Bursting with lemony flavor, this deliciously moist Lemon Pound Cake (Lemon Loaf) is an easy to make sweet treat.. drizzled in a delectable lemon glaze!
This easy Lemon Pound Cake recipe is one of my favorite things to bake. Its light, lemony flavor is the perfect companion to a cup of coffee or afternoon tea. It's perfect for entertaining. Like our Vanilla Birthday Cake and Sweet Potato Pound Cake, it comes together easily with just a few simple ingredients.
Hint: Sour cream is the secret ingredient that makes this cake moist and delicious every single time.
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Ingredients
- FLOUR: we like AP flour for this recipe
- SUGAR
- SALT
- BAKING POWDER
- SOUR CREAM: (we used low fat sour cream)
- 3 EGGS
- LEMON ZEST: grated from 2 lemons
- FRESH SQUEEZED LEMON JUICE: try to avoid bottled lemon juice
- VANILLA EXTRACT: real vanilla extract tastes best
- VEGETABLE OIL
*see recipe card for quantities
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Using vegetable oil, grease a loaf pan. Then line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in one bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, 1 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients.
- Mix vegetable oil in with a rubber spatula, carefully making sure it's combined.
- Pour the batter into a loaf pan.
- Bake for about 50 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).
- Allow finished cake to cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan before glazing.
- Carefully remove cake from loaf pan and place on a baking rack or sheet pan.
- Drizzle the lemon sugar glaze mixture over the cake evenly and allow it to soak in.
- Slice and serve.
How to make Lemon Glaze
- While cake is baking, mix 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice + ⅓ cup confectioners' sugar in a small sauce pan until the sugar dissolves.
- Set aside.
Variations
- Add Lemon Curd: For an extra PUNCH of lemon flavor, I swirled in some homemade lemon curd into the batter. This gave the cake an extra lemony, creamy center.
*see recipe card for lemon curd recipe. - Greek Yogurt: If you don't have sour cream in your fridge, you can substitute good greek yogurt. Both work well to create a moist cake.
- Make it a Bundt: this recipe works great in a bundt pan or a standard loaf pan.
Storage
Refrigerate for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
Unglazed cake can frozen for up to one month in an airtight container or covered tightly in aluminum wrap or plastic wrap
Top tip
Use fresh squeezed lemon juice for optimum flavor. Bottled lemon juice is not recommended for this recipe.
FAQ
Yes, just make sure to grease and flour the pan well before adding the batter. You don't want the cake to stick to the pan.
Yes! The flavor is very similar. We're biased, but we think it tastes even better!
We do not recommend using bottled juice. Fresh squeezed lemon juice + lemon zest are the key ingredients to great, all-natural lemon flavor.
Freeze only unglazed cake in airtight container for up to 1 month.
Lemon Pound Cake recipe
Bursting with lemony flavor, this super moist Lemon Pound Cake is an easy to make sweet treat, drizzled in a delectable lemon glaze!
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ½ C AP flour
- 1 C sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 C sour cream (we used low fat)
- 3 eggs
- Lemon zest, grated (from 2 lemons)
- ⅓ C fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ c vegetable oil
For the lemon curd (optional):
- ¾ C milk
- 3 Tbsp lemon zest, grated (from 3 lemons)
- ⅓ C fresh lemon juice
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 C sugar
For the glaze:
- ⅓ cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
To make the lemon curd (optional):
- combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan.
- cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and reaches 175°-180°. DO NOT LET IT BOIL.
- While still hot, pour the mixture through a strainer.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Using vegetable oil, grease a loaf pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in one bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, 1 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients.
- Mix vegetable oil in with a rubber spatula, carefully making sure it's combined.
- Pour the batter into loaf pan.
- Add half of the lemon curd (if you are using it, otherwise skip to step 10).
- Using a chopstick or a knife, swirl the lemon curd into the cake batter loosely
- Bake for about 50 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).
To make the glaze:
- While cake is baking, mix 2 tablespoon lemon juice + ⅓ C confectioners' sugar in a small sauce pan until the sugar dissolves.
- Set aside.
To glaze the cake:
- Allow finished cake to cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan before glazing.
- Carefully remove cake from loaf pan and place on a baking rack or sheet pan.
- Drizzle the lemon sugar glaze mixture over the cake evenly and allow it to soak in.
- Slice an serve.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 50 min
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slices
- Calories: 476
- Sugar: 48.6 g
- Sodium: 195.7 mg
- Fat: 19.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 70.6 g
- Protein: 6.9 g
- Cholesterol: 79.8 mg
Keywords: lemon, cake, easy, sour cream, lemony, glaze, lemon curd, curd, moist, easy, pound cake
K Scott says
The ingredients call for 11/3 cup of sugar however in the instructions it reads 1 cup then on the glaze it reads use the remaining 1/3 cup of confectioners sugar but the ingredients read 1 cup confectioners sugar HELP I’m baking it now
Jackie says
Hi! We are so sorry for the mix up! thank you for catching this! Please use 1 C sugar for the cake and 1/3 C sugar for the glaze. We have fixed the recipe. Hope it turns out great!!
K Scott says
Delicious, the end result was perfection!!! Thank you so much for the update- we will print this copy off and save! side note: we actually had lemon curd in a jar from a recipe a few weeks back and used that, worked out great saved a step. Happy to have the recipe though so we can re-fill the jar : ) cheers to you both
★★★★★
Jackie says
Thank you so much! We are SO HAPPY you enjoyed this cake! Thank you for your patience with us as well... we are so happy the end result was what you expected!!
Barb says
Looks delicious!
★★★★★
Rae says
The cake ingredient list mentions 1/3 of a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, but in the directions there is no mention of when to add it. Otherwise, a great recipe.
★★★★