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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!
Thank you for this amazing recipe! Mine turned out exactly like your picture, just cracked on the top. Definitely coming back to this one! Now, my niece wants me to bake it again, but without egg (she prefers it that way). Do you think it would turn out the same? I don’t want the flavours to change. Also, could you please recommend a substitute for the eggs? Thanks again
So happy you like the lemon cake! I don’t think it will come out the same without eggs, Dhanya! I can’t recommend any egg substitutes because I haven’t ever used any.
Dear Julia,
Thank you.. I did not try the no-egg version; my niece was not complaining about the eggs after the first mouthful, so we have been sticking with the true lovely version. Baking this cake makes my day every single time. Thank you again!
Yuuuuummy!!!
I followed the directions very carefully. I did not have the buttermilk-was happy to see the notes, that included the “how to” make your own.. I grow a Meijer lemon tree-used fresh squeezed from the tree, juice and zest.
Watching closely, the baking time-mine took 47 min. I don’t know what Starbucks taste like… but this was so good! Tangy, yet sweet. Very moist! Thank you for sharing. Love it!
This is my go to dessert. Everybody loves it. If I decide on a bundt cake should I double the recipe amount? It’s a 12 cup capacity bundt pan.
Yes, I would double the recipe and if you have batter leftover you can make some cupcakes with it.
Hi Julia, thank you for this great recipe! I do have a small question, is it okay if I pour the lemon syrup while the cake is the pan so it can absorb better or will it make the cake soggy?
I haven’t tried it but I think the cake will get soggy if it sits in the syrup.
Made a lot of these. This one is the best! Thank you so much!
Should I be using all the syrup? I Used maybe half of it and It seems like the cake would end up being soggy if I used it all.
You can use as much of the syrup as you like. I use all of it!
So good! Deliciously lemony!
I subbed vanilla soymilk for the milk and that worked well.
Just a question . So I followed the icing recipe but it still came out runny . Huhu . I don’t know what to do . Sadnesssssss !!!!! It’s my 3rd try . But my cake is amazing .
Another question :
The top of my cake is not flat and it breaks . Is that normal ?
That the cake is not flat and breaks open is totally normal! If the icing is runny use less liquid next time, start with just one teaspoon, and add more as needed. A quick fix is to add more powdered sugar until it is thick and not runny anymore.
I’ve made this recipe for the 3rd time today . My first was really really good but I didn’t have powdered sugar and used caster sugar but the cake was so good ! The 2nd time , I used a different butter so the cake was not the same as the first but it was still tasty .
Hoping this time it will be perfect !
I doubled the recipe . Trying to make it in cupcake molds .. haha 😂
Can I make this buttermilk substitute with almond milk or will that affect the recipe too much?
Sorry, Miranda, I don’t know. But let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
I used a really light almond + coconut milk and it came out amazing! If you’re in Australia, the brand is ‘Nutty Bruce’ but I’m sure there are other brands.
Hi Rachel, did you mix almond milk and coconut milk together? Or did it come like that. I’m also wanting to try this!
I’ve made your recipe with almond buttermilk substitute (almond milk + vinegar or lemon juice) and it came out amazing both times! Thank you for the really delicious recipe. My whole family loved it!