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 dessert 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. Nutella swirl pound cake has the classic pound cake crumb with defined Nutella swirls throughout. 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. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made this lemon cake yesterday and actually doubled the recipe. One is going with us today for a family visit and one for us to keep. It is absolutely wonderful.
I will make this recipe again for sure. I love your recipes Sally! Perfection every time. Thank you!
Hi Sally 🙂 I plan on making this pound cake tomorrow morning, but I first wanted to ask if it would change the texture/taste any if I used cooking oil instead of the butter. I never substitute butter when making scones, but I do sometimes with other baking. But I wasn’t too sure about pound cakes. (I only ask because butter seems to be pricey where I live, they even have security stickers on butter packages here, lol)
Hi Lori! I’m glad to help. While you’ll lose the butter flavor, you can try substituting in the same amount of room temperature (solid) coconut oil for the butter. Let me know how it turns out!
I am super picky, and this cake was PERFECTION!!! My daughter made it for our family, and it was everything a lemon pound cake should be! Thank you so much, Sally!
Hi Sally! I made this pound cake today and it didn’t turn out as I expected it. It rose half way and everything else was stiff/not soft. Did I do something wrong? Or do I need more baking powder or something? Thank you so much!
Hi Annie! I’m glad to help. The pound cake will have a dense and tight crumb, not at all like a regular vanilla or white cake. Did you follow the recipe exactly? It sounds like it could have been under-baked.
Omg soooo amazing!!! Tastes just like Starbucks iced lemon loaf which is my fave! Found a easy to save $$ and make it home
Oh, man, I want this recipe to be good…but my cake is overdone on the outside and not quite done in the center. My oven has a hotspot near the front, so it developed a crack, but the worst part was the exterior of the cake…I did bake it in a Nordic Ware pan and it is brown…like a deep coppery color. Could that be it? How should I modify the heat/baking time to work around this? If I drop the temp to 325, do you think that would be enough?
Hi Stephanie! Thanks for trying this recipe. A few small adjustments to the oven settings will help for next time. First, it sounds like your oven may run hot so I recommend reducing the oven temperature down to 325°F (163°C). Lower the oven rack as well. Use a light colored loaf pan if you can. By lowering the oven rack and oven temperature, the cake will need longer in the oven. When you notice the exterior browning, tent it with a piece of aluminum foil to prevent it from burning before the center can cook. Hope all of this helps!
Hi Sally,
Do you think I can make this as a cupcake lemon cake? Would there be big differences on texture, cooking time, etc.?
My son loves cupcakes and I’d like him to try your yummy recipe. ❤️
Hi Kat, You can make this in cupcake pans but it is pound cake so expect a very dense texture. I’m unsure of the bake time. For lighter lemon cupcakes you can use this Lemon Cupcake recipe and top with your favorite frosting.
Amazing super easy recipe. I just finished it. So it does have a dense texture and it tastes delicious – but I don’t eat pound cake often and I can’t tell if it’s dry or it’s just how it tastes? I don’t think it’s dry but I can’t help but wonder if it should be wetter? I used all ingredients as is.
Hi Chloe, As a pound cake this should be pretty dense, but not dry! I wonder if it’s simply a little over-baked. An easy fix for next time is to check it a few minutes earlier. Also be sure to measure your ingredients properly (spoon and level the flour – not scoop!).
Hello, I am on my 3rd attempt of this pound cake. It is delicious and that is why I keep trying, but it keeps coming out too dark on the edges. Why is that?? I have been covering it with foil, lowering the temp, I am baking it o the rack it’s supposed to, and still too dark on the sides. Help!!
Hi Carla, Any chance you are using a dark metal pan? Dark metal absorbs more heat and can darken the edges of your baked goods.
Just iced and had some of this cake…..wow wow wow. This cake is so so good. I like the cake more than I like the frosting, but the frosting is still good. But, the CAKE! So flavorful, so fancy, and so easy! I can’t speak highly enough about this cake. Mine did bake a little flat, without the dome shape, not sure why. But, it doesn’t bother me! This cake is seriously a favorite. I can always trust Sally’s recipes!
Can I use pastry flour instead of the regular flour? BTW I made your Sour Cream Poundcake recipe a couple of days ago and it was wonderful!
Hi Richard, Pastry flour should be fine. Enjoy!
I know you said this cake is going to be moist and soft… but I’m still surprised by how nice it turns out!! I used zest from 2 lemons and also put some zest in the frosting to make it look pretty. I’m pretty sure it’s the softest thing I have baked!
I made your cake today. It was so delicious! I like the loaf size. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi Sally! I can’t wait to make this! If I make the icing ahead of time, will it harden before I am ready to ice the cake? I want to bake the cake and icing and travel with it. Thank you in advance!
Hi Mila, The glaze will set when left to dry. You can certainly try to place the icing in the container and then lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on top so that it is not exposed to air, however I would recommend just icing the cake before traveling!
Can you use heavy cream as a substitute for sour cream?
Hi MJ, Plain Greek yogurt is the best substitute for the sour cream.
This was an exceptional cake – the best lemon pound cake I’ve ever had. Moist, dense, all-around a great flavour. The instructions were very easy to follow and it was easy to make. It lasted less than a day in our home! I will make it again and I highly recommend it to everyone. Thank you for a perfect recipe 🙂
I made this cake for your lemon berry trifle and I couldnt help but double this recipe and make a loaf just for us! This is the best lemon pound cake i ever had!
Hi Sally – I literally just made the loaf to bring to my mother in law. The bread is more brown on sides and bottom than on top? Is it my oven temp? the Pan? I’m hoping to still tastes good. Can’t wait ti try.
Hi Jamie, If you are using a dark metal pan it could be causing the sides and bottom to brown faster (a darker color pan will absorb heat more quickly). If you think it could be your oven I highly suggest using an oven thermometer (see number 7 in my Top 10 Baking Tips).
This pound cake was incredible! Rave reviews from the family. It was moist and bursting with lemon flavor. I did add a little more lemon zest to it as suggested for more lemon taste.
So disappointed with this one. I absolutely love your other recipes but this one was not a winner sadly. I made it for my Dads birthday cake and it was just mediocre and didn’t taste of lemons! I actually added an extra half of a lemon juice and the icing was super lemony but just tasted of icing sugar. (confectioners sugar). The cake cooked too much on all sides but was only just cooked within. The top was fine but the sides and bottom dried and over browned. I usually line my tins but this said grease the loaf tin so I followed the recipe. It was probably something I did / didn’t do correctly but I won’t do this one again. Will try out another lemon one of yours with buttermilk as they always turn out amazingly.
Made this tonight – holy moly, it is so delicious and absolutely perfect. I took a little slice off the end to try it, and it’s just so good. The crumb is lovely and it’s just amazingly dense, in the best way. I haven’t even iced it yet, but I’m definitely keeping this recipe for the future. Also, it was super simple to put together – it’s already one of my favorites. I believe I may have put in the zest of 1 1/2 to 2 lemons and maybe a little over three tablespoons of the fresh squeezed juice and the lemon flavor is *chef’s kiss* – perfect. I’m glad you recommended tenting foil over it at the half way point, because it browned just the right amount. Wow. Thank you!
Made this tonite- followed your recipe to a T and it came out delicious. I’ve made many pound cakes over the years and this will definitely be in my ‘favorite recipes’ box.
Hi Sally! I want to use yogurt instead of sour cream. how much should I use kindly let me know and is the cake taste the same using yogurt?
Hi Huda, use the same amount of yogurt for sour cream. The pound cake doens’t taste quite as tender since yogurt is typically lower in fat.
I’ve made this cake multiple times and use nonfat greek yogurt in place of sour cream because I never have sour cream on hand. I also don’t make the glaze as its sweet and rich enough and is perfect without . Love this recipe and it is my go to now for lemon pound cake.
Hi Sally, I was wondering what the difference between this recipe and your lemon poppyseed Bundt cake is and which one I should use considering they have different bake times and temperatures?? I’m looking to make a lemon pound cake just in a Bundt pan for Mothers Day. Or just what time and temperatures would you suggest for a lemon pound cake in a Bundt pan?
Hi Laila, the lemon poppy seed Bundt cake isn’t quite as dense. This is a pound cake, so it’s denser. See my recipe note (and instructions in the post) if making this in a Bundt pan.
Love it! Spot on with texture and taste! Reduced the sugar by 25% and still tasted great! Might even reduce more with the next round of this cake!
This is an amazing recipe! I used milk instead of sour cream and it was still delicious. It was a hit, and I will definitely make it again.
Do you have any specific suggestions if using a glass loaf baking dish versus metal?
Hi Fiona, in general, if using a glass pan, the bake time may be a few minutes longer. As always, insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf to check for doneness.
I have made this a couple of times and love it, but I’d like to make an orange juice version. Any idea if the juice measurements would change if I did that?
I would use the same measurements.
Planning to make this this weekend. How many smaller loaf pans would you recommend splitting it between? I just love mini loaves!
Hi Marni, You can bake this as mini loaves but mini pans vary greatly in size, so how many you will get from one recipe and the exact bake time will depend on your exact pans.