Dense, buttery pound cake gets a lemon lift in this bright and cheery citrus version. Iced lemon pound cake is super moist and bursting with the flavors of fresh lemon, creamy butter, and sweet vanilla. A creamy lemon icing that sets on top is the only decorating this small-yet-stunning cake requires.
One reader, Laurie, says: “I’ve never made pound cake before but this turned out very well. It was moist and delicious. It took 50 minutes to bake and I’m glad you mentioned that a couple of moist crumbs on a toothpick is ok, otherwise I may have left it in the oven longer and it may have been a bit dry. I used the zest of 1 1/2 lemons as suggested as I love lemon. I’m making another one today! ★★★★★“
Here’s exactly what you need to make when it’s citrus season: grapefruit Greek yogurt cake.
But if grapefruit isn’t your ideal choice, iced lemon pound cake is another home run. I originally published this recipe on my website in 2017 and I make it at least once every winter season. Imagine a coffee shop lemon loaf, but with a tighter crumb and with supremely fresh flavor you only get from homemade. (Nothing compares!)
Do you enjoy pound cake? My favorite is this cream cheese pound cake, which has an upgraded flavor, tight and dense crumb, and remains wonderfully buttery and soft. Brown butter pound cake has a similar texture and comes with the addition of brown butter flavor. Point being—I love adding flair and flavor to pound cake, and lemon is always a lovely choice.
By the way, if you’ve tried the lemon loaf recipe in my cookbook Sally’s Baking Addiction, you’ll appreciate today’s recipe, too. The cookbook variation is a lighter-crumbed quick bread—soft and airy like birthday cake, but with big and bright lemon flavor that hits as soon as you take the first bite.
The Exact Texture of This Lemon Pound Cake
Today’s recipe has the same wake-up-your-tastebuds flavor as my cookbook variation, but the texture is a little different. It is:
- Unapologetically moist
- Caramelized around the edges
- Dense and satisfying without tasting heavy
- Super rich and buttery
- Extra smooth with a velvety crumb
Best Ingredients to Use & Why I Don’t Recommend Substitutions
You need just 9 ingredients in the lemon pound cake batter. With so few ingredients, it’s best to stick to the recipe because each has an important job. I’ve tried my hand at many variations, and keep coming back to this recipe because of its careful ratio of ingredients. I don’t recommend straying.
Dry Ingredients: You need all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. The amount of flour isn’t a misprint. You really only need 1.5 cups, or 188g. Somehow, it just works!
Wet Ingredients: Grab your room-temperature butter and sugar, then you’ll need eggs, sour cream for moisture (it also keeps the crumb a bit light), vanilla extract, and lemon zest + juice.
Helpful Tip: You need lemon zest and juice and it’s easiest to zest the lemon before juicing it. Here’s the citrus zester and the citrus juicer I use if you need recommendations.
Expect a Thick Lemon Pound Cake Batter
This is a thick batter. Unlike vanilla cake or chocolate cake, there’s no milk to thin things out. The only real liquid is from the lemon juice, and there isn’t too much of it. Pound cakes do not typically include liquid besides eggs. (If you consider those liquid!)
You can bake this in a 9×5-inch loaf pan, but lately I have been using my 1-lb. 8×4-inch loaf pan. It yields a taller loaf, and needs a little extra bake time. I include instructions for both pans in the recipe below. If all you have is a 9×5-inch loaf pan, which is what you use for banana bread and pumpkin bread, you can use it, but expect the bread to be a little shorter than pictured.
Spread the batter into the greased loaf pan. There isn’t much pouring involved… more of a spoon-and-spread situation here!
Lemon Icing That Sets
I believe the saying goes… when life hands you lemons, make lemonade glaze. The icing on top of the pound cake adds a whole other level of lemon flavor. It’s thick and sets after a couple hours, producing a sweet and zingy layer you’ll want to save for last. You need heavy cream (or half-and-half or milk), lemon juice, and confectioners’ sugar.
Feel free to add candied lemons on the top for presentation, like I do with lemon poppy seed bread.
This recipe is too small for a Bundt pan. In you want a larger lemon pound cake in a Bundt pan, here are 2 options: (1) Double the recipe, but use 3/4 cup (180g) of sour cream to ensure there is enough moisture. The rest of the ingredients are simply doubled. Follow the same baking time and temperature from my cream cheese pound cake. And (2) Use my lemon poppy seed Bundt cake recipe, and feel free to skip the poppy seeds.
Absolutely. You can fold 1 cup (about 140g) of fresh blueberries into the batter. I try to avoid frozen blueberries because they turn the batter and cake grayish blue, but feel free to use them if that’s all you have. No need to coat them with flour before folding in, but feel free to do so if you’d like. This batter is quite thick, so they don’t really sink.
Iced Lemon Pound Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Dense, buttery pound cake gets a lemon lift in this bright and cheery citrus version. Iced lemon pound cake is super moist and bursting with the flavors of fresh lemon, creamy butter, and sweet vanilla. A creamy lemon icing that sets on top is the only decorating this small-yet-stunning cake requires.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons (22ml) lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) heavy cream or milk (heavy cream produces a thick icing as pictured)
Instructions
- Lower the oven rack to the lower-third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan (like this one or this one) with nonstick spray. Or you can use a 9×5-inch loaf pan for a shorter loaf.
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed in a large bowl until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the granulated sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, add the eggs one at a time. Once the last egg is completely mixed in, stop the mixer. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract, then beat on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. The mixture may look curdled as a result of the varying textures combining. This is normal and the batter will come together when you add the dry ingredients in the next step.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients just until combined. If needed, run a whisk through the batter a few times to rid any large lumps. Avoid over-mixing. Batter is very thick.
- Spoon/spread the batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes if you used an 8×4-inch pan and 45-60 minutes if you used a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Tent the cake with aluminum foil halfway through baking to prevent the top from over-browning. Pound cakes are dense and take awhile to bake in the oven. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours and don’t be alarmed if yours is taking longer. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out *mostly* clean. A couple moist crumbs are OK.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack. Allow cake to cool in the pan on the wire rack for 1 hour, then carefully remove the slightly warm cake from the pan. Let it continue cooling on a wire rack or on a serving plate/platter. You can add the icing while the cake is still warm or wait for it to cool.
- Make the icing: Whisk all of the icing ingredients together and pour over cake. Serve immediately or wait until the cake cools completely, which promises neater slices.
- Cover and store leftover cake for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the pound cake ahead of time by freezing it. (I suggest icing it right before serving, so freeze it without the icing.) Bake it, cool it, then wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze the loaf for up to 3 months. Allow the cake to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before topping with icing and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8×4-inch Loaf Pan (like this one or this one) or 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester
- Sour Cream: If you don’t have sour cream, you can use plain yogurt or dairy/nondairy milk instead. If using milk, your pound cake won’t have a super tight crumb that is signature to pound cakes. Instead, the cake will have a lighter and cakier texture. For best results, I recommend full-fat sour cream.
- Bundt Pan: Here are 2 options for making a lemon Bundt pound cake in a Bundt pan. (1) Double this recipe, but use 3/4 cup (180g) of sour cream. If you were doubling the recipe, you would use 1/2 cup but make sure you increase to 3/4 cup for added moisture. The rest of the ingredients are simply doubled. Spoon/spread into a generously greased 10–12-cup Bundt pan. Follow the baking time and temperature from my cream cheese pound cake. (2) Use my lemon poppy seed Bundt cake recipe. Feel free to leave out the poppy seeds. That cake has a lighter texture and isn’t quite as heavy as pound cake.
- Can I Add Blueberries? Yes, absolutely. You can fold 1 cup (about 140g) of fresh blueberries into the batter after it comes together. I strongly recommend fresh blueberries, as frozen blueberries can turn the batter and finished cake a grayish blue. Keeping that in mind, you can use them if you’d like. I have better luck with fresh.
Great pound cake recipe! Made it for my pound-cake-loving hubby, who also loves lemon anything. Really delicious, perfect flavor not overly lemon-y, nice texture. Thus recipe is a keeper!
Can you please explain the differences between the Iced Lemon Pound Cake and the Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake. I understand pound cake is a type of cake and bundt is a type of pan. I’m just trying to figure out which lemon cake to make in bundt pan shape. Just wanted to understand the differences in the cakes, beyond the texture provided by the poppy seeds, because I plan on leaving those out anyway. Thank you!
Hi Nicole, the lemon poppy seed Bundt cake has a lighter texture and isn’t quite as heavy as pound cake.
So easy, moist and delicious! Not one recipe from Sally has ever disappointed. Thank you Sally
Kinda bummed. Printed this recipe off a few years ago. Made it for a baby shower. But didn’t realize some of the amounts were changed on the baking soda and butter on the website. Made it again. Turned out better with the new measurements.
Can this recipe be used for a sheet cake? 1/4 sheet or half sheet?
Hi Shiela, We haven’t tested this pound cake recipe in a sheet pan. You may enjoy this lemon cake recipe instead – see recipe notes for instructions on baking it in a 9×13. Enjoy!
What can I substitue for sour cream?
Hi Louise, full fat yogurt is a great substitute.
What a lovely recipe this turned out to be! I used the zest of 2 lemons (didn’t measure, just grated straight into the bowl to catch the released oils) and the juice of 1 lemon (about 2 1/2 Tbs). Baked 40 minutes in a 6 cup Bundt pan (sprayed with Bakers Joy). I didn’t make the icing, but rather brushed the cake while warm with lemon syrup (equal parts lemon juice from the remaining lemon and sugar; heated mixture in the microwave @ 30 second intervals). For serving, a simple, light sprinkle of confectioners sugar was all it needed.
This cake had a delicate, lemony flavor and wonderful texture. For a more pronounced lemony tang, I’d recommend either using 3 lemons or making the icing. This recipe is a keeper.
Is this the right amount of batter for a *6 cup* Bundt pan? That sweet little pan doesn’t get as much love as it deserves in my kitchen…
Hi Barbara, that should work just fine! We’re unsure of the exact bake time, but let us know if you do give it a try.
This batter was the ideal amount for the 6 cup Bundt. Bake time was perfect at 40 minutes (clearly needed more time at the 35 minute mark).
Is there any way I can incorporate raspberries? I was thinking maybe in the icing or adding them in to the loaf? Any advice?
Hi Kirsten, you can (carefully!) fold in up to 1 cup of fresh raspberries. We don’t recommend frozen, as they’ll release too much liquid. And/or you can use the raspberry icing from these scones. Enjoy!
I’m making this pound cake Friday evening and serving on Saturday morning for my “ladies” coffee klatsch”. Is it best to ice the cake right after baking or can I wait until Saturday morning. Thanks!
Hi Lynne, either way works just fine!
We have a Meyer lemon tree outside and it’s currently overflowing with lemons so we’ve been looking for ways to use them. I gave this recipe a shot and it has a really great texture and isn’t too dense or dry. The flavor did come out a little underwhelming, but I’m sure it it’s because of the substitution. Since the lemons I used are a little sweeter and less lemony, the cake didn’t quite have the zing it needed and turned out more like lemon-orange pound cake. I would definitely make this recipe again and use regular lemons. It seems like a keeper!
Hi Saiiy; This lemon cake turned out so delicious. It took 40 minutes in my Wolf toaster oven. I only had a USA 9×5 pan so I used my old thin 8×4 inch since I wanted a higher cake. It was done in 45 minutes. The icing is perfect, not too sweet. Thanks for another great recipe!!! Kathy
May I use a glass loaf pan?
Hi Katharine, absolutely. Bake time may be a few minutes longer, but keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
This was such an easy recipe.It was so moist ,lemony delicious.A definite keeper.I used the bigger pan so nice and high.Thank you your recipes are so good
Why is my cake overflowing?
Hi Lina, are you using a smaller pan by chance? You’ll want an 8×4-inch or 9×5-inch loaf pan. Or were any of the ingredients overmeasured?
I made this for a Valentine treat for our veterinarian office. They all loved the pound cake and called me wanting the recipe. Now I need to make it for my family.
Excellent recipe! The only change I made was to add some lemon extract. Utterly buttery and delicious. The only change – next time I will double the icing because it is SO GOOD.
So Delicious, since I had extra lemon zest, put into the glaze to add a little more zip otherwise followed receipe and came out great..
I love your website and letter I vet every day with a recipe or more. I live at high altitude. Are there any adjustments i have to make to the cakes, or breads or candies? Thanks Georgiana
Hi Georgiana, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Hi I too live at a higher elevation (5600 ft) and have found I need to baking for just a little over the required amount of time. I do set for the time stated but, I check it and if it needs a few more minutes I start doing so in 5 min increments. Hope this helps.