The BEST Lemon Pound Cake Recipe (With Video!)

You’ve just found the best Lemon Pound Cake recipe on the Internet, no lies! I keep it tart and sweet but super moist with a tight crumb and classic pound cake texture. Plus I add a secret ingredient that changes the game. Folks will be wondering why your lemon pound cake is next level, and trust me, they are gonna beg for the recipe. The queen of pound cakes is definitely back with another one!

Lemon Pound Cake Ingredients

• Unsalted butter and cream cheese: Full fat cream cheese gives the most flavor. Salted or unsalted butter work fine here. Leave out the salt if using unsalted. And make sure both are room temp.
• Granulated sugar: White sugar is best for its texture and it won’t affect the color of the cake.
• Eggs: Keep these room temp for smoother mixing.
• Cake flour: Cake flour is lower in protein than regular flour which means the cake is lighter. I tend to use Swan’s Down for all of my pound cakes plus don’t forget to sift. If you don’t have any, you can make your own cake flour!
• Fresh lemon zest: Be sure you only use the yellow outer portion of the lemon as the white pith can be bitter tasting. I also save some for garnishing the cake.
• Powdered sugar: You can also grab granulated sugar and cornstarch and add to a blender until powdered as a sub.
• Lemon juice: Used for the glaze. Fresh is best but bottled is fine too.
• Lemon Pudding: My secret ingredient is instant lemon pudding.  Based on my research and recipe testing, I discovered that it added more moisture and changed the texture of the finished cake to being softer along with adding more lemon flavor.

How to Make Lemon Pound Cake

1. Combine the softened cream cheese, butter, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cream them together using high speed until smooth.
2. Next, slowly add the sugar and instant pudding to the bowl and cream until the mixture is light and fluffy. Just note this will take about 5-7 minutes.

3. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated.
4. Using the mixer on the slowest speed, add the flour one cup at a time into the bowl. Only mix long enough to incorporate the flour and do not overbeat at this point.

5. Next, add the lemon zest to the bowl and mix it into the batter.
6. Pour the cake batter into a greased and floured or baking sprayed 12-cup bundt or tube pan. 

7. Bake your lemon cake for 1 hour and 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
8. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes. Then remove the cake and cool it on a wire rack for at least an hour.
9. To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. If it is too runny, add a bit more sugar or if it is too thick, add a little bit more lemon juice. You want to consistency to coat the back of a spoon but slide off easily. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cooled cake and sprinkle with lemon zest.

Lemon Pound Cake recipe

This is the Best Lemon Pound Cake on the Internet!  Tart, sweet, and filled with lemon flavor, you will adore this classic recipe with a secret ingredient for years to come!

4.39 from 547 votes

Print Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

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Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams

Course: Dessert

Servings: 16 slices

Equipment

• Stand mixer
• 12 cup bundt pan

Ingredients

For the Pound Cake:

• ▢ 8 ounces cream cheese one brick, room temp
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 package lemon instant pudding (just the dry powdered mix as is, do not hydrate the pudding) 3.4 ounce
• ▢ 6 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 3 cups sifted cake flour
• ▢ 3 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest

For the Lemon Glaze:

• ▢ 2 2/3 cups powdered sugar sifted
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice start with 2 then see if you need more
• ▢ Optional: lemon zest for garnish

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

For the Pound Cake:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Add room temperature cream cheese, butter and salt to large mixing bowl and begin creaming on high speed until smooth.
• Slowly add sugar and instant pudding to bowl and cream until light and fluffy which takes about 5-7 minutes.
• Lower speed of mixer to medium and add one egg at a time and mix until incorporated.
• Slow mixer to slowest speed and add flour one cup at a time into bowl until just incorporated.
• Do not overbeat at this point.
• Add lemon zest to bowl and mix.
• Once everything is incorporated, pour cake batter into greased and floured or baking sprayed 12 cup bundt or tube pan.
• Bake for 1 hour and 5-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove cake and place on cooling rack for an hour or until it is completely cooled.

For the Glaze:

• Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. If it is too runny, add a bit more sugar or if it is too thick, add a little bit more lemon juice. You want to consistency to coat the back of a spoon but slide off easily.
• Drizzle on top of cooled cake, sprinkle with lemon zest and serve.

Video

Notes

• Use room temperature butter and cream cheese. The extra softness allows more air to incorporate into it while you’re beating it.
• Beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar really well together for about five to seven minutes. More air equals a lighter cake especially since no other leaveners are used in this lemon cake recipe.
• Adding the flour. Use the lowest speed on the mixer and don’t overbeat. 
• Be sure to preheat your oven. This step ensures more consistency and even cooking.
• Allow the cake enough time to cool. If the cake is hot the glaze may melt rather than harden.

Storage

After baking: Store the whole cake and leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container or well sealed in plastic wrap. Do not store it in the refrigerator as the air may dry the cake out more quickly.

Freezer: You can also freeze the cake for up to three months. Just be sure it is well wrapped so it doesn’t absorb any flavors from the freezer. Thaw out the cake at room temperature before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 494kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 251mg | Potassium: 76mg | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 820IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 0.6mg

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Recipe Tips

• Room temperature: For both butter, cream cheese and eggs. The batter will turn out smoother giving you a better cake texture in the end.
• Beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar really well together for about five to seven minutes. More air equals a lighter cake especially since no other leaveners are used in this lemon cake recipe.
• Don’t Overbeat: Use the lowest speed on the mixer when adding your flour and don’t overbeat. 

Recipe Help

More Pound Cake Recipes

• Lemon Loaf Cake
• Biscoff Pound Cake
• Pound Cake Beignets
• Classic Pound Cake
• Whipping Cream Pound Cake
• Chocolate Pound Cake

*Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave comments below!* Post a photo of how your version of the recipe came out on Instagram (using #grandbabycakes)!!

This recipe was originally published March 2019, it has been updated for content and process photos.

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