Lemon Pound Cake is a delicious summer teatime bake. It has a delicate flavour with moist, lemony crumbs. Here is a failproof pound cake recipe.
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About Pound Cake
Pound Cake originated in Europe. It is traditionally made from one pound of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Hence, the name pound cake came into existence. It can be baked in a loaf or bundt pan.
A Perfect Pound Cake has certain qualities or characteristics:
- super moist
- golden, soft crust
- dense yet spongy texture
- rich, buttery, delicate crumb
Served either dusted with powdered sugar, lemon custard, sugar glaze, with a coat of whipped cream, or just with your favourite berry sauce. Stir in some fresh raspberries, poppy seeds, or blueberries into the batter to enjoy the season’s best flavours in a cake.
Lemon Pound Cake is one of the most popular versions of the pound cake recipe. This idea of a moist, soft, and delicate lemon cake on a summer evening with a cup of tea is always fascinating.
Ingredients Required
- APF (All Purpose Flour) – compared to cake flour, the flavour of the butter and vanilla comes through better, the crumb is slightly more delicate. Do not substitute with self raising flour, almond meal or gluten free flour.
- Butter is the soul of any pound cake. Use unsalted, good quality softened and not melted butter.
- Sugar – best to use caster or superfine white sugar. But regular / granulated sugar works just fine too.
- White Whole Eggs at room temperature are key to make the pound cake extraordinarily light and fluffy.
- Baking powder – not baking soda (bi-carb), it doesn’t rise as well.
- Full Fat Milk at room temperature. Do not substitute with plant based milk.
- Lemon Juice and Zest – it is best to use the natural and fresh juice rather than bottled one.
- Vanilla Extract – the best quality you can get.
- A pinch of salt approximately ¼ teaspoon. Skip if butter has salt.
How To Bake Pound Cake
Bring all ingredients to room temperature especially milk, eggs, and butter.
Zest lemon ( zest is both the name for the lemon rind and the action you take to remove it) and squeeze out all the juice from them.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees Celcius). Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
Sift dry ingredients – APF, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl.
In a large bowl start whisking sugar and softened butter. If you are using a stand mixer, keep the speed medium. Whisk till the mixture is light, airy, and double in volume.
Next, add one egg at a time and whisk the batter each time for 30 – 40 seconds at medium speed to aerate and develop the pound cake’s structure. Gradually, add all 3 eggs.
Add vanilla, milk, lemon juice, and zest. Whisk the batter for 1 minute.
Add the sifted flour mixture in 3 small batches. Gently, cut and fold the batter to evenly combine each time.
Batter should be silky smooth and lump free with a luscious consistency. Scrape the batter into the greased pan. Smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
If you find the cake crust browning too much as it bakes, cover with a piece of lightly buttered aluminum foil after about 30 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Allow it cool upside down. Once it has cooled down completely, pour the glaze over the cake.
My Tried & True Tips
- Ingredients: Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature and not cold or straight out of the fridge. Measuring the ingredients correctly is the key step. If required, use a weighing scale.
- Equipment: You need a stand mixer or hand mixer with a whisk attachment to make a pound cake batter especially for whipping butter, eggs, and sugar.
- Flour: Sift. Sift. Sift. Do not miss sifting the flour with baking powder. Because for that delicate texture/crumb we need super fine flour.
- Butter + Eggs + Sugar: These three ingredients are the foundation of a perfect pound cake. Whisk butter and sugar till they are creamy, light, airy, and double in volume. Secondly, add eggs one at a time, and whisk each time 30 – 40 seconds.
- Cake Batter: Add sifted flour in butter mixture in small batches. Gently, cut, and fold the batter until combined using a spatula. Do not over mix (mixing for too long) the batter. It is the biggest mistake when it comes to pound cake.
- Knock out big air bubbles by dropping the cake pans on the counter 3 times.
- Baking: Always bake the cake in the middle rack, and halfway through cover it with an aluminium foil to avoid hard and over-brown crust.
FAQ’s Related To Pound Cake
Sponge Cake as the names say has a soft and spongy texture. They are made using sieved flour, sugar, and eggs. The egg whites and the sugar are whisked together and then the flour is folded into the whipped mixture. The pound cake is traditionally made with one pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. It is much denser and moister compared to the sponge cake.
Cold ingredients don’t bond easily resulting in a chunky cake. The best way to bring your ingredients to room temperature is by simply keeping them out of the refrigerator 1 hour before you begin the batter making process. Well, there are always shorts cuts too, you can cut the butter into cubes and microwave them for just 10 seconds. For Eggs, just place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 – 20 seconds while you prep your other ingredients. You can place milk or yogurt next to the oven or gas stove to raise the temperature.
When cakes are allowed to sit for a day or two their internal moisture gets evenly distributed than when they’re just out of the oven. By letting the lemon pound cake rest for a day, the flavours get more time to mature and come out strongly.
You can store your lemon pound cake in an airtight container for up to three days at room temperature. If you wish to store them longer, then you can wrap them in plastic wrap, cover them with foil and refrigerate for up to one week. You can also freeze the pound cake for up to 6 months.
More Teatime Cake Recipes
- Eggless (Atta) Cake
- Eggless Peach Cake
- Teatime Orange Cake
- Eggless Banana Bread
- Eggless Tutti Frutti Cake
- Teatime Strawberry Cake
- Chai Spiced Pumpkin Cake
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Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
- Hand Mixer
Ingredients
Ingredients For Cake
- 1 ½ Cup (150 Gram) all-purpose flour (maida)
- ¾ Cup (170 Gram) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ Cup (150 Gram) granulated white sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoon milk, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ Cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Ingredients For Glaze
- ¼ Cup lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon powdered white sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees Celcius). Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt). Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or simple mixing bowl, combine softened butter and sugar. Whisk on low to medium speed using a hand or stand mixer till the mixture is light, airy, and double in volume.
- Next, add one egg at a time and whisk the batter each time for a 30 – 40 seconds at medium speed to aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Gradually, add all 3 eggs. Do not add all eggs in one go.
- Add vanilla, milk, lemon juice, and zest. Whisk the batter for 1 minute.
- Add the sifted flour mixture in 3 small batches. Gently, cut and fold the batter to each time to evenly combine. The batter should be silky smooth and lump free.
- Scrape the batter into the greased pan. Smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Tap the cake tin on kitchen counter 2 – 3 times to knock off air bubbles. Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- If you find the cake browning too much as it bakes, cover with a piece of lightly buttered aluminum foil after about 30 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
- For the glaze, mix in lemon and sugar and pour over the cake. Before pouring glaze over the cake poke tiny holes in the cake with a toothpick so that glaze penetrates deep inside the cake. Let it cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.
Recipe Notes:
- Use room temperature ingredients especially eggs, milk, and butter.
- Use a timer while whisking the eggs (30 – 40 seconds after adding each egg).
- After adding flour, do not mix the batter for too long or on high speed.
- You can store your pound cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
- Toppings: Feel free to add toppings like lemon zest, poppy seeds, or blueberries on top of the lemon pound cake before baking.
- Do not rush in glazing or slicing the cake while it is hot to the touch. Allow it to cool down completely at room temperature on a wire rack. I usually, let it cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Bake the cake in the middle rack for even cooking and browning. Halfway through the baking time, if you feel the crust is browning too much, cover the cake tin with aluminum foil.
- Lemon Juice: Use fresh lemon juice and zest for the best flavour. 1 tablespoon of zest is sufficient for this size cake.
Vinay Prajapati says
Yummy!
Nithya Shrikant says
Hina,
Did it take 55 minutes for the cake to bake? I followed the same recipe, but mine was ready in 40-45 minutes….
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Priyanka says
Ma’am, the 1 and half cup of flour says 150 grms and so does the 3/4th cup of sugar, so are you using separate cup measures for the two?
Hina Gujral says
flour and sugar both have different measurements as they differ in texture.Still I would suggest you to go by cup measurement shared in the recipe.