Lemon Pound Cake

This lemon pound cake recipe is rich, buttery, tender and most importantly, packed with bright lemon flavor! It’s essentially a butter poke cake spiked with lemon juice and lemon zest in the batter then infused with luscious lemon butter syrup that soaks through the cake and finally it’s smothered with an irresistible cream cheese lemon glaze. This tender lemon Bundt cake is easy to make and tastes even better the next day – perfect for stress free entertaining or holidays (like Easter!). Tips and tricks, Step-by-Step Photos, How to Make Ahead, How to Freeze all included!

Ingredients

CAKE

24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk* at room temperature see notes
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

LEMON BUTTER SYRUP

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

CREAM CHEESE LEMON GLAZE

4 oz. cream cheese softened to room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously and thoroughly grease and flour a 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan (I also sugar the pan.) Please see Notes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Whisk buttermilk with 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons lemon zest and 1 tablespoon vanilla in a liquid measuring cup; set aside.
Add butter and sugar to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for at least 3-4 minutes (no less!), until light and fluffy, scraping down sides occasionally. Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each egg.
Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with buttermilk mixture in between each third. Beat just until combined, giving the batter a final stir by hand to get any flour at the bottom.
Transfer batter to the prepared Bundt pan and tap the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. Bake at 325 degrees F until a wooden pick inserted near the center of cake comes out with a few crumbs, 55- 70 minutes.
Place cake on a wire rack and let rest 5 minutes then poke holes all over the cake, going about ¾ of the way down using the thin end of a chopstick. You may also use the back of a utensil or a skewer, but you’ll want wiggle it around so the holes become larger.

FOR THE LEMON BUTTER SYRUP

Immediately after poking holes in the cake, make the Lemon Butter Syrup. Add sugar, butter, lemon juice, water and salt to a medium saucepan. Heat on low until the butter is melted, stirring occasionally. Cook until the sugar is mostly dissolved, without letting the mixture boil, then stir in the vanilla.
Slowly pour or spoon the Syrup all over the bottom of the cake (which is currently the top), moving slowly so it has time to seep into the holes. Tilt the cake as needed so the syrup doesn't run over the edges of the cake or it will act like glue in the pan. Brush any extra glaze into the holes.
Let the cake cool for 15 minutes (no longer or the glaze can stick and harden like glue) then run a knife around the edges of the cake, shake a few times until loose then invert the cake onto a plate or cake stand. Take note that if you have extra glaze on the bottom of the cake, you should invert the cake onto a parchment paper lined plate otherwise it can stick to the plate when serving.
Let the cake cool to room temperature before adding the Glaze in the next step. You can also tightly wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap and store at room temperature then add the Glaze the next day.

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE LEMON GLAZE

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons lemon juice until smooth. Taste and add additional lemon juice if you would like a tangier glaze. Drizzle the Glaze all over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

*Don't miss the "how to make" recipe video at the top of the post!

How to GREASE and sugar pan

You need to grease and flour/sugar the pan very well because this is a sticky cake. Please be aware that older Bundt pans have a tendency to stick, especially if the coating has rubbed off in any area and will NOT work in this recipe unless you omit the syrup.

I like to butter, sugar and flour my pan for this lemon Bundt cake because it creates a divine sugar crust like on a doughnut, otherwise you can use good good old shortening with flour but you'll be missing that coveted crackling sugar crust.

To grease, sugar and flour your pan:

Brush an even layer of softened butter all over the inside of the pan (about 1 ½ tablespoons). Make sure you get every nook and cranny!
Next, sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar – starting with the top edges of the pan so it trickles down the pan – make sure you do the same to the tube too, and tap and turn the pan to evenly coat.
Repeat with one tablespoon of flour. Tap a few times to remove any excess.

More tips for success

DIY buttermilk/sour milk: Add 1 tablespoon white vinegar to a measuring glass then adding enough milk to equal one cup. If you only have reduced fat milk, add some half and half or heavy cream to give it body if you have it on hand. Give mixture a stir and let sit 10 minutes.
Lemon yield: An average lemon will provide you with about 2-3 teaspoons lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, so for this lemon pound cake recipe you will need about 3-4 lemons; go with 4 to be safe, more if they are small.
Follow the recipe: Use room temperature buttermilk and eggs, don't shortcut the creaming, add eggs one at a time, don't overmix and don't overbake. There is science behind each of these steps (explained in the recipe post) which ensure a tender cake.
Room temperature eggs hack: Add warm (not hot) tap water to a bowl then add eggs (still in their shells) for at least 20 minutes. You can microwave your buttermilk until room temperature (NOT hot).
Don’t microwave cream cheese! For the glaze, use cream cheese softened at room temperature. If you soften the cream cheese in the microwave, it can be too runny.
Thicken glaze: If your glaze is too thin, pop it into the refrigerator for 15 minutes to thicken up.
Patch up any missing cake: I have never had a problem with any of my lemon pound cakes sticking, but if any cake is left behind in the pan, simply pick up the pieces and patch them back into the cake. The glaze added to the top of the cake will hide any imperfections and can also be used as glue.

Make AHEAD

This lemon pound cake tastes equally delicious the next day, just hold the glaze! To make ahead, cool the cake completely on a baking rack, then wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap. Store at room temperature until ready to serve, then add the glaze and voila!

Alternatively, you can make the entire lemon cake including the glaze, cover with a cake container or tent with foil, refrigerate (due to the cream cheese in the glaze) then let sit at room temperature for one hour before serving to remove some of the chill. Even better, microwave individual slices for 20 seconds or so – SO good! Microwaving individual slices makes them incredibly moist and soft – even better than freshly made!

HOW TO STORE lemon pound cAKE

Cover the lemon pound cake and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cakes tend to dry out in the fridge, so be sure to wrap it tightly and microwave individual slices for 20 seconds to make it extra moist.

CAN I FREEZE lemon poud CAKE?

It is best to freeze lemon pound cake without the glaze (but with the syrup drizzled in the holes). To freeze:

Double wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap.
Freeze cake for up to 3 months.
Allow the cake to thaw overnight in the refrigerator then unwrap and come to room temperature on the counter before adding the glaze.