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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- 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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Excellent recipe! Baked two perfect cakes with only the slightest modifications. One, I used a food processor that has a fixed speed. Two, I only needed the zest of three lemons and the juice of one to get the required amount of zest and juice – two packed tablespoon measures of zest and the recipe measures required of juice. Three, I didn’t do the glaze at all and of the two cakes only used the syrup (half of what I made) on one. The reason for cutting back on the syrup and glaze – sugar levels seemed too high for me. Oh yeah, one more thing – sugar in main recipe was cut from 450gms to 400gms. Both cakes are more than sweet enough and the syrup one though sweeter also has a better lemony zing. I also checked at 40minutes and gave them ten more minutes after that. Great recipe. Will be saving it and using it again. Thanks!
I made the cake with my siblings, we love cooking together, and we always turn out with deliciousness! Unfortunately, this recipe was really bad for us. The end cake tasted like plain flour, and there was no taste of lemon, we added more than the recipe called for and still, no lemon flavoring. I would not recommend this recipe, I recommend a recipe from tasty.
Why do you use 3 tbls of lemon zest in the one with poppy seeds and only two in the one without them?
Honestly, I don’t remember the method to my madness there, but my hunch is that it may have been because the poppy seeds add a fair amount of flavor and I wanted to add more lemony flavor to it. 🙂
I enjoyed the cake. Although I did not level off the flour like I should have. I followed the majority of remaining directions but I had a mishap with making the glaze. I wanted more lemon and thinned out the glaze so I tried to add a little more powdered sugar. I ended up pouring too much in and having to dig out a lot of it. In spite of the mishap, the glaze was more flavorful. I would definitely recommend the recipe. I would also suggest adding more lemon juice if you want a tarter taste.
I have baked this several times and it’s a crowd pleaser. It always comes out perfect. This time I played around a bit with the recipe. I reduced the sugar to 1 and 3/4 cup. I added 6 tablespoons of lemon juice to the batter and I also added half a cup of sour cream. I think it was absolutely fine on the sugar, a lot more lemony ( which I enjoy) and a little more moist. Thank you Jenn for the most delightful lemon cake.
Followed the instructions carefully and in my electric oven it only took one hour to bake. I used a tube pan which works beautifully. Moist and delicious cake!
Note: I used the syrup but did not like the result as my cake was so moist it didn’t need any syrup poured on the bottom. I used the glaze which is good but I didn’t use all of it or it would have been overkill.
I will make this for Thanksgiving.
Hi, can I replace all purpose flour with cake flour? Thanks!
Hi Yvonne, You can try it with cake flour but I can’t guarantee that it will give the cake enough structure to rise properly. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
I’ve made this cake 3 times now, once for father’s Day, once for my brother’s birthday, and today at my mother’s request. Each time it’s turned out absolutely perfectly (but I did reduce the sugar to 350g as my parents don’t like things overly sweet). The second time around I made it with oranges in place of lemons, and the third time around I used grapefruit! Since I’ve made it so many times now I just had to leave a comment. Phenomenal recipe. Thanks!
Oh my word, this cake is delicious! I wanted a lemon pound cake and on a whim decided to search for a fresh lemon pound cake recipe (because I thought that would taste better than using lemon extract) and came across this one. So, so good! I didn’t have buttermilk so I made my own using one scant cup of whole milk and one tablespoon of lemon juice. I figured a little extra lemon was okay 🙂 It turned out perfectly. Also, I don’t have a Bundt pan so I used my plain tube pan and ended up cooking it 75 minutes. Highly recommend this recipe!
Ok…this cake cannot be overstated…simply the best lemon bundt I have ever had!..even gave some to neighbor who called to say I should get a patent cause the best she ever tasted! I’m quite an accomplished baker and was thrilled to have a new addition to my repertoire, read the tips and used them and I also creamed the sugar and butter longer than stated on recipe as one viewer said he did. It came out perfect! Thank you so much for sharing…was a huge hit and I’m making it again tomorrow !!!!
Hi Jenn! I love all of your recipes.
Wanting to make this for my lemon loving mom-mom that turns 86, this weekend! Could you add blueberries to the cake? And could you add sweetened coconut to the glaze?
I saw your lemon blueberry pound cake recipe, but really wanting to make it a Bundt cake!
Thank you!!!!
So glad you like the recipes! I think you could add some blueberries to the batter but keep in mind that depending on how tart your blueberries are, the cake may taste pretty tart. And I’d toss the blueberries with a Tbsp. of the flour mixture beforehand so they don’t sink in the batter. Also, don’t defrost them first or they’ll turn the batter purple. And I think you could get away with adding some coconut to the glaze. Hope it turns out nicely and happy birthday to your mom! 🙂