Lemon Pound Cake topped with a sweet lemon glaze is the perfect treat to serve at a beautiful summer brunch or for holidays like Easter or Mother’s Day.
Who loves a good pound cake? I sure do, especially with my morning coffee and then again a la mode after dinner. This Lemon Pound Cake is a long time family favorite & I know you’ll love it too.
There’s something about adding citrus to all our favorite desserts this time of year. It really makes us enjoy the beautiful weather just a little bit more. How about you? Do you love adding citrus flavors when the weather gets warm?
**Be sure to try our Easy Lemon Snack Cake Recipe too!
For a long time now we have been picking up a little lemon pound cake when stopping at all our favorite coffee houses. I think Starbuck’s Lemon Pound Cake is probably the most popular one around.
But we have a little coffee hut on nearly every corner up here & all of them have their version of lemon pound cake. They are all delicious but I like to make my own so I don’t have to head out to get some.
Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
This post contains some affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
I love this recipe because it has a light lemon flavor that isn’t overpowering. It is still sweet and the glaze is perfect without overdoing it.
When do you like to enjoy pound cake like this one? Do you like it for breakfast with coffee? Or do you reserve it for the evening as a treat?
I’m such a big sweets person that I never really restrict myself to a time to enjoy. Whenever you are offered cake – you take it, no questions asked. Right?!
Here are some commonly asked questions
What is lemon pound cake?
A traditional pound cake is usually made with equal parts butter, sugar, flour, & eggs. That makes for a nice, dense cake that is perfectly sweet & perfect almost all by itself. To make a Lemon Pound Cake we changed up the classic pound cake and added great lemon flavor in the cake & in the glaze too.
Can I use lemon zest?
Yes, you can add 1 tbsp lemon zest to this cake if you like. I like to keep my citrus flavor on the lighter side, so I didn’t add it to this recipe.
What pan do you recommend for this recipe?
I really love this baking pan. It is so versatile & works great for all my loaf cakes recipes & bread recipes.
How do you store Lemon Pound Cake?
Keep this pound cake in the baking pan & cover it with plastic wrap or foil. You can also keep it refrigerated until you are ready to enjoy it.
This extends its freshness & flavor. Just heat the individual slices in the microwave for about 8-12 seconds on a microwave-safe dish before eating.
HOW DO YOU MAKE Lemon Pound Cake?
Cake
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray – set aside.
- In a mixer bowl – beat butter & sugar until pale & fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides & add eggs – beat in.
- Add in flour, baking powder & salt -beat well.
- Add in sour cream & lemon juice – beat until combined.
- Scrape down the bowl & mix on low for another 30 seconds.
- Transfer to the prepared dish & bake for 55- 70 minutes watching closely in the last 10 minutes.
- The cake is done when the toothpick test comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes & then turn out of the pan.
Syrup
- While the cake is cooling – combine the syrup ingredients & heat over medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Brush over the cake while it’s cooling.
- Cool the cake completely before adding glaze.
Glaze
- Whisk together the ingredients & pour over the cake.
Lemon Pound Cake
Can I change the glaze on this Lemon Pound Cake?
Absolutely. You can replace or add vanilla extract to this glaze recipe. Or you can use something delicious like blueberry syrup in place of the milk for a completely different twist.
Do you recommend these as gifts for the neighbors?
These make fabulous gifts for all your friends & neighbors. We like to pick up these disposable pans for gift-giving. You could also just use the reusable, baking pan & make that part of the gift.
Can Lemon Pound Cake be frozen?
Yes it can. Remove the cake from the pan & wrap first in plastic wrap & then in foil before placing it in the freezer. This is the best way to ensure that the cake stays moist & doesn’t dry out.
Be sure to label with the date before freezing. Also, if you are adding the glaze, be sure that it has set before wrapping the cake.
How to make lemon pound cake moist?
The key here is the lemon syrup that gets added to the cake once it is baked but before you add the glaze on top. This syrup soaks into the cake so that it doesn’t dry out before you have had a chance to enjoy every single bite of it.
More Pound Cake Recipes
If you love pound cake as we do – you don’t want to miss these other flavors here!
- Raspberry White Chocolate Pound Cake
- Instant Pot Almond Pound Cake
- Blueberry Swirl Pound Cake
- Pumpkin Pound Cake
Can I make this lemon cake with bottled lemon juice?
Yes you can, however, it does taste better when using fresh lemon juice whenever possible. I keep a bottle of this lemon juice on hand at all times – you know, for those lemon dessert emergencies.
To make this recipe you will need…
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- sour cream
- lemon juice
- granulated sugar
- butter – room temperature
- eggs – room temperature
- granulated sugar
- lemon juice
- confectioners sugar
- milk
- lemon juice
Products I love when making Lemon Pound Cake…
This Lemon Pound Cake is so easy and delicious – and you probably already have many of these items on hand like I do!
OR If you’ve never made pound cake before, you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love the sweet, citrus flavor of this cake. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this lemon dessert.
- baking pan
- disposable pans
- granulated sugar
- lemon juice
- all-purpose flour
- mixer
- spatulas
- Baker’s Joy
EASY LEMON POUND CAKE RECIPE
If you love this homemade Lemon Pound Cake recipe, you’re going to love these other spring recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
CONNECT WITH YUMMI HAUS!
Be sure to follow me on my social media, so you never miss a post!
Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp table salt
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter – room temperature (2 sticks)
- 5 large eggs – room temperature
Syrup
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
Glaze
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp lemon juice
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray – set aside.
- In a mixer bowl – beat the butter and sugar together until pale & fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides and add the eggs – beat in.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt -beat well.
- Mix in the sour cream and lemon juice – beat until combined.
- Scrape down the bowl and mix on low for another 30 seconds.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared dish and bake for 55- 70 minutes watching closely in the last 10 minutes.
- Cake is done when toothpick test comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and then turn out of the pan.
Syrup
- While the cake is cooling – combine syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Brush the syrup over the cake while it's cooling.
- Cool the cake completely before adding the glaze.
For glaze
- Whisk together the ingredients and pour the mixture over the cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Tamar says
Oh this sounds so good. We used to buy the Entemann’s pound cake for weekend breakfast as a kid, good memories of that!
Michelle@TheRibbonRetreat says
I love lemon flavored goodies! I can’t wait to try this yummy pound cake for my family. Thank you for sharing! PINNED!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Now I’m craving lemon Gina 🙂 This pound cake looks SO good! Pinned!
Amy | Club Narwhal says
Gina, this looks UNBELIEVABLY good! I crave lemons in the winter–they’re so cheerful compared to the gloomy Midwestern ice fest I’m having 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing on The Makers!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Nothing beats a classic lemon pound cake. This looks divine!
Vanessa says
This cake is so yummy thanks.
Debbie says
This looks delicious! I love lemons.
Creatively Homespun says
This looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing at the Be. You. Tiful blog hop!
Brenda Young says
OK, now I have to save this recipe for Sunday morning. You’ve got me salivating with all these superb photos! so glad you have the print recipe option on your blog with the option to save with your web info in the footer, so I can easily remember where I found the recipe to come back for more!
Katherines Corner says
oh my goodness I just drooled a little…yummm Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. xo
Karly says
Craving this right now! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
All that's Jas says
My husband loves anything lemon flavor and he works at the firehouse too. Hugs and thanks for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things.
FABBY says
Looks delicious, my fave and hubby’s is lemon pound cake.
Hugs and thanks for sharing,
FABBY
Laura keslinke says
Can I add blueberries to this recipe?
Gina Kleinworth says
You can – but I would do it sparingly as they will add quite a bit of liquid to the batter as they bake – which might require the loaf to bake for quite a bit longer and it may bubble over. Watch it towards the end, you may also have to tent it with foil if you need to increase the baking time so it doesn’t over brown. I would also recommend using fresh rather than frozen blueberries.
Kimberly says
This recipe is amazing and the cake was super delicious!
Sandra eEstrada says
Can I use a sugar replacement on this and also can I sub with almond flour
Gina Kleinworth says
The sugar replacement will work fine as long as it is one that is promosted as performing the same as regular sugar. Almond flour does not perform the same as all-purpose flour. It does not contain gluten or have the right texture or consistency. I would recommend a high fiber – keto, low-carb flour like the ones that are made by King Arthur flour if you are wanting to make a switch like replacing the flour.
Donna says
I luv lemons! This is delicious! I added lemon zest to the cake, syrup. & glaze. Will definitely make it again!
Mary says
I don’t believe you adjusted the number of sticks of butter in the 2x or 3x versions? Looking forward to making one for a friend and one for me!
Gina Kleinworth says
The recipe card coding will make the adjustments. It does not adjust the notes (shown in grey) next to the actual quantity. Please use the actual measurments shown in black font in the recipe when increasing.
Debra says
Can I skip the lemon syrup n the glaze? Watching my sugar intake.
Gina Kleinworth says
Yes – the cake won’t be as moist. But the cake itself is a CAKE. It includes flour and sugar in the batter. If you are looking for low-sugar or low-carb – this is not the right recipe for that. I would recommend finding one made with almond flour and artificial sweetener if you are wanting lower sugar content. I have been working on a keto-friendly one, but have not yet created one with a texture I like enough to share here. But when I do – I can let you know.
Annette says
I made this pound cake, it was so terribly dry. I read the recipe all the way through, followed all the instructions, did the sugar syrup for moistness, it was still so dry. I’m quite the baker, not sure why?
Gina Kleinworth says
How did you measure your dry ingredients? Did you scoop the flour from the bag or spoon and level?