Lemon Pound Cake (Printable)

A dense butter cake loaded with fresh lemon flavor and finished with a sweet citrus glaze.

# What You'll Need:

→ Cake Ingredients

01 - 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, softened
02 - 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
03 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
04 - 1/4 cup whole milk
05 - 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
06 - 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
07 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
08 - 1 teaspoon baking powder
09 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

→ Lemon Glaze

10 - 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar, sifted
11 - 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

# How-To:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan or line with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 3-4 minutes.
03 - Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition until fully incorporated.
04 - In a small bowl, combine whole milk, fresh lemon juice, and grated lemon zest. Set aside.
05 - In a separate bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended.
06 - With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in three additions, alternating with milk-lemon liquid. Begin and end with flour. Mix until just combined—avoid overmixing.
07 - Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan, smoothing top evenly. Bake for 50-55 minutes until toothpick inserted in center emerges clean.
08 - Let cake rest in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
09 - Whisk together sifted powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice until smooth and pourable. Adjust consistency with additional juice if needed.
10 - Drizzle prepared glaze evenly over cooled cake. Allow glaze to set before slicing and serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The buttery crumb practically melts on your tongue while the lemon keeps it from feeling too heavy
  • This is the cake that convinces people they don't need frosting to be happy
02 -
  • Overmixing once flour is added will make the cake tough—stop as soon as you don't see dry streaks anymore
  • The glaze thickens as it sits, so pour it while it's still fluid enough to drip down the sides attractively
03 -
  • Use a microplane for the zest—you want the colorful outer layer only, not the bitter white pith beneath
  • Room temperature ingredients combine more easily and create a more uniform crumb throughout
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