This Lemon Pound Cake is a dream dessert for lemon lovers! Made with lemon juice, lemon zest, and topped with a lemon buttermilk glaze, this lemon pound cake recipe is scrumptious!
Looking for more scrumptious cake recipes? I think you will love my Carrot Cake, Hummingbird Cake, and Coconut Cake.
The sweet and slightly tart flavor of this Lemon Pound Cake happily greets your tastebuds as you take your first bite. Soft, moist lemon pound cake is drizzled with fresh, luscious lemon glaze for an out-of-this-world taste that makes this homemade Lemon Pound Cake a favorite dessert recipe!
Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
This Lemon Pound Cake is so good. In my mind, it’s the lemon pound cake that is the absolute best and tops all others! I was not a huge fan of them before developing this recipe. Others I’ve had before didn’t interest me – either they were dry, or the lemon didn’t taste right.
Determined to make the best Lemon Pound Cake, I created this recipe with my Mama’s delicious Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe in mind. That was definitely the right decision because now I’m in love with this Lemon Pound Cake and so are my family and friends. It’s not too sweet, not too tart, but just right.
The burst of lemon flavor coupled with the sweet deliciousness of the pound cake really does make each bite delicious perfection!
How to Make Lemon Pound Cake
This cake is simple to make, has only a handful of basic ingredients, yet is loaded with fresh, amazing flavor! Let me tell you how I make it.
To make this, you’ll need:
Ingredients
For the Lemon Pound Cake
- Butter – softened to room temperature
- Cream Cheese – softened to room temperature – it gives the cake a rich, creamy taste and texture.
- Eggs – you use six whole large eggs at room temperature
- Lemon – you’ll use the fresh lemon juice and the lemon zest for a bright, delicious lemon flavor in this cake
- Sugar – I use granulated sugar
- Flour – this cake recipe uses all-purpose flour
- Salt – a little bit of salt in sweet recipes helps to balance.
- Vanilla extract – I love to use my homemade vanilla extract, but if using store-bought, be sure to use the highest quality you can. I don’t recommend using imitation vanilla flavoring as it can leave a bitter aftertaste, in my opinion.
For the Lemon Buttermilk Glaze
- Confectioner’s sugar – also known as powdered sugar
- Lemon – you use the zest from the entire lemon, along with juice from the lemon to make this glaze.
- Buttermilk – this glaze only uses a tablespoon so if you don’t have it on hand, I can show you how to make a buttermilk substitute. The buttermilk is important to the flavor of the glaze, so please don’t skip it.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Get some ingredients to room temperature. Take the butter, cream cheese, and eggs out of the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature.
Prepare to bake. Preheating the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare your bundt or tube pan by coating it with shortening or butter and lightly flour the inside of the pan to prevent the cake from sticking. Set aside.
Cream the ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, mix together – or cream together – the room-temperature butter and cream cheese with the sugar until fluffy.
Add the eggs. Add one egg at a time into the creamed mixture and mix after each addition.
Finish making the cake batter. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest to the mixture and combine well. Add the flour, salt, and vanilla and mix until just combined well but do not overmix. Then pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt or tube pan.
Bake the cake. Place pan in preheated oven and bake the pound cake until it reaches a golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. (About 1 hour and 15-30 minutes). You can follow my tips for how to tell when your cake is done.
Whisk together the glaze. As the cake is cooling, whisk together the ingredients for the glaze and allow it to sit until the cake is completely cooled.
Let the cake cool. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully turn out the cake on a wire rack and allow it to finish cooling on the rack. This step is important because if the cake is allowed to remain in the pan longer than 10 or so minutes before putting it out on the wire rack to finish cooling, the cake may possibly stick to the insides of the pan. Once cooled completely, place the cooled pound cake on your desired cake stand or cake plate and prepare to glaze it.
Drizzle the glaze onto the cake. Once the cooled cake is on a cake stand or cake plate, then drizzle the zesty Lemon Buttermilk Glaze on the cake. Serve and enjoy!
A bit of advice, please do not skip making this lemon buttermilk glaze. It is an amazing part of this cake!
Perfect for Spring and Summer Entertaining
I love lemon and citrus desserts such as my Lemon Bars or Key Lime Pie anytime but especially in the warmer months of the year. And freshly squeezed Lemonade is a treat on warm days. But this Lemon Pound Cake is most certainly a star for spring and summer entertaining!
You’ll enjoy it for luncheons, showers, and parties of all kinds. It is a bright favorite to serve on your Easter dessert table. And everyone loves it for Mother’s Day celebrations.
But don’t just save it for holidays and parties – it is the perfect complement to warm weather barbecues, family picnics and Sunday suppers!
More Favorite Recipes for Citrus Lovers
Citrus Scones with Orange Glaze
Here’s my Lemon Pound Cake recipe. I can’t wait to hear how you like it.
Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Lemon Pound Cake
- 1 1/2 cups butter
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
- 6 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- lemon zest
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the Lemon Buttermilk Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk
Instructions
For the Lemon Pound Cake
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare bundt or tube pan by coating with shortening or butter and flouring light. Set aside.
- Let the butter, cream cheese, and eggs come to room temperature. Cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add lemon juice and zest and combine well. Add flour and salt and vanilla. Mix until just well-combined but do not over mix. Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt or tube pan.
- Bake until golden brown and skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 – 30 minutes. When cake is done, cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then carefully turn the cake out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
For the Lemon Buttermilk Glaze
- As the cake is cooling, whisk together ingredients confectioner’s sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and buttermilk to make the glaze. Allow to sit until cake has fully cooled, then drizzle over top of lemon pound cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Is there no leavening in this recipe??
There is no chemical leavening agent in this pound cake. The eggs and air beaten into the batter cause the cake to rise. I hope you enjoy the cream cheese pound cake.
Would it benefit from a lemon simple syrup being brushed over the cake?
Would that be too much?
Shevaun, I have not added a lemon simple syrup on this cake. I have found the lemon buttermilk glaze I add is enough. But you can try it and see if you like the added lemon syrup.
Hi Robyn – love your recipes ! On this one, I have for years make a cream cheese pound cake just like this recipe except for the addition of the lemon/zest. What surprised me was 1 teaspoon of salt. My recipe calls for a pinch of salt (1/8th or so). Because of the lemon, is that why the salt is a full 1 teaspoon? Seems like a lot. But you are the expert, so am asking why. Thanks!
April, I’ve always used a teaspoon of kosher salt in my Cream Cheese Pound Cake as well as this one. That is the way my mother always made hers. This lemon pound cake recipe is based upon her cream cheese cake recipe.
This is the only and best version I have ever used. I’m a small town Southern Girl and this is one of the first things you learn in Grandma’s kitchen. This is similar, but this version is the one. I’ll include in my family collection. it’s that good. The cream cheese and buttermilk glaze is the key to moisture everytime, buttermilk add that compliment to the glaze make all the difference.
Thanks, Valencia! I love how moist this cake is, too. I appreciate that you are adding it to your collection of recipes.