Nothing beats the rich, buttery flavor of a homemade pound cake. My mouth waters at the thought of each bite melting in my mouth. I take pride in my own recipes; there’s nothing that I love more than serving my cake to someone new and watching their face light up after the first bite. After years of hard work, dedication and countless minor oven burns I’ve earned the title of pound cake master. I was taught by none other than my Big Mama: a woman who could whip up the perfect pound cake in minutes from what seemed like thin air. She dedicated a rather large portion of her life to teaching me her tricks and sharing the traditions her mother passed on to her. We made pound cakes on holidays, Sunday dinners and rainy summer days. Each one was delicious but they were made sweeter by the fact that they were shared with the people we loved.
Today, the tradition lives on but in new ways. Don’t get me wrong, you can absolutely never go wrong with a classic pound cake. It’s moist, buttery and never overly sweet. Accompanied by vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream and berries, a pound cake can be enjoyed by everyone. But that doesn’t mean that adding new flavors and remixing the classic can’t be just as tasty. So when I started Grandbaby Cakes I decided to take the lessons my grandmother taught me and apply them to new recipes.
The PERFECT Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
A pound cake’s versatility is incredible; you can add almost anything and it’s guaranteed to be great. Now, don’t go all crazy. I’m not promising that your favorite bottle of wine or those dried mangoes in your pantry will work. On the other hand, there are other options like grapefruit, blueberries or coconut that will liven up your cake and surprise the people you serve it to. Never be afraid to be daring in the kitchen. Take a risk and watch it pay off. My Big Mama enjoyed the classic flavors of old recipes but she always encouraged my imagination. As I got older, she welcomed my newest creations and shared my excitement when what seemed like a crazy idea worked out wonderfully.
As I share this recipe I’m sharing the product of not only years of trial and error and plenty of family tradition but also the product of my Big Mama’s undying faith in me.
I have an affinity for all things lemony. This Lemon Pound Cake is just one of them (try these lemon pancakes or this blueberry lemon pound cake) My family has made all sorts of lemon cake recipes and even lemon pound cake recipes over the years. Big Mama makes fantastic lemon cakes. My two aunts make great lemon cakes as well. Even my mother has a fave citrus lemon and lime cake (her 7 up cake and my big mama’s sour cream pound cake recipe, which you can add lemon flavor to is a must try if you have it!). I have tried them all, and trust me when I say that it’s hard to figure out which one I love the best. It must be because at the end of the day, lemon rules in my book. If you put it in a cake, I will eat it. And not just eat it, devour it.
What Makes this Lemon Pound Cake Recipe the Best?
This lemon pound cake recipe is probably one of the best I have developed. I think starting with a classic cream cheese pound cake recipe that I have been making for years put this recipe on the good foot.
I have made this recipe so many times that I could possibly make it with my eyes closed. It is a tradition in my family to bring this cake whenever we have a get together. I thought the base of it would lend itself to a citrusy makeover.
What is the secret ingredient in this Lemon Cake Recipe?
So what were the changes I made you may be wondering? First I added in a secret yet fun ingredient which you won’t find in many lemon cakes: Instant Lemon Pudding. That’s right, lemon pudding. This ingredient adds two elements to this lemon cake recipe.
- One, it adds additional lemon flavor in a fun and exciting way. Each bite of this lemon pound cake recipe is bursting with lemon so you definitely won’t miss it. Trust when I say it makes this cake no ordinary lemon bundt cake.
- And two, it adds additional moistness to the finished cake. Think about how moist a pudding is. Now imagine that going into your cake. Each bite will melt in your mouth.
How to Make Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
What makes this cake really special beyond the lemon flavor is the moistness of this cake. I decided to use a base of cream cheese to add incredible flavor, an unbeatable texture and a wonderful taste. Butter combined with cream cheese adds wonderful fat to this cake.
Tip: Making sure that you mix or beat the butter and sugar together really well at the beginning of making this cake is necessary to add a wonderful lift without any leavening which you won’t find in this recipe.
I use cake flour in this recipe to keep it light and not heavy. The texture it creates is just perfect because it creates less gluten in my cake. If you don’t have any, you can make your own right here!
I added in some additional lemon zest. This is not a play around lemon cake recipe. It adds as much lemon as you can take, just enough to make you pucker then dance uncontrollably.
EASY Lemon Glaze for Pound Cake
The final component for this cake to really bring home the bright lemon flavor is a super easy lemon glaze. It only includes 3 ingredients total!
- Powdered Sugar
- Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed is best)
- Lemon zest for garnish!
That’s it! You combine the first two ingredients and top with the last to give a final zest of flavor and also a beautiful finish against the white glaze topping.
And P.S. If you need a lighter lemon cake recipe, try mine HERE. or if you love an amazing citrus cake, try this Mandarin Orange Cake.
If you want more pound cake recipes, click HERE
THESE ARE THE PRODUCTS THAT WILL MAKE YOUR RECIPE GREAT!
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Lemon Pound Cake (Ultimate Lemon Cake Recipe)
Ingredients
For the Pound Cake:
- 3 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature one brick
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 package lemon instant pudding (just use the mix/don't cook this!) 3.4 ounce
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 3 cups sifted cake flour
- 3 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
For the Lemon Glaze:
- 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Optional: lemon zest for garnish
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 20-25 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
Nutrition
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I’ve made this cake many times to rave reviews; it is now my go-to pound cake! But, I do have a question. Sometimes my cake browns too quickly before it’s thoroughly done. Any advice to avoid this.? I bake in a Pampered Chef stoneware Bundt pan. Thanks…your recipes are the best!
Can I use all purpose flour and regular vanilla pudding
My grocery store is lacking obviously
I have a recipe for how you can make homemade cake flour here with all purpose flour and cornstarch: https://grandbaby-cakes.com/how-to-make-cake-flour/
This is the best by far, hands-down!
I’ve made a couple personal tweaks, but they love it. Ty for sharing
My husband truly loved this cake. It was so delicious!
This is my number one lemon pound cake recipe! It’s the most requested cake from me. I had another favorite lemon pound cake but sometimes the Lemons wasn’t so great but with this recipe using the lemon pudding makes it so much better. I make a sour cream lemon glaze that gives you just the right pucker and goes great with your recipe!
Looks like a great recipe that I will certainly try. However, I want to make it in a bundtlette pan which has six 1-cup bundts. Since I’ve never made this recipe before I don’t know how much batter to pour in each 1-cup bundt; I don’t want to fill them up too much so that the batter overflows. Would appreciate your advice.
I would go 2/3s of the way up in the pan just to be safe.
But maybe test one and then see how high it rises.
In this recipe you don’t use baking powder or vanilla extract or milk
This is, hands down, one of the BEST cakes I have ever tasted! I had saved the recipe to try later, and when my son saw it he requested it for his birthday. That was a great decision! The texture is perfect- moist, slightly dense without being like a brick. And the sweet-tart lemon flavor! Absolutely fantastic recipe!
Every Christmas Holiday season the past 3 years I’ve made this cake! Just put it on the oven for New Years 2021 dessert! Thank you Jocelyn! And Happy New Year!
I’ve made this cake numerous times; simply delicious! It never lasts for long.
Can you use softasilk cake flour?
Yes you can.
Wonderful recipe, all my friends go wild over it. However last time I made it the pudding somewhat separated from the rest of the ingredients so there was a moister band of cake sandwiched between the drier parts (although still deliciously moist). Does anyone know why this happened? Too much beating? Not enough? Thanks!!!!
1. Check oven temp to make sure you are fully heated the oven to proper temp
2. Heavy bands are sometimes caused by poor rise – make sure you creamed the butter fully. This type of cake recipe relies on creaming to make the case rise as there is no leavener.