Y’all, I am claiming it… this is the best lemon pound cake recipe, no lies! You know ya girl, the Queen of pound cakes made sure you taste the lemon, while keeping the crumb moist and buttery. Don’t believe me? Just bake it once, boos. I keep it tart and sweet but super moist with a tight crumb and classic pound cake texture. Plus, I add a secret ingredient to this lemon pound cake that makes it like no other. Get into it!
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How to Make a Lemon Pound Cake
These step-by-step photos show how to make a lemon pound cake with lemon glaze, but be sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and detailed instructions. Skip to the → Best Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
1. Add the cream cheese, butter, and salt to a large mixing bowl
Cream on high speed until completely smooth.
2. Slowly add the sugar and instant pudding mix
Continue to cream until the mixture looks light, fluffy, and pale.
PRO TIP: 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 be softer, along with adding more lemon flavor.
3. Lower the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time
Mix just until each one is incorporated before adding the next.
4. Reduce the mixer to its lowest speed and add the flour one cup at a time
Mix just until combined. Do not overbeat here.
5. Add the lemon zest and finish the batter
Mix briefly until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
6. Pour the lemon cake batter into a Bundt pan
Smooth the top evenly.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
Let the cake cool briefly in the pan, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
8. Make the lemon glaze and pour it over your lemon Bundt cake
Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and pourable. Drizzle over the cooled cake, sprinkle with lemon zest, then slice and serve.
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Full Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
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Equipment
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
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
How to Store
- Room Temp: Keep the cake covered in an airtight container or wrapped well on the counter for up to 3 days. Skip the fridge, boos. It will dry the cake out.
- Freezer: Wrap the whole cake or slices tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients, boos. Let your butter, cream cheese, and eggs sit out so the batter mixes up smooth and bakes evenly.
- Cream it real good. Beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar for a full five to seven minutes to work in air. This cake doesn’t rely on other leaveners.
- Slow down when the flour goes in. Use the lowest mixer speed and stop as soon as it’s combined so the cake stays tender.
- Zest the smart way. Stick to the yellow part of the lemon only because the white pith will make your cake taste bitter.
Recipe Help
Cake flour, boos. I usually grab Swan’s Down and always sift it for a lighter, tighter crumb. If you don’t have any, you can make your own cake flour!
You can either add more lemon zest or even lemon extract to the batter.
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Can’t wait to try the recipe. But before I do, I want to double check the amount of butter you use in the recipe. Are each of those stick of butter 1/2 cup? So the recipe calls f
or 1.5 cups of butter? Thank you!
Yes that’s right. You are looking to use 1 1/2 cups of butter in this recipe.
Made this cake today and we LOVE ❤️ IT! Thank you for sharing this recipe. ??
Hooray I’m so so glad you enjoyed it!
I can’t find instant lemon pudding just regular pudding mix. Can I use the non instant lemon pudding mix instead.
No you don’t want to use that instead. You can just omit and add more lemon extract or lemon zest for more lemon flavor.
Hi Jocelyn,
I love your blog and your caramel cake is to die for! I am looking for a very lemony pound cake to be used in a 3 tiered birthday cake that will be covered in fondant. It will have supports between the layers. Do you think this recipe is dense enough to hold up under the weight of the other 2 tiers? It looks like it might be too tender. What do you think?
It might be a bit tender. I’m not sure if it will hold up for that but always worth a try if you do a test run ahead of time! Thank you for the sweet compliment.
Hi Jocelyn,
This is indeed a pound cake not a pudding cake! A very good one at that. I love all things pound cake and have made several varieties. I will be making this one for my son’s birthday next week. I always, always do a test run on a new dessert so I made this last night. I feel stupid even asking this but do I measure 3 cups cake flour then sift or measure 3 cups sifted flour. My cake turned out amazing but the batter was really thick. Makes me wonder if I did it backwards just how much better it could have been.
Thanks so much Rebecca for the back up! Sift first then measure the 3 cups of flour for this cake. If you see that a recipe says 3 cups flour, sifted make sure you measure the 3 cups first and then sift them. The ratios will change.
This is falsely advertised as ound cake, IT’S NOT pound cake. Please call it a pudding cake because it’s not a pound cake. Waste of my time trying this shitty recipe!
Sorry you aren’t aware of what pound cake is. I grew up on pound cakes and consider myself an expert in them considering I have baked them all my life. Sorry it didn’t work for you but don’t come on my site with your crazy insulting language. Thanks and have a great day.
OMG …..just finished this cake and it’s absolutely delicious the whole family is raving as I’m writing to you…..thank you so much for this great recipe…
Hooray thank you so much!
This was delicious! Mine did come out a little dry and hard, though. I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong. I cooked it for less time than the recipe said, so I don’t think it was cooking time. I was not able to sift the flour because my sifter wouldn’t work. Could that be the problem, causing me to add too much flour? Thank you for posting this, and for your absolutely charming video!
Hi there Laura, that could definitely be an issue. When you don’t sift you add more flour to the mixture. I’m sorry you had a problem with it.
I made this cake today and it’s the best tasting cake I have EVER made and I’ve been making cakes for 55 years….I LOVE IT. I didn’t’t change a thing.
Hooray that seriously makes me so happy! Thank you so much!
Made this delicious cake today for my mother’s birthday. This was my first pound cake, and it was amazing! It was a huge hit at her birthday dinner.
Hooray I’m so so glad!