Lemon Pound Cake
User Reviews
5
Lemon Pound Cake
Description
The Lemon Pound Cake features a blend of softened butter and full-fat cream cheese beaten with sugar and lemon zest to create a creamy, lightened batter. Eggs are added one at a time for structure and moisture, then vanilla and optional lemon extract enhance the citrus aroma. Dry ingredients including flour, baking powder, and salt are alternated with buttermilk and folded into the batter to maintain tenderness and develop crumb.
Baked in a greased and floured bundt or tube pan, the cake rises into a golden loaf with a slightly dense, moist crumb. The lemon zest provides fresh citrus notes without bitterness, and the glaze made from powdered sugar, butter, lemon juice, and vanilla adds sweetness and tang on top.
The cake pairs well with coffee or tea and can be sliced for serving as a sweet snack or dessert. Baking in loaf pans is an alternative to bundt pans, with an adjusted baking time to ensure doneness. Proper greasing and flouring prevent sticking and help achieve a clean release.
Storing at room temperature in an airtight container preserves moisture for several days. While refrigeration is not recommended due to drying, freezing is possible, wrapped tightly for long term storage.
Ingredients
For Lemon Pound Cake
- 1 cup butter softened, unsalted
- 8 oz cream cheese softened (use full-fat cream cheese that is sold in bricks, not the spreadable kind sold in tubs)
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2.5 .5 Tablespoons lemon this is usually 2-3 lemons for me. Be sure not to zest much into the papery white layer or “pith” of the lemon or the flavor may be bitter, zest
- 5 large egg room temperature preferred
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract optional, see note
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
For Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons butter salted or unsalted will work, melted
- 1-3 Tablespoons lemon juice plus additional as needed
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Arrange oven rack to center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Thoroughly grease (I use vegetable shortening) and flour a 12-cup bundt pan or 10" tube pan (see notes to bake in loaf pans). Be sure to tap/shake out excess flour or, rather than greasing/flouring you may spray with baking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using an electric mixer), beat together butter, cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest on medium-speed until creamy, well-combined and batter is lightened in color.
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and stir in vanilla extract and lemon extract (if using). The mixture should be very smooth, light, and creamy when finished.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- With mixer on low-speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter batter, starting and ending with the flour mixture (I add the flour in 3 parts and the buttermilk in 2).
- Pour lemon pound cake batter into your prepared bundt pan and bake on 350F (175C) for 50-60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean or (preferably) with a few moist crumbs. If you have a lighter-colored bundt pan, it may take longer in the oven.
- Allow to cool for 15-25 minutes and then carefully (it will still be hot! invert onto cooling rack to cool completely before decorating with glaze.
Lemon Glaze
- Prepare glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mixture will be very thick until you add the lemon juice.
- Add lemon juice, one tablespoon at a time, until the consistency is thin enough that it falls in ribbons off of your whisk, but thick enough that it holds its shape for several seconds before dissolving back into the bowl.
- Drizzle lemon glaze over cooled pound cake. Allow glaze to set for 30-60 minutes (this may be faster or longer, depending on the precise thickness of your glaze) and then dig in!
Notes
- The lemon extract is optional; omitting it results in a less intense lemon flavor.
- For loaf pan baking, divide batter into two greased and floured pans; bake about 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped for up to five days.
- Avoid refrigeration to prevent drying, but the cake freezes well when wrapped tightly for several months.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 12slices with glaze
Amount Per Serving
Calories 603 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1slice with glaze | |
| Calories | 603kcal | 30% |
| Carbohydrates | 87g | 29% |
| Protein | 7g | 14% |
| Fat | 26g | 40% |
| Saturated Fat | 15g | 75% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 135mg | 45% |
| Sodium | 260mg | 11% |
| Potassium | 138mg | 3% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 62g | 124% |
| Vitamin A | 896IU | 18% |
| Vitamin C | 2mg | 2% |
| Calcium | 63mg | 6% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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