Lemon Pound Cake

A slice of super moist Lemon Pound Cake with fresh strawberry icing is irresistible, packed with bright lemon flavor from both lemon juice and lemon zest! The easy strawberry glaze gets its gorgeous color from fresh strawberries and makes the lemon taste even more floral!

A dense, dreamy lemon pound cake topped with a fresh lemon and strawberry icing is exactly what Spring and Summer are all about! The tight melt-in-your mouth crumb is unforgettable, the lemon is subtle, and the strawberry icing takes the cake to the next flavor level. The pale yellow of this pound cake is tinted by lemon, and the sweet, strawberry icing is both flavored and colored by fresh strawberries. 

Much like my classic strawberry shortcake, strawberries and lemons are a perfect all-natural combination of flavors. When I’m feeling extra fancy, I add white chocolate covered strawberries, dollops of lemon curd, or fresh berries around the edges. Every time I make this lemon pound cake or my chocolate pound cake recipe, I can’t get it out of the house fast enough! These cakes are so good that if they stick around, I finish them myself!

Professional Tips

• Fresh lemon juice equals the best flavor. Just like any dessert from my list of recipes with lemon curd, fresh squeezed lemon juice is going to make your treats better. Trust me.
• Weigh your ingredients if you can. Pound cake is simple at a glance, but it is a delicate balance of ingredients. Eggs vary in size and a cup of flour can vary by 50 grams. If you do measure by volume, fluff your flour in the bag then spoon it into the cup, mounding it on the top. Use a knife to slice off the excess but don’t tap or compress it. 
• Avoid over-creaming your butter and sugar. Cream your butter and sugar just until they form a paste. This is what gives you that dense pound cake crumb! If you’re going for a fluffy cake, these lemon cupcakes are where you want to be!
• Let your cake cool in two stages. Let your cake cool for 20-30 minutes in its pan, and then turn it out to cool completely. If you cut your cake when it is still too warm, the crumb will not have enough time to set and the texture will seem underbaked.

What is lemon pound cake made of?

• All-Purpose Flour: I use all-purpose flour because it is what most people have on hand. You could use cake flour if you wanted.   
• Baking Powder: I use baking powder to give a steady, even rise in the oven. Baking soda, especially in the presence of so many acidic ingredients, will have a powerful rise once potentially too early for the gluten structure to trap the air pockets.
• Kosher Salt
• Sugar
• Butter: I use unsalted butter in my baked goods so I can keep track of the salt content.
• Shortening: Shortening makes for an even more tender and soft cake because it has no water, whereas butter is around 20% water.
• Whole Egg: The eggs are here to add fat, moisture and leavening.
• Vanilla Extract
• Whole Milk: You can use low-fat but the extra fat from whole milk does add to the rich, dense pound cake texture.
• Lemons: You will need 3-4 large lemons for both the cake and the glaze recipe depending on how juicy they are. Fresh squeezed lemon juice is brighter, more vibrant and has subtle floral notes that bottled lemon juice lacks. Plus bottled often has preservatives and salt.
• Strawberries
• Powdered Sugar
• Light corn syrup: Light corn syrup creates a nice shine and chew to the final icing texture. You can omit it, but I recommend adding it if you have it on hand!
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla Extract adds a beautiful flavor itself but it also boosts the flavor of other ingredients around it.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Experiment with a different glaze or topping. A simple dusting of powdered sugar is truly all this cake needs. The glaze is for extra excitement! Try the lemon glaze from this lemon bundt cake or even a classic cream cheese buttercream frosting!
• Switch up the citrus. You can substitute orange, grapefruit, or even blood orange juice and zest for the lemons. Key limes would give it an extra zing, just like they do in my easy key lime pie!
• Make a fruity twist by adding fresh or frozen fruit to the batter. I love folding fresh blueberries into the batter before pouring into the bundt pans. You can do the same with chopped strawberries, diced pineapple, blackberries, and raspberries. Frozen fruit will “bleed” into the cake but no one will mind! Use this tropical trifle as inspiration!
• Add booze to the batter or the glaze. You could use brandy like I do in my sour cream pound cake, rum like the glaze from my bacardi rum cake, or even limoncello! I would add up to 60 grams (¼ cup) to the batter, and subtract the same amount from the milk. Adding alcohol does not hydrate the gluten in flour the same way that water does, so it will create a tender, moist cake!

How to Make Lemon Pound Cake

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!

Make the lemon pound cake batter:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F conventional or 325°F convection (with fan).

Step 2: Zest the lemon into your sugar. Rub it gently between your fingers to start releasing the oils in the skin. This will draw out more flavor than simply adding it to the batter!

Step 3: Spray your bundt pan with cooking spray and then dust it with flour, tapping the flour around until every inch is covered. This recipe makes either one large Bundt pan or two large loaf pans. 

Step 4: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Step 5: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, shortening and sugar just until the mixture comes together and it is no longer lumpy or clumpy. It will look like a paste.

Step 6: Add eggs to the mixer bowl, one at a time, beating after each one until just incorporated. Be sure to stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after every few eggs.

Step 7: Add dry ingredients in three additions alternating with first the lemon juice then the milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix after each addition only until just blended.

Step 8: Pour batter into prepared pan(s) until they are a little more than ¾ full. There should be 1 inch between the top of the pan and the top of the batter. If you fill more than that, the cake will overflow.

Step 9: Bake cake in a preheated oven until the tester comes out with a few clinging crumbs. Approximately 55 minutes for a 12 cup Bundt pan and 35 minutes for small pans. 

Step 10: Allow to cool 30 minutes in the pan then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the strawberry icing and ice the cake:

Step 11: Coarsely chop and hull your strawberries. Add strawberries, ¼ cup powdered sugar, and lemon zest to a food processor. Process until the strawberries are completely pureed. 

Step 12: Using a wooden spoon, press as much of the strawberry mixture through a fine sieve as possible. Discard seeds.

Step 13: Stir the butter, corn syrup and vanilla extract into the strawberry juice.

Step 14: Stir the remaining powdered sugar into the strawberry mixture. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of water.

Step 15: Place cake on a wire rack set over a piece of parchment or in a rimmed baking sheet.

Step 16: Pour the icing over the cake either in decorative drips or as one smooth coating. It depends on the bundt pan you used. Let the glaze set slightly before transferring to a cake plate or cake stand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed Cake Recipes!