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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 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ 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
- ½ cup buttermilk, see below for substitution
For the lemon syrup:
- ¼ cup lemon juice, about 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
For the lemon icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 ½ Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9x5-inch (or 8x4-inch) loaf pan (see note).
- 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.
Video
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 incorporates air into the batter and makes the cake fluffy and tender
- I recommend using fresh lemon juice but you can also use bottled lemon juice
- This cake would also taste great with lime juice or orange juice
- Some readers have commented that their cake stuck to the pan. If you're unsure how well your cake pans perform, line the pan with parchment paper. In my experience, this cake always comes out of the pan easily if it is greased well. I use these OXO cake pans (affiliate link).
Nutrition
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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!
Read through all comments… thinking of using this recipe for my layer crunch cake. First was uncertain if it would be too dense but I think it will be a nice combination, especially once I saw the comment regarding buttercream frosting, which is what I use for the layer cake… just not sure on the syrup… maybe a half recipe of syrup… what do you think? Ty! I’m definitely excited! HAPPY HOLIDAYS !
I think using half the recipe of the syrup is a good idea. Happy Holidays, Corissa!
Hi can i bake this in a 9×2 inch cake tin?
It should work, you just have to keep an eye on it because the baking time might be a bit longer (or shorter).
This recipe is still going strong! Thanks for providing it.
I made this cake for a get-together recently and it was a hit! Have also made it for myself alone, which is also a hit every time 😁 It’s becoming my favourite one to make and share.
After taking it out of the oven today and trying to flip it from the pan, it seems to be falling apart a bit. Any tips to avoid that?
thanks!
So happy you like it! Have you tried lining the pan with parchment paper? This always helps with getting cakes out of the pan especially moist cakes like this lemon cake. I leave an overhang on each long side so I can easily lift the cake out of the pan. Hope this helps!
Is there a substitute for buttermilk? I don’t have it at home and I really want to make this cake right away, I have a sudden lemon cake craving :)
Yes, you can make your own buttermilk by mixing 1/2 cup milk and 2-3 tsp lemon juice together. Let it sit for a few minutes and then use in the recipe.
Can limes be used instead of lemon??
Haven’t tried it myself but it should work!
It was delicious but thr only problem it was bery dense , though baking poweder is fresh and oven was preheated , i used icing suger instead of granulated suger in the batter , does that cause the cake to be that dense?
Using powdered sugar will definitely alter the texture of the cake because powdered sugar contains cornstarch and you won’t be able to cream the butter and sugar together. Creaming the butter and sugar together is a very important step in this recipe because it aerates the batter and acts as a leavening agent making the cake lighter (that’s also the reason why this recipe doesn’t need more baking powder).
I just made this cake in a 8 x 4 loaf pan. It was a small cute cake, literally fit on a dinner plate. Directions were perfect; I used a stick blender to mix everything. The lemon icing was a bit sweet so I didnt completely cover the top, just drizzled. That was good since my hubby doesnt like sweets that much (he scraped the icing off). I personally liked the tart sweet taste. Thanks for an easy fast and tasty recipe!
Forgot to add that my grandparents loved it & its good to eat alone or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side when serving it.
I made this last night & it is delicious! Im writing this recipe down & keeping it in my recipe book! I did exactly like the recipe but added just a pinch more of baking powder & salt to make sure it would rise after reading comments but didn’t need to since my baking powder was just bought I just wanted to be on the safe side. THANKS ALOT FOR RECIPE I CAN’T EXPRESS HOW HAPPY I AM WITH THE THE OUTCOME PLUS IT WAS SUPER EASY!!!
I’ve made the cake 3 times now and they’ve all been perfect and I wondered what you would think about doing a lime cake with a pineapple glaze?
So happy you liked the cake, Natasha! A lime cake with pineapple glaze sounds delicious, might have to give this a try because I love these flavors!!