Moist Lemon Cake Recipe
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.
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.
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Moist Lemon Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the lemon pound cake:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (190g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (115g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar, (200g)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, (120ml)
For the lemon syrup:
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
For the lemon icing:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted (120g)
- 1 1/2 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 small 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 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 10 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.
Video
Notes
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Delicious!
Perfect cake !! Very Moist and Tasty. I should have used more natural lemon juice but I used bottled juice and lemon flavoring in addition to natural juice. It still tastes delicious!
Just baked it last night. This is my first cake i have ever had. My first cake was very tasty, moise and not heavy. Thank you Julia for sharing the recipe!
Tried this cake out! Superb outcome and it’s really delishhh! You just got yourself another fan right here 💕
Easy and delicious. A real crowd pleaser!
Have a question, can this recipe be made in a round bundt cake pan? If so, how would I modify the recipe?
Amazing! I’ve had so many baking failures the last 5 years, and I’ve made this now 5 times as both cupcakes and as a bar cake, and it’s the fluffiest cake each time I’ve ever made. Thank you so much : ). I didn’t have buttermilk the last 2 times, so substituted with Nutty Bruce Coconut Almond Milk added a tiny dash of vinegar or lemon juice to the 1/2 cup of milk, and the cakes were just as fluffy.
Can this be frozen without the icing? If yes, would you add the syrup before freezing?
I just made a lemon cake from your recipe. It is moist and super tasty. Thanks for the recipe. My whole family loves it.
I didn’t realise I could bake cakes till I stumbled upon this recipe! Thank you, Julia for sharing such a wonderful yet simple recipe! Everyone loved this cake and I baked this twice in a span of 5 days! Wiped out everytime I bake it! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
What do we substitute the eggs with if we do not eat eggs?
The most delicious and moist lemon cake I’ve ever made and so easy too, thank you! :)
I just made this recipe. Thanks for sharing! I just did half of the icing glaze as I didn’t want it to be too rich, but still worked well.
It’s delicious! As I like it more lemony, I added a little bit more than a zest of one lemon (1 TBSP ++) and slightly more juice as well (1 TBSP +). It turned out just lemony the way I like it. Only thing is it came out abit dense but still very much enjoyable! Just have to slice them up thinner, haha! Am wondering if adding 1/2 tsp of baking soda would help fluff it up even more. Happy to hear your thoughts! Other than that taste-wise and everything else is perfect!
Baked it… but failed miserably. Too heavy. Doubled the recipe too… when i turned the cake on the rack it just fell apart. So sad…
I’m sorry, this recipe didn’t work out for you. This cake should not be heavy and break apart. I’m not sure what went wrong, but a few things I could think of are: Did you measure the flour correctly? Did you cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale? Depending on your mixer this can take longer than 4 minutes. When you added the flour, did you beat it until just incorporated?
it is completely delicious
i have really loved the moist lemon cake recipe. my daughter wanted a lemon cake for her birthday, gonna make her a real nice one. Thanks a heap!
This pound cake was delicious! It got the seal of approval from hubby, kids, and myself. I actually messed up and poured the icing on while the cake was still warm, but hubby said he preferred the icing the way I did it. Thanks for a great recipe to keep for when everyone gets burned out on vanilla or chocolate cake!
Super moist and yum!
Super moist. Loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
Can I convert this for cupcakes?
Too complicated. Too many steps. Havent tasted it yet but already problems
What can I use if I don’t have buttermilk?
Thanks!
❤
You can use the same amount of milk combined with 1-2 Tbsp of lemon juice.
You can also mix 1/4 natural yoghurt and 1/4 milk.
Can I add blueberries to this without ruining it?
I would not add blueberries to this lemon cake because the cake is already super moist and adding juicy blueberries would probably not end well! You could try my Blueberry Bread and add some lemon zest and lemon oil to it.
This recipe looks like a winner, instead of loaf pans would using 9 in cake pans work? I would like to make a lemon cake for my daughter. And, would I keep the same baking temp? (I don’t want the sides too brow.) thank you Terri
You could definitely make this in a cake pan but I would go for an 8-inch pan, 9-inch might come out too flat. The baking time will definitely change so I would start testing with a skewer after 20 minutes are over and I would not change the baking temperature.
Lovely cake. Moist and lemon-y!! Helpful that ingredients are in grams and cups too. Simple to make!
This is the best lemon cake I have ever made, it is moist and delicious. It’s the first time I have used buttermilk (using your recipe) in a cake. It will not be the last. Thank you for the recipe this will be my go to cake. Baking another tomorrow.
How much do I need for a 9 x 11 inch pan?
I made it and the most easiest and yummies!
This is such a moist and lemony cake. I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup and didn’t even put the syrup or icing. We love it as is or with a cup of coffee. Thank you for sharing- this is definitely a keeper.
Best lemon cake I’ve ever made, thank you for this yummy recipe 👍🏻