Easy Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze (video)
If you love all things lemon, you’re going to love this super easy and delicious lemon pound cake with lemon glaze! This lemon cake recipe is what lemon dreams are made of! It’s moist, delicate and packed with lemon flavor thanks to lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon extract and a simple lemon glaze! I love this cake in the morning with coffee or after dinner with tea. Plus, you can make it as a Bundt cake or in loaf pans!
Watch My Lemon Cake Video Tutorial
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What is Pound Cake?
The name ‘pound cake’ has been around for decades! The original pound cake recipe called for equal parts of flour, butter, sugar and eggs; one pound of each! Modern recipes like mine have changed the proportions and extended the ingredient list to include delicious fillings and flavorings, like lemon zest. You can even find pound cakes with chocolate, berries and dried fruit. I love to enjoy this lemon pound cake while it’s still warm with a cup of coffee!
Ingredients for Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
Here are the main ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious and aromatic cake!
- Unsalted Butter: use only unsalted butter for this recipe! Soften the butter at room temperature until it’s soft but not melted.
- Greek Yogurt: adding yogurt to the recipe makes this cake extra soft, moist and fluffy!
- Eggs: have the eggs at room temperature for best results. Cold eggs will bring down the temperature of the cake batter.
- Sugar: white granulated sugar works best for this recipe.
- Lemon Juice: use freshly squeezed lemon juice for best results. I first zest the lemons, then juice them.
- Lemon Zest: the best way to add great lemon flavor to any recipe. Fresh lemon zest is a must for this recipe!
- Lemon Extract: another way to add lemon flavor. If you don’t have this extract, simply add more lemon zest.
- Flour, Baking Soda & Baking Powder
- Confectioner’s Sugar: for making the simple lemon glaze.
Different Baking Methods
This lemon pound cake can be prepared a couple different ways. For company, I like to use a Bundt cake pan to make the cake look extra special and pretty! When making this recipe for myself, I’ll use two, 8 ½-inch loaf pans. Using loaf pans is also a great idea if you want to share the cake your family or neighbors! Whichever method you use, make sure to spray the pans very well with a baking spray, or butter and flour the pans.
Here are the baking times for the two methods:
- One, 8 or 9-inch (21 or 23-cm) Bund cake pan: bake at 350F/177C for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Two, 8 ½-inch (22-cm) loaf pans: bake at 350F/177C for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Make sure to take the cake out of the pan as soon as it comes out of the oven! I invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. Taking the lemon cake out of the pan right away will keep it from sweating in the pan, which can make the cake gummy.
How to Make Lemon Pound Cake
You’ll love how easy this lemon cake is to make! It takes about 20 minutes to get the cake into the oven and baking.
- I always like to start recipes by preheating the oven and preparing my cake pans. Next, I cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until it’s light and fluffy. Don’t skip this creaming step; it really helps make the cake extra delicate!
- Next, I add in the eggs, extracts, yogurt and lemon juice. The lemon extract adds loads of lemon flavor!
- Special note: once you add the lemon juice into the batter, it will cause the batter to look clumpy and separated. Don’t worry!! Once you add the dry ingredients, the batter will come together nicely.
- Next, I add in the dry ingredients and the zest from 2 lemons! If you want a super lemony cake, you can even add the zest from three lemons! The oils in lemon zest add an incredible amount of flavor and aroma!
- Transfer the lemon cake batter into your prepared pan and bake according to instructions based on pan size.
- Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack, then add the lemon glaze on top!
Adding a Simple Lemon Glaze
Once my lemon pound cake has cooled a bit, I add a simple lemon glaze on top for more flavor! This glaze is made with two ingredients – confectioner’s sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice. I like my glaze to be on the thicker side and usually add about 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. You can add more or less depending on how thick or thin you would the glaze to be. Drizzle the glaze onto the cake and garnish the top with sliced lemon wedges.
I prefer to keep this cake covered and at room temperature. If you need to keep the cake for longer than 2 days, store it in the refrigerator.
More Recipes
Enjoyed this delicious and easy cake recipe? Check out some of my other recipes you’re sure to enjoy!
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake – the best lemon cake with lemon curd filling and lemon poppy seed cream cheese frosting!
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins – super easy and delicious muffins with loads of lemon flavor and crunch poppy seeds! Plus, an easy glaze!
- Lemon Meringue Pie – the best-ever lemon pie with a mountain of fluffy meringue on top and homemade lemon curd filling!
- Triple Lemon Macarons – one of my favorite macaron flavors! These lemon cookies are filled with lemon buttercream and lemon curd!
- Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake – another easy cake recipe, this one with loads of juicy blueberries! Blueberry and lemon – a match made in heaven!
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Supplies
Need some supplies to make this recipe? You can get them here (Amazon affiliate links):
- 8 ½-inch Loaf Pans – I love these non-stick loaf pans for baking breads and cakes like this lemon pound cake.
- 9-inch Bundt Cake Pan – a classic Bundt cake pan is a must for any baker’s kitchen!
- KitchenAid Hand Mixer – I love this small but powerful mixer for small jobs such as making this cake!
- Baking Spray – make sure to spray the inside of your pan with a good baking spray!
Easy Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze (video)
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temp
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp EACH: baking powder, baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- Zest from 2 large lemons
For Lemon Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 to 4 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Preparing the Cake Batter:
- Preheat the oven to 350F/177C. This recipe can be made in one, 8 or 9-inch (21 or 23-cm) Bundt cake pan or two, 8 ½-inch (22-cm) loaf pans. Spray the inside of the pan(s) very well with baking spray, or use the flour and butter method.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and sugar. Mix on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until the butter is fluffy and cream. Next, add the eggs, lemon extract, vanilla extract, Greek yogurt and lemon juice. Mix again for about 3 minutes, until the eggs are well beaten.
- NOTE: the batter will look separated because of the lemon juice. This is okay! It will come together once you add the dry ingredients!
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the cake batter, then mix on low speed, just until the dry ingredients are incorporated; don’t over-mix. Next, add the lemon zest and mix again for about 20 seconds, just to get the zest incorporated.
Baking the Lemon Cake:
- Transfer the prepared batter into the prepared pan(s). If making loaves, divide the batter evenly. Level the cake batter with an offset spatula. For the Bundt cake: bake in the preheated oven at 350F/177C for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For the loaf pans: bake in the preheated oven for about 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Once the cake is done baking, invert it onto a cool rack to cool completely. Cooling the cake in the pan can make it gummy.
Easy Lemon Glaze:
- For the lemon glaze, simply combine the confectioner’s sugar with a couple tablespoons of lemon juice and whisk. Add more lemon juice for a thinner glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and garnish with fresh lemon slices, if desired.
- Cake can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 days; refrigerate for longer shelf life.
I made it and everyone loved it!
Hi Alena! I’m so glad to hear that everyone enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Can I swap out the Greek yogurt for sour cream?
Yes, both will work great for this recipe. Enjoy!