Meet your new favourite loaf cake: a soft, buttery lemon pound cake that goes ALL IN on lemon. I'm talking lemon zest in the batter, a lemon soak that's brushed on after baking, and a glossy lemon glaze that adds a bright punch of flavor (plus that perfect crackle on top!). The addition of sour cream to the batter ensures this loaf-style cake is ultra-moist and tender, too!
Hi hi! I am just jumping in to share this lemon pound cake loaf recipe with you! I have been making and loving my vanilla sour cream pound cake recipe for a long time now, and this lemon one is just a wee variation on it.
Like the original, the texture is lush, dense (in a good way) and has a super tender crumb. The lemon flavour comes from fresh lemon in three forms - zest rubbed into the sugar before you start mixing the pound cake batter, a lemon soak brushed on hot from the oven, and a deliciously tangy lemon glaze which goes onto the cooled cake.
It's a triple lemon situation, and it's a triple lemon situation that I know you are going to love.
What makes my pound cake special: Lemon three ways - zest, soak, and glaze.
Often you see a recipe for a lemon pound cake, and there is just a hint of lemon. Not here. This lemon cake has lemon in it three ways to ensure a really deep lemon flavour:
- Zest. Instead of adding juice to the cake which could make it claggy (the nz word for kind of soggy!), I just added a ton of lemon zest to the batter of the cake. I found during testing using 10g of lemon zest (which is about 4 lemons worth), and rubbing it into the sugar that is used in the batter that it really releases the oils and gives amazing flavour.
- Soak. This step feels like you're going to end up with a soggy cake because it feels counterintuitive to add that much liquid to a warm cake - I promise you I felt the same way at the start, but the cake absorbs it. You make a quick syrup while the cake is resting. I boil the sugar and water together first and then add the lemon juice to keep it nice and fresh.
- Glaze. I use the lemon glaze I put on everything for glazing this lemon pound cake. It is super easy, made with only powdered sugar and lemon juice, and is super satisfying to paint on. It sets up with a perfect crusty finish that is just so so good.
Pan Size Matters - the best pan to use.
Don't be tempted to use the wrong sized pan - you will be so sad. Let me explain why. I talk about this in depth in my sour cream pound cake recipe (and there are some diagrams there for you too!)
I made this in a 1 lb loaf pan (8.5" x 4.5" x 2.5" / 21.5 x 11.5 x 6.3cm), which is the same size that I use for my banana bread recipe. I used this size for the post as it is the most likely size that people will own.
However, when I make this at home for myself, I always use a pullman pan. A pullman pan is much squarer in shape, and gives a taller, sharper cornered cake than the pound pan.
Because the pullman is slightly larger than the 1 pound pan, I scale the recipe up slightly - there are quantities for this size in the notes section of the recipe.
The perfect make ahead recipe.
This recipe is great to make ahead of time as it stays super moist - I always test this as part of my recipe testing process. In fact, i've eaten it five days after i've made it and it was still amazing. If you are making a day or two before I would glaze it, otherwise if you are making a few days ahead I would add the soak, then wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you are ready to glaze and eat it - up to five days ahead of time.
Pound cake can also be frozen - wrap the unglazed cake well in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Defrost at room temperature before glazing and eating.
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
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Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Lemon Pound Cake
- Author: Erin Clarkson
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Prep Time: 20 minutes -
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
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Total Time: 2 hours
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Yield: One Loaf Cake -
Category: Cakes -
Method: Baking -
Cuisine: American
Pin RecipeDescription
Meet your new favourite loaf cake: a soft, buttery lemon pound cake that goes ALL IN on lemon. I'm talking lemon zest in the batter, a lemon soak that's brushed on after baking, and a glossy lemon glaze that adds a bright punch of flavor (plus that perfect crackle on top!). The addition of sour cream to the batter ensures this loaf-style cake is ultra-moist and tender, too!
Ingredients
Lemon Pound Cake
- 300g caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 10g lemon zest (from about four lemons)
- 115g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature (about 160g, not including the shell)
- 170g sour cream, at room temperature
- 185g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt (use less if you are using table salt or salted butter)
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- Small amount of softened butter for piping down the middle of the cake (optional)
Lemon Soak
- 25g caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 25g water
- 50g fresh lemon juice
Lemon Glaze
- One batch of lemon glaze
Instructions
LEMON POUND CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 330°f / 165°c. Grease and line a 1 lb (8.5" x 4.5" x 2.5" (21.5 x 11.5 x 6.3cm) loaf pan with two pieces of parchment paper so that the entire of the inside of the pan is lined. Leave the edges overhanging to form a sling to allow for easy removal. Clip the edges down with binder clips if needed.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using an electric mixer, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Using your hands, rub the lemon zest into the sugar to help release the oils and enhance the lemon flavour.
- Add the butter and vanilla, and then cream together until light and fluffy, and the mixture has lightened in colour. Scrape down the sides once or twice to ensure that all the mixture is evenly creamed.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add in the sour cream, and mix to combine. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the mixture and mix until just incorporated. Scrape the bowl to ensure there are no unmixed pockets of butter at the bottom of the bowl.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan, and smooth out, making sure there are no large air bubbles. If using, pipe a small line of softened butter down the middle of the cake.
- Bake the pound cake for about an hour and 10 minutes, checking after an hour. The outside will be deep golden brown and when a skewer or knife is inserted into the middle of the cake it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave to stand in the pan for about 15 minutes while you make the lemon soak.
- Remove the cake from the pan and place onto a wire rack. Using a pastry brush, brush the lemon soak over every surface of the cake - top, sides, bottom etc, carefully lifting up the cake to get it on the sides. It will seem like a lot of liquid, but brush all of it on - the cake can take it.
- Once you have applied the soak, leave the cake to cool completely on the wire rack. Once cooled, glaze if desired using Lemon Glaze and leave to stand until dried.
- Slice using a sharp knife. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- While the cake rests in the pan, make the lemon soak.
LEMON SOAK
- In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Place over medium heat, bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to stand for a few minutes. Add the lemon juice and mix well to combine.
Notes
Piping a line of butter down the middle of the cake means that you can control where the split ends up when it bakes - it gives you that nice middle divot which is classic on a pound cake. This is a totally optional step and you can absolutely leave it out.
Quantities for making in a pullman pan:
400g sugar
12g lemon zest
155g unsalted butter
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 eggs
225g sour cream
245g all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt (use half the amount if you are using table salt, and even less if you have used salted butter)
¼ tsp baking soda
For the lemon soak: 32g sugar, 32g water, 65g lemon juice.
Follow the directions as written, but bake the cake in a lined pullman pan. Increase the baking time to about 1 hour 15 minutes. The baking soda quantity is the same as written in the recipe - this version comes out with a slightly tighter crumb.
I have also made a passionfruit version - to make this I kept the lemon zest in the batter (you could leave it out too), then just subbed fresh passionfruit juice for the lemon juice in the soak and the glaze.
The post The Lemon Pound Cake we can't stop eating appeared first on Cloudy Kitchen.
