Fragrant, bright, and sweet, this lemon pound cake is sure to be your new go-to pound cake recipe! This moist, buttery, soft pound cake recipe is not only good, but it is as close to a traditional pound cake as you can get. This recipe is also easy to make! No need to pull out your stand mixer here, unless, of course, you want to.
I absolutely love cooking with vibrant citrus juice and zest. There is nothing like it. This Meyer Lemon Pound Cake recipe has lots of both! Believe it or not, Meyer Lemons are not actual lemons. They are a hybrid citrus fruit native to China. They are a cross between a citron and a mandarin, making it a bit sweeter than regular lemons. If you can’t get your hands on Meyer lemons, no worries, just use the lemons you already have!
LEMON POUND CAKE INGREDIENTS
Jump to the bottom of the recipe card below this post for full ingredient measurements and instructions.
- Flour – This recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but you can substitute it with other flour like cake or even 1-to-1 ratio gluten-free flour!
- Buttermilk – I used buttermilk for this recipe. Please note that you can substitute the buttermilk for 1/2 cup of whole milk if needed.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter. Make sure you remove the butter from the fridge ahead of time to bring it to room temperature before using.
- Eggs – Eggs bring a rich structure to this cake. You need 4 large eggs.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: The biggest thing to remember with leaveners is to make sure you are using fresh baking powder and baking soda. Fresh leaveners will help your cake rise evenly when baking in the oven.
- Lemons – Meyer lemons offer a sweeter taste than your average lemons. If you can’t find them in the store, swap them out for regular fresh lemon juice and zest. The fresh lemon juice and zest really brighten up this cake!
- Powdered Sugar – I use lots of powdered sugar to make the super thick glaze.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON POUND CAKE
Follow these steps to make lemon pound cake:
Sift together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer, or a stand mixer, cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue mixing until the butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy.
Add the eggs. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl in between.
Add the lemon and vanilla. Add in the lemon juice, zest, and vanilla extract. Mix just until combined.
Gradually add milk and flour. Gradually add the flour and buttermilk, alternating between the two. Scrape down the bowl in between each addition.
Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in a preheated oven for 60-70 minutes.
PRO BAKING TIPS FOR THIS RECIPE
- Sift your dry ingredients. I can’t tell you enough how important it is to sift all of the dry ingredients. Some of the dry ingredients that you should always sift include flour, baking powder, baking soda, and powdered sugar.
- Use room-temperature dairy. Always remove ingredients such as milk, butter, refrigerated citrus fruit, and eggs ahead of time. You can also place cold eggs in a cup or bowl of warm water to ensure that they are not too cold before adding them to the mix.
- Zest your lemons before juicing them. It is much easier to zest the lemon zest before juicing the lemons.
- Cream your butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy.
- Overmixing the batter. Overmixing batters will lead to stiff, dry cakes. The batter should be mixed for no more than about 5 minutes.
- Cooling cakes completely. For best results, allow cakes to cool for about 3 hours before icing them. Cakes can also be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for better results.
Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
8
servings10
minutes1
hour15
minutes1
hour25
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp grated lemon zest, plus more for garnish
3 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- For The Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice
1 tsp milk
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan, then line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, or a stand mixer, cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue mixing until the butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl in between. Then, Add in the lemon juice, zest, and vanilla extract.
- Begin gradually adding in the flour and buttermilk, alternating between the two. Scrape down the bowl in between.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for 8 to 10 minutes. Then, remove it from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the glaze, then drizzle over the cooled cake.
- Top with grated lemon zest and serve.
- For The Glaze
- In a medium bowl, add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk. Whisk together well until smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled pound cake.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Regular lemons can be substituted for the Meyer lemon juice and zest in this recipe.
- It is much easier to zest the lemon zest before juicing the lemons.
- It’s important to add the correct amount of flour by weighing it with a kitchen scale, preferably. If you do not own a kitchen scale, be sure to fluff up the flour in its container, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level the top.
- It is important to ensure you start with room-temperature milk, eggs, and butter so that they create an emulsion.
- If the cake begins to brown too quickly, tint the cake with tin foil.
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