This moist Lemon Cake Recipe is fluffy, tangy and so easy to make from scratch! Every bite of this supremely moist pound cake is bursting with fresh lemon flavor and the easy lemon glaze on top will have you hooked after just one bite.
This homemade lemon pound cake tastes even better than the Starbucks Lemon Loaf!
If you like the Starbucks Lemon Loaf then you’ll love this delicious, moist lemon cake recipe that’s made completely from scratch in less than 10 minutes. It’s one of my favorite afternoon or breakfast treats and it always gets rave reviews, everyone loves it! It’s gone in minutes whenever I make it.
This batter is made with freshly grated lemon zest and fresh lemon juice. When it the cake comes out of the oven it is infused with a homemade lemon syrup to give it an extra lemon kick, and then after cooling down the pound cake is topped with the most delicious lemon glaze.
This easy lemon cake is not dry and not fudgy, it’s perfectly moist while still being fluffy and it keeps fresh for a few days! A perfect cake for every occasion. If you like lemon desserts, you have got to give this cake a try!
Tips and Tricks for Making This Easy Lemon Cake Recipe
- You can also make this recipe in a bundt pan. It looks prettier than in a loaf pan but make sure to grease your bundt pan generously so that your cake will come out of the pan.
- Don’t leave out the lemon zest, that is what gives it the wonderful lemony flavor! I always use organic lemons and my favorite grater that I’ll like below.
- For the best flavor use freshly squeezed lemon juice! Don’t use the bottled stuff, trust me fresh lemon juice tastes so much better.
- When you make the lemon glaze for this pound cake don’t add too much liquid. You want the glaze to be nice and thick not runny. Start with 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp milk and add the remaining 1/2 tbsp as needed.
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This cake keeps well covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Looking for more Lemon Dessert Recipes?
- Easy Lemon Cream Pie Recipe
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
- Easy Lemon Raspberry Cake
- Easy Lemon Curd Mousse
You might have realized by now that I love lemon desserts. My husband even complained that all I do is make lemon desserts … until he tried today’s recipe and demanded more. Bahaha! If you love everything lemon like me check out my whole collection of recipes with lemon there is even a delicious lemon risotto.
Tools used for making this Recipe:
Loaf Pan:
I can recommend all the baking pans from this brand! They’re super easy to clean and cakes bake evenly.
Citrus Zester:
This one easily zests the rind without the pith, I really love this tool. It’s perfect for zesting citrus fruits, grating hard cheeses, and ginger.
Lemon Squeezer:
This tool makes it super easy to juice lemons AND limes. It is a 2-in-1 tool that is super sturdy and easy to use. You’ll be amazed at how much juice you’ll get out of a lemon.
Want to try this Lemon Loaf Recipe?
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Moist Lemon Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the lemon pound cake:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, about 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, see below for substitution
For the lemon syrup:
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, about 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
For the lemon icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1.5 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9x5-inch (or 8x4-inch) loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using an electric mixer), cream the butter and sugar together at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4-6 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer running on low-speed, add the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla extract and lemon juice. Beat on medium-high speed until combined.
- With the mixer on low, add about one-third of the flour mixture and mix until almost combined, then add half the buttermilk and mix until just combined. Repeat with another third of flour mixture and then the last half of the buttermilk, ending with the last third of the flour. Beat until just incorporated.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out mostly clean with only a couple moist crumbs. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours.
- Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes in the pan. Stir together the lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar for the lemon syrup. Carefully invert the loaf pan, and transfer the cake to a cooling rack, then brush the syrup on the cake while it’s still warm. Allow cake to cool completely.
- When the cake is cooled, combine all the icing ingredients, start with 1 tbsp lemon juice and milk and add the remaining lemon juice as needed. The icing should be thick and not runny. Pour icing over cake and let dry before serving.
Notes
- If you don't have buttermilk you can make your own by combining 1/2 cup of milk with 1.5 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes until it starts to curdle
- The longer you beat the sugar and butter, the better the result will be because this process incorporated air into the batter and make the cake fluffy and tender
- I recommend using fresh lemon juice but you can also bottled lemon juice
- This cake would also taste great with lime juice or orange juice
Nutrition Information
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If you’ve tried this or any other of my recipes, don’t forget to rate the recipe and to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you!
Dale Schultz says
Hi Julia,
When I first tried this recipe I loved it so much I ate the entire cake in two days! I felt badly later that I didn’t have any more. No self-control! So I have a couple friends that were leaving on a trip and I thought this would be the perfect going away gift. Of course, I made two!
Really a wonderful recipe Julia. It’s now on my go-to list for pot lucks. Everyone always races. All credit goes to you. Thank you.
Dale
Precious Brown says
Could I use almond milk instead of buttermilk? Also so I use a 9×9 baking dish?
Julia Foerster says
I haven’t tested this recipe with almond milk so I don’t know. If you want to use a 9×9 baking dish the cooking time will be different.
Andrea says
Moist and delicious. I made the icing with 1 Cup powdered sugar, lemon juice, and buttermilk.
Ben Wycoff says
It was awesome!! Thought I cooked it too long but the crust was the best part 😂
Renee Boyle says
This was soooo good! I made it Gluten free using an all purpose flour. The second time I made it( with in 24 hours ) the mix looked like it curdled after mixing in the egg. Any idea what would cause that ? I went ahead and finished it. We will see if my “taste testers “ like the second as much as the first one. This one is a keeper !
Melinda R. says
I baked my cake at 350 and checked it at 45 minutes. I used the 9 x 5 loaf pan and it sunk in the middle. Does anyone know why?
Cindy says
It came out so good!!!! Thank you for the recipe.
Caroline says
Can’t wait to try it and taste it. Can I use a normal cake pan to make a cake instead. Is there enough mixture? Thank you!
Julia Foerster says
I haven’t tested this recipe with a normal cake pan. It depends on how big your pan is, the baking time will also change.
Yuili says
I used a regular cake Pan and it came out just fine, it did take less time, somewhat under 45 minutes, it took all the batter for the cake pan.
Patti says
Looks fabulous and all the reviews certainly support that! Can this recipe be converted to 3 – six inch layers? If so, should I be doubling the ingredients?
Thanks!
Julia Foerster says
I haven’t tried that so I’m not sure but I think doubling the recipe is a good idea.
Shameca says
Can I add blueberries to the recipe and if so do I need to add more flour
Julia Foerster says
I haven’t tested this recipe with blueberries so I’m not sure if it would work. Let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
Akina Maher says
I made this today! Im now eating half of the load while typing my review lol . So moist and soft and amazing! I absolutely love this recipe!
Charisa McKinney says
This Moist Lemon cake is absolutely DIVINE. I would consider myself to have a high standard for food and dessert. MOIST, tangy, and not overly sweet. You can taste the lemon yet its not overpowering. Perfectly balanced flavors. I would definitely put a layer of parchment in the very bottom of your loaf pan before baking, it keeps the moisture in the cake and prevents over browning. I cut mine to size.
Mala says
Definitely tastes better than the Starbucks lemon loaf!
Audrey Chaffin says
Would not recommend the 8”x4” option. Mine was raw in the middle and I had to cover the edges with foil to keep them from burning while the rest of the cake baked. :(
Julia Foerster says
Sorry this happened, Audrey! Sounds to me like your oven is running hot! I tested this recipe with both pan sizes and didn’t have this happen. Depending on the pan you use (dark metal, light metal, glass) the edges might brown faster but that usually happens towards the end of the backing time when the center is also nearly done, so covering the pan with foil for the last 10-20 minutes might be a good idea.
Audrey Chaffin says
Thanks for the response! The cake was still delicious. Could definitely be my oven.
Kristin Hamilton says
Super moist and flavorful! And def cream your butter and sugar for 6 minutes! I creamed mine until the butter turned white and boy was this a moist crumb. Great recipe and will be my go-to lemon loaf for now on!!!
AMV says
Have you every made the recipe with cake flour?
Courtney says
Have you ever doubled this recipe and baked it in a Bundt pan?
Silke says
I followed the recipe fully, weighing everything in grams. I don’t know if it is supposed to be flat and more brownie like than cake like, but mine is. Although the flavour is still really good, I’m just wondering if it’s my ingredients (which were all freshly bought and all at room temperature), or the recipe.
Thanks!
Julia Foerster says
Silke, the cake definitely shouldn’t come out like a brownie. What size pan did you use?
Sabrina says
Always comes out great!
MC says
Hey, I want to try this recipe, looks so good! Could you sub out the butter for say vegetable oil though? Thanks
Julia Foerster says
I don’t recommend using vegetable oil instead of butter.
Nadine says
Some members of my family dislike butter, so I always use vegetable oil (2/3 quantity of the butter) and it is fantastic.
We LOVE this recipe
Nadine says
I forgot to mention: when using oil you need to beat the eggs with the sugar first until white and fluffy and then add the oil in a thin stream.
Emma says
Absolutely perfect flavor and texture. Followed the exact recipe and wouldn’t change a thing.