratch cake not a box. I did plain flour, the baking soda and salt as well. Just so stumped and after A lot of effort on my part would like to know what in the tarnation I did wrong? Help desperately wanting to have this beautiful cake. I did taste the batter it was scrupulous.
Hi Mandy, so sorry to hear you had a problem with this! It sounds like you may have made a measuring error as the cake should definitely have been fully baked at that point. How did it end up turning out?
Yummy. No buttermilk so I used 1 T white vinegar and whole milk t make a cup. Also mixed in a container of lemon yogurt just because. All went well a beautiful pound cake…thank you
I made this recipe over the weekend. My brother and I ate almost the entire cake. It was delicious. I gave away the balance to church friends and they gave rave reviews as well. I definitely plan to make it again. Thank you.
I made this once as is, and it was absolutely delicious. The next time I made it I added a cup of blueberries, and that was a huge hit with everyone. Thank you so much for sharing this. It’s so popular that I’m being asked to bring it to every gathering.
I just made this for my daughter’s birthday and it was fantastic! My new favorite cake! I used butter to grease the pan, spread with a pastry brush to get in all the nooks, and a generous coating of sugar. The cake didn’t stick at all. I love the little crunchy coating the sugar provides and the lemony syrup and glaze complements the cake perfectly. I will make this may times!! Thank you!