You just can’t beat a good old fashioned slice of homemade Lemon Pound Cake, with it’s fine crumb and velvety melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Pound Cake: A Southern Staple
It’s no wonder that pound cakes are a southern staple, and the lemon pound cake that I am sharing today has a flavor that it just out of this world. This cake is easy to whip up, and is perfect for gatherings year-round…but I always associate it with summertime!
Whether you need a little something sweet to go with your coffee or tea, or you are looking for a fabulous, no-fuss dessert to top with berries and cream, this Lemon Pound Cake recipe is perfection.
I often talk about how much I LOVE lemon desserts, and this Lemon Pound Cake does not disappoint. In fact, all of our posts featuring lemon cakes, fillings, and frostings are some of our most popular no matter what the season. Another favorite of ours is our Scratch Lemon Layer Cake (with Lemon Curd and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting)!
As much as I love our lemon layer cake, this Lemon Pound Cake is flavored with the same lemony goodness AND has the added bonus of being quicker and easier to make. You’ll notice a slight tang from the buttermilk in the recipe and also an unmistakable lemon flavor from the extract we’ve added.
Easy Lemon Glaze
The sweetness of the cake is perfectly balanced with the tartness of the simple lemon glaze (a simple combination of powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest).
*I repeat, this easy lemon glaze is tart- haha! In fact, at first we wondered if it was too tart. But that’s only because we tried it by the spoonful instead of on the cake. I don’t advise eating sugar glaze by the spoonful, as tempting as it may be!
In the end, just that little bit of glaze drizzled over the top and sides makes a world of difference in the amount of lemon that comes through in each bite! You don’t want to skimp on the glaze. In addition to the boost of lemon flavor, it looks so dramatic beautiful on the cake! It’s a win-win ;0)
Can this Lemon Pound Cake be Frozen?
Yes, not only does this lemony cake taste amazing, it freezes beautifully too! Whether you are baking the pound cake in advance or want to keep a few slices in the freezer in case of a sudden pound cake craving, you are in luck! Why shouldn’t we enjoy pound cake every single day? ;0) –
To freeze your lemon pound cake (or any cake), wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, then foil and pop into the freezer. I like to place it on a cardboard cake circle when possible.
If I am baking a cake in advance, I prefer to freeze the cake (or cake layers individually) while still warm! This is optional but it traps even moisture into the cake due to the dramatic change in temperature.
You can also wrap and freeze slices of pound cake individually to enjoy whenever the mood strikes. I find that there’s no wrong time to enjoy a big slice of lemon pound cake ;0)
As long as they are wrapped nice and tight, cakes can be frozen for up to 3 months and will taste as fresh as the day they were made. (Label your foil wrapped cakes with the date that you placed them in the freezer).
How to Thaw a Frozen Cake
When it’s time to thaw your frozen cake, remove it from the freezer, still wrapped in plastic wrap and foil, and place on your kitchen counter. Condensation will form on the foil as it begins to thaw. Once a good amount of condensation has formed, you can go ahead and unwrap the cake and let it continue to thaw at room temperature.
what are the benefits of using buttermilk in cakes?
This lemon pound cake as with many of our cakes, contains buttermilk. You may think that it is for the slight tang that it adds to the cake, and that is a definite bonus…but it is the acidity of the buttermilk that lends a wonderful tenderness to cakes.
The acid from the buttermilk breaks down strands of gluten, making it softer and more moist. If a cake contains buttermilk or even sour cream, chances are good that your cake is going to be delightfully tender!
Favorite Lemon Cakes, Frostings, and Fillings
In addition to today’s Lemon Pound Cake recipe, we’ve made many more favorite lemon cakes, fillings, and frostings over the years! Don’t miss these other favorites!
- Lemon Velvet Cake
More Pound Cake Recipes!
If you love pound cakes like we do, you’ll want as many go-to pound cake recipes as possible! If you’re craving classic pound cake, double chocolate, strawberry, and more- we’ve got you covered!
- Classic Pound Cake Recipe
- Strawberry Pound Cake
- Double Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe
- Red Velvet Marble Pound Cake
- Rainbow Pound Cake
- Lemon Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake
- Coconut Pound Cake
Thanks for stopping by! We think that you are going to fall in love with this lemon pound cake! For more lemony goodness, keep scrolling down- we kind of love all things lemon around here (not to mention all things pound cake). This cake is the best of both worlds!
Lemon Pound Cake
This Lemon Pound Cake recipe is so moist and bursting with lemon flavor!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 sticks (339 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups (600 g) sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 3 cups (375 g) all purpose flour, (not self-rising)
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- 1 cup (235 g) buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) lemon extract
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- zest of one lemon
Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CAKE
- Grease and flour a tube pan.
- Lower the oven rack to the lower third of your oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a separate bowl whisk the flour and baking soda to combine, set aside for later.
- Cream the butter with the paddle attachment in your mixer, gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time blending after each to incorporate.
- Add the lemon extract to the l cup of buttermilk. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk to the butter, sugar, egg mixture. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. I add the dry 3 times and milk twice.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Check it after 1 hour, to be on the safe side) If the top begins to brown too much, you can loosely lay a piece of aluminum foil on top of it.
This makes approximately 8 cups of batter.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LEMON GLAZE
Combine sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and stir until smooth. Drizzle over the pound cake. (I spooned mine into a piping bag with the tip snipped away for more control.) Sprinkle lemon zest over the top.
Notes
1. You can make this cake in advance, wrap in plastic wrap & foil, and freeze with no problems.
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Thanks for stopping by! If you try this Lemon Pound Cake recipe, we would love for you to share your thoughts and photos in the comments below!
Very yummy! I do love Pound Cake and Lemon :-)
Can this also be baked in 8 inch cake pans?
How would this cake be as a tiered wedding cake and/or large cupcakes?
I made this lemon pound cake and it didn’t rise… the taste was fine but not as fluffy as other pound cake recipes
Hi Monette, I am sorry you had a problem with the recipe. I’ll list some possible causes that might have kept your cake from rising.
Measure the ingredients accurately. If not using a scale, spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level off with the back of a knife. Beat the softened butter at medium speed with an electric mixer for approximately 5 minutes or until it is lightened in color and fluffy. This whips air into the batter to help it rise. Don’t over beat the eggs, Mix just until the yellow of the yolk disappears. When adding dry and wet ingredients don’t mix above medium speed or mix for too long. When greasing the pan don’t use oil, use shortening (such as Crisco) and dust the pan with flour. A slick surface keeps the batter from rising to its full height.
I hope this will be helpful.
is there a substitution for buttermilk?
Hi Analia, Add 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup. Add milk to the 1 cup mark. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes and it is ready to use.
My pound cake splits apart about 1/4 ways down. Any suggestions to keep this from happening?
Hi Linda, Possibly you are turning it out of the pan too soon. Let the cake cool 10 minutes on a cooling rack then turn out. Don’t leave in the pan too long or it could stick. I usually place the cake plate onto the bundt pan then turn out. That way the cake doesn’t have as far to drop.
Is the flour sifted?
Hi Sadonna, The flour is not sifted. It is spooned into a measuring cup and leveled off with the back of a knife. Hope you will enjoy the recipe.
Hi, do you have a link of the store where you bought the tube pan for your pound cake?
I am sorry, Anna, we have had that pan for so long, I am not sure where we bought it. Is is a light colored aluminum tube pan.
Can cake flour be used
Hi Shanay, Yes, you can use cake flour. For each cup of all purpose flour, use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour. This recipe uses 3 cups AP flour so your will use 3 cups plus 6 Tablespoons cake flour.
Hi BeBe,
I baked three off this lemon pound cake and they turned out good…mine were darker inside…but they tasted so good…people started eating them before I had a chance to take pictures…thanks again for a great recipe…As with the yellow cake recipe, I will use it again and again…
I made this and it was okay , not like your other recipes, is there an error on adding baking soda, I wasn’t sure, I am use to adding baking powder for cakes.
Hi Kathy, We used baking soda because of the acidity of 1 cup of buttermilk in the recipe. I am wondering if your lemon extract had lost its flavor, and that is the reason you were not happy with your cake. We have found that we need to smell lemon extract before using because it does not retain its flavor and can go “bad” months before the expiration date. I should add this to all of our recipes containing lemon extract. I hope you will give the recipe a try another time.
Can I use fresh lemon juice in the cake batter? How much?
Hi Sharon, We have tried using fresh lemon in cakes but the depth of flavor just does not come through. You could add the zest of 1 lemon to the batter but you will still need the lemon extract. The lemon juice and zest we have in the glaze also gives added flavor to this cake. I hope you will enjoy the recipe.