🍋 Classic Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
-
3 cups all-purpose flour
-
½ tsp baking powder
-
½ tsp salt
-
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
-
½ cup vegetable oil
-
2 ½ cups granulated sugar
-
5 large eggs, room temperature
-
1 cup buttermilk (or whole milk)
-
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
-
2 tbsp lemon zest (from 2–3 lemons)
-
2 tsp vanilla extract
-
1 tsp lemon extract (optional for extra lemon punch)
Lemon Glaze
-
2 cups powdered sugar
-
3–4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
-
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
Instructions
1. Prep the pan
-
Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C).
-
Grease and flour a bundt pan or two loaf pans.
2. Mix dry ingredients
-
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter, oil & sugar
-
Beat butter and sugar for 4–5 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
-
Add oil and mix until smooth.
4. Add eggs
-
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each and scraping the bowl.
5. Add wet + dry ingredients
-
Stir together buttermilk, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and lemon extract.
-
Add dry ingredients alternating with the lemon buttermilk mixture.
-
Start and end with dry ingredients.
-
Mix only until combined.
-
6. Bake
-
Pour batter into the prepared pan.
-
Bake 70–85 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
-
Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and cool completely.
7. Glaze
-
Mix powdered sugar with lemon juice until smooth and pourable.
-
Drizzle over the cooled cake.
-
Add extra lemon zest on top if you want a stronger zing.
🍋 Tips for the Best Lemon Pound Cake
-
Don’t skip the zest—it’s the most powerful lemon flavor.
-
Use fresh lemon juice, not bottled.
-
Pound cakes bake low and slow; don’t increase the oven temp.
-
For extra moisture, brush the warm cake with a simple lemon syrup (equal parts sugar & lemon juice heated until dissolved).
Variations
-
Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake: Add 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries tossed in flour.
-
Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake: Replace ½ cup butter with 4 oz cream cheese.
-
Glazed Lemon Loaf (Starbucks style): I can give you that version too.
Want a super tangy, extra moist, or gluten-free version?
