This post may contain affiliate links.
Lemon Pound Cake is made with fresh, squeeze lemon juice and zest for a cake that’s like a taste of summer with every bite. If you love classic pound cake, then you’ll be head over heels for this citrus loaded version!
Happy Friday, friends! The sun is shining and the weekend is finally here. I thought I’d bring a few rays of sunshine into my house with a little something sweet for my guys. It was an easy choice…pound cake plus lemons, what a great combination. This has become not only a family favorite dessert but also a reader favorite at A Southern Soul
What Goes In Lemon Pound Cake
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Lemon Juice
- Lemon Zest
- Sour Cream
Tips For Making This Cake
- Take your time and measure all the ingredients carefully.
- Zest the lemon before you juice it. If you’ve ever tried to zest a lemon or lime after you’ve squeezed it, you know why this step is so important.
- Butter and flour your pan well. The last thing you want is for your cake to stick in the pan.
- Let the cake cool completely before drizzling on the glaze.
For More Great Cake Recipes, Give These A Try
- Old Fashioned Caramel Snack Cake
- Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
- Eggnog Pound Cake
- Angel Food Cake
- Vanilla Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Icing
With a bright citrus taste, this lemon pound cake is yummy and easy to make.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temp (2 sticks)
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 eggs at room temp
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 ¼ tablespoons grated lemon peel
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease tube or bundt pan.
- Dust pan with flour; tap out excess.
- Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl.
- Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl at medium speed until fluffy.
- Gradually add sugar and beat 5 minutes.
- Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined after each egg is added.
- Beat in lemon juice and peel.
- Using rubber spatula, mix in dry ingredients.
- Mix in sour cream.
- Pour batter to prepared pan – batter will be thick.
- Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes.
- Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around cake in pan. Turn out cake.
- Carefully turn cake right side up on rack and cool completely.
- For an extra touch – drizzle glaze made of 1 cup confectioners sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice over cake.
Did you make my Lemon Pound Cake?I’d love to see! Share on Instagram, tag @asouthernsoul, and use the hashtag #asouthernsoul!
Want more?
Then grab my Ebook!
1 Week of Family Favorite Menus
7 menus, 29 recipes, 41 pages, tons of tips!
Ideas, recipes, and strategies to make easy meals loaded with flavor. Each of these recipes is affordable and simple to prepare using common ingredients.
Ultimate Spring Recipe Guide
FREE Email Bonus: Spring into flavor with delicious seasonal recipes!
Reader Interactions
Comments
Trackbacks
-
[…] Recipe adapted from A Southern Soul […]
I had made this cake for Thanksgiving of year! And I made another one today. Love the flavor of the lemons.
Thank you so much Cynthia for the outstanding rating!
~Donya
Easy and very good!!
Very good but when I make it again I will use salted butter or add a bit more salt to make the flavor pop.
Absolutely the Best lemon pound cake that has ever hit my mouth! Followed your recipe without changing a thing.. came out beautiful and so delicious. Used Myer Lemons that were gifted to me from one of my clients. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.. Definitely a keeper and will be made for special occasions.. Today was my Husband’s Birthday and he loved it as much as I did!
You’ve made my day! Thank you so much for sharing and for the terrific rating. Happy birthday to your husband!
~Donya
If I only have salted butter do I omit the salt?
Add just a pinch.
~Donya
Perfection – it turned out amazing and smells fab – I cant wait to do the glaze and then eat it – going to take with me on New Years Eve for Dessert
Made enough to fill a bundt pan and a small 6″ pan – if I could post a pic it turned out so pretty – thanks for the recipe
This cake was AWESOME!
I made it twice now with Meyer lemons grown in our yard. It is a hit and will be a staple.
Hey there Mary!
Wow! I am so happy to hear that you’ve been enjoying this classic pound cake, using home-grown lemons is a terrific idea! Thank you so much for your wonderful rating and for your kind words of support, if you ever have any questions about a recipe please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask!
~Donya
I make almond pound cake regularly. Obviously, you are aware that it calls for an extra cup of butter and another cup of flour. I can see where the butter is subbed by the sour cream, but how is this cake without the added cup of flour? i enjoy the dense pound cake when we eat pound cake, so I am curious.
I do want to add that I am grateful for the recipe to try this weekend instead of a lemon loaf cake being passed off as a pound cake. Though loaf cakes are nice, there is a reason pound cakes are called pound cakes… and as a true southern lady, when I make a pound cake- that is what I want to make. I had to search hard to find an actual lemon pound cake recipe. I was thinking about simply substituting lemon extract for the almond in the million dollar cake variety but wasnt sure that would be enough. This one sounds much better. Thank you in advance for any insight.
Hey there Lissell!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, if you’re looking for a true southern Lemon Pound Cake, then you’ve definitely come to the right place! You’re totally correct, in this recipe I add a cup of sour cream instead of using an additional 2 sticks of butter, this not only adds the necessary fat but also keeps the cake moist and dense with a fantastic flavor. With a little experimenting, I found that an extra cup of flour was unnecessary since there is no milk or buttermilk in the recipe, the combination of sour cream and lemon juice gives the cake enough liquid to balance 3 cups of flour, I found that an additional cup of flour made the cake dry rather than moist and dense. I hope that this is helpful, please let me know how everything turns out, I’d love to hear what you think!
~Donya
Superb lemon cake, probably best I’ve ever tasted. In addition to my love of it, three other good cooks had the highest praise for it and want the recipe.
Hey there Elaine!
Wow! I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, reading this comment has made my day! If you liked this pound cake, you should check out my Million Dollar Pound Cake Recipe, it’s just as easy to make and its super delicious! Thank you so much for your kind words and for your fabulous rating, I really appreciate your support. Let me know if you ever have any questions about a recipe, I’m always more than happy to help!
~Donya
Easy to make. Through it together just before dinner and enjoyed it for dessert.
Hey there!
Thank you so much for your kind words and your fantastic rating, I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! If you liked this recipe, you should check out my Million Dollar Pound Cake, it’s just as easy to make with phenomenal flavors. Let me know if you ever have any questions about a recipe, I’d be more than happy to help!
~Donya
This is the tastiest cake I have ever baked! It is moist and the lemon juice and zest add a nice tangy flavor to the cake.
Hey there Lori!
Thank you so much, I am so pleased to hear you enjoyed this recipe! I really appreciate your support, have a happy holidays!
~Donya
This is the pound cake I recall from my youth! Literally tastes like the one my Gran used to make. I made it for my son and his girlfriend, added fresh blueberries, and a lemon glaze. Holy Cow! Delicious! Super moist and flavorful with just the right amount of heaviness. Thank you for posting this keeper ❤️ By the way, in case anyone is wondering, you can make this in two 9″-inch loaf pans. Just grease and flour in the same manner as the recipe. Turns out beautiful!
Hey there Tempa!
Wow! Thank you so much for this fantastic rating, and your sweet comment, I am so happy to hear you and your son enjoyed this recipe! This lemon pound cake is one of my favorite recipes of all time, it makes me happy to hear it’s as nostalgic for you as it is for me. Thank you so much for your support, let me know if you ever have any other questions about a recipe!
Best,
~Donya
Hey Donya…. that’s the best lemon pound cake I have ever made, and i’ve made quite a few pound cakes! Thank You So Much for sharing your treasured recipe – was it your Mama’s or did you tinker? Well, it makes a flavorful, soft, light pound cake! The dense but light texture felt like I’d made it with cake flour, but no I just used AP. Granted, baking with sour cream has some amazing influence, but everything comes together in this cake to make it something magical. I did not change a thing, no tweaks, doesn’t need it. Oh, just the baking time adjustment because I made 5 small loaves to give as gifts.
Hey there Leslie!
Thank you so very much for your sweet words and your fantastic rating! It’s my recipe, and it truly warmed my heart reading this comment. It’s so funny you mentioned the sour cream because I always think of it as my special secret ingredient; sour cream will do wonders to just about any recipe you add it to. I am absolutely thrilled you enjoyed this recipe, thank you so much for your support!
~Donya
Oh my gosh! I came across this recipe on Pinterest and had to try it. This is THE BEST Lemon Pound Cake I have ever eaten! Will be making this again, and I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Hey Tameka!
I am overjoyed to hear you liked this recipe! I grew up on good southern pound cake, these recipes are some of all time favorites so I’m thrilled you liked it! Thank you so much for your rating and your support!
~Donya
This looks like a long-lost recipe I had for lemon pound cake that I absolutely loved! It had great texture, had that heavy pound cake feeling but didn’t feel “heavy when you ate it. I always added extra lemon juice and zest because I love lemony desserts. This also tastes (tasted when I made in past) great with orange. (Lime would also be deliscious)
I have not made this recipe but it looks same from what I can remember.
Wow!! This recipe is great! I made this on Sunday and it came out great! Made a bundt cake and had batter left over to make a loaf cake! Lovely texture! Delicious!! Will be making this often!!
Thank you so much, Neisha for letting me know.
I’m glad you like this recipe. It’s my go-to for pound cake.
Have a wonderful week,
~Donya
OMG!!! This is one of the best pound cakes I’ve ever made! Texture is wonderful and delicate lemon flavor. After it cooled and I took it out of the pan, I drizzled with a mixture of powdered sugar, butter, milk, lemon juice and lemon zest. This cake is to die for and I will be making it again.
This pound cake looks delicious ?
Will try it, but want to use lemon extract also
How much would I use or do I omit lemon juice. Want to try it today. Thanks
Hey Marilyn. I’m thinking if you are going to add the extract and the fresh juice, maybe start with a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract and cut the juice down to 1/4 cup. Hope that helps.
~Donya
This looks so delicious. I love lemon!
Thanks Julie!
If it’s lemon we love it too. Thanks for stopping by.
XO,
~Donya
Lemon is one of my favorites! Can’t wait to share this recipe with a friend who loves lemons as much as I do!
Awesome Stacey! Thanks for sharing and stopping by. Lemon lovers unite!
I just made this and t is in the oven. I was reading the recipe over for instructions and realized i did not put the sour cream in ?. Did I just mess this cake up?
Well…there’s gonna be a problem with moisture. The cake will be dry most likely. Let me know what happens!!
Good luck.
XO,
~Donya
This recipe is so good! I will never make my old cream cheese style pound cake again! The sour cream makes it so light and fluffy and not dry like my old recipe. I decided to try this because I wanted to make a pound cake and forgot to buy cream cheese. I looked in my fridge and saw the sour cream, did a search, found this and well the rest is history! I’m making another one right now 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words! Wow. I am glowing right now, Kate. I am so happy you stopped by.
Have a great weekend, friend.
xo,
~Donya
Just made this. So good!!! I used half the butter and used apple sauce for the other half, and used 1/2 cup less sugar to compensate. I also poured sugar over sliced strawberries and let them sit overnight to use as a topping. Its an amazing recipe! ☺
WOW! Thank you so much for sharing. You’ve made my day!
~Donya
Thanks for sharing your awesome Lemon Pound Cake recipe at Weekend Potluck, Donya! Such a great share. We hope to see you at the party tomorrow. Cheers!
You are so welcome. What a great event every week with lots of great food and ideas. Thanks so much!
XO,
~Donya
Girl, you had me at lemon! Lemon pound cakes are my favorite! Thanks so much for sharing at Weekend Potluck. We always love when you share your delicious dishes. Make sure you come back on Friday!
Thanks for hosting such a great roundup! I'll be back, no worries…
XO,
~Donya
Lovely lovely recipe. Mouth-watering! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Weekend Potluck.
And thanks for the link back too.
WOW! Thanks Marsha for the kind words. I love all the recipes on Weekend Potluck and am honored to be a part of the group.
XO,~Donya
I absolutely love lemon cake. We do a lemon meringue at our bakery. Have you ever tried using lemon oil instead of just juice? It can help remove the bitter taste that you sometimes get with juice. Thank you for the lovely recipe!
Made it today, has wonderful texture and moisture, Just glazed it and sampled a peice…. I did two 4x 8 loaf pans that the bread exploded out of, so its 5×9 pans next time… I think Ive found a pound cake recipe FINALLY that I love, I just need to get more lemon flavor in there (I couldnt taste it at all) , so I will be adding some lemon extract next time as well….
I keep looking for my granny's version and this sounds like it. Can't wait to try it.
Thanks ~ hope you'll come back and let me know how we can stay connected. Visit me on Google+ and Facebook!
Just made the cake… It has risen quite high. About a half inch about the bundt pan, Lol! I followed the directions exactly except that I added a tiny bit of Lemon Extract in the mix just to give it more of a lemony (don't know if thats a word) kick. I'm just hoping that I can get it out of the pan easily. I'll be back to tell you how it tastes!
Wish me luck!
Your cake looks so good! I love making homemade things. So much love goes into them 🙂 I love the rustic look of this. Mmmmm. I pinned this! Krista @ A Handful of Everything
Thank you so choosing this recipe! Even more so that you are taking it to an event. Sounds like you are a very, very good baker. Please let me know how your cakes turn out. Have a wonderful Palm Sunday!
Thank you for the great recipe! I am making two of these for a great group of ladies tomorrow! First one is baking right now and it looks and smell delicious! 🙂
Thank you so much! Looks delicious! I am making two of these for a great group of ladies tomorrow.. first one is in the oven! 🙂
Bake @ what temperature?
Thanks for a great catch on the temp! 325 degrees…I hope you come back and share your information so we can keep in touch.
Hi is can you use swans cake flour or is it better with all purpose flour?
Hey there Shay!
Thank you for your interest in this recipe! You can totally use cake flour, the texture will be slightly different than the original recipe, but I don’t think it will be noticeable. I hope this helps, let me know how it turns out!
Best,
~Donya
Awesome recipe. Everyone love this.
Can I substitute the flour for cake flour. If I do, do I still need the baking soda and salt.
Hey there.
I’ve never used cake flour, so I have no idea how the cake will turn out. I’ve made this recipe hundreds of times, and it turns out great just as is.
Hope this helps. Merry Christmas!
~Donya
Thanks for your sweet words, Joy! I am glad you stopped by and are now following. More good things are on the way. Have a great week.
This really looks good can I use lemon extract in place of the lemon peel if so how much would I use to replace the lemon peel. Thanks
Hey Cassandra!
Thats a great question, I would use 1 teaspoon of lemon extract to substitute for the lemon peel. I hope you enjoy the recipe, let me know how it turns out!
~Donya
Donya, I adore lemon poundcake, and this looks like a must-try recipe! PINNING! Your photography is gorgeous.
I am now following you on FB (Yesterfood and Joy McElroy), Twitter, and Pinterest. Drop by and say hi! 🙂
Joy @ Yesterfood.blogspot.com
Looks great and like you I almost always add more lemon than called for 🙂
Dawn
http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com
Saw your post on the Southern Food Blogger group
Thanks, friend! With lemons, and sour cream, this pound cake is always a winner.
Looks amazing!!