Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Tons of bright fresh lemon flavor! The perfect balance of sweet and tangy.
Texture: Ultra-buttery and moist with a thick, luscious glaze on top.
Ease: The batter comes together in minutes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: The most perfect spring or summer treat that any lemon lovers will go crazy over!
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Inspired by the Starbucks lemon loaf, this homemade iced lemon pound cake is moist, rich, and finished with a thick, luscious glaze that sets beautifully before slicing.
Many lemon recipes seem to lose the intensity of the lemon flavor after baking, so I worked to find a way to pack a strong lemon punch without using difficult-to-source ingredients.
I tested batch after batch, tweaking and experimenting until I was obsessed with the final result!
Heavily inspired by Baked and Cook’s Illustrated recipes, this recipe turned out better than I could have imagined. Serve it for breakfast, brunch, tea, or dessert.
Reader Love
You will not find a better tasting, and best texture lemon loaf. I have made this recipe many times. It is truly the best lemon loaf recipe you will ever make!!!
–
Sprinkle of Science
Ingredient Notes
- All-Purpose Flour + Cake Flour: In testing, using only AP flour produced a more muffin-like cornbread-y texture. Using only cake flour made the loaf too delicate and crumbly. The combination gives structure and tenderness. I highly recommend real cake flour (not DIY substitutes). Learn more about cake flour here.
- Granulated Sugar: Do not reduce the sugar. This is a high-ratio cake (more sugar than flour), which creates moisture and a tight crumb. Reducing sugar negatively impacts texture and structure. Learn more about sugar’s role in baking here.
- Fresh Lemon Zest + Juice: The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons zest and 2 tablespoons juice in the batter — plus another tablespoon in the glaze. That’s about 3 large lemons total. This is essential for bold lemon flavor.
- Eggs: Provide richness and structure. Room temperature eggs blend more smoothly into the batter. I have not found a suitable substitute for the eggs.
- Sour Cream: Adds moisture, tenderness, and enhances the tangy flavor. Full-fat plain yogurt works well as a substitute.
- Unsalted Butter: Two full sticks of melted butter give this lemon pound cake its signature buttery flavor and moist texture. Drizzle it in slowly while blending to properly emulsify.
How to Make Lemon Loaf (Step-by-Step):
- Prepare the pan. Grease a 9×5-inch light-colored metal loaf pan and preheat oven to 350°F.
- If using ceramic or glass, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and increase the baking time by about 10 minutes.
- If baking in an 8.5×4.5-inch pan, add 5 minutes to the baking time.
- Combine dry ingredients. Sift together the cake flour, AP flour, baking powder, and salt. Don’t skip this step!
- Build lemon flavor. In a food process or high-speed blender, pulse the sugar and lemon zest. Add the lemon juice, eggs, and sour cream an pulse until combined.
- Emulsify the melted butter. With the machine on low speed, drizzle in the melted butter in a slow, steady stream. This is key to an ultra smooth batter and tight, tender crumb without needing to cream butter and sugar.
- Combine wet and dry. Make a well in the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula, pour in the wet ingredients. Gently fold to combine. Batter will be thin!
- Bake. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until:
- A toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- An instant-read thermometer registers an internal temperature for 200-205°F.
- Cool properly. Cool in pan for 15-20 minutes. Run a thin, flexible knife around the edges of the pan before inverting onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Glaze. Whisk together the glaze ingredients until very thick but still pourable. Spoon over the loaf and let set for 15 minutes before slicing or storing. Don’t skip the glaze, it really amplifies the lemon flavor!
Storage & Make Ahead
The cooled, glazed Lemon Pound Cake Loaf can be covered in foil or plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.
For freeze, wrap the unglazed loaf tightly in plastic wrap and store for 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then bring to room temperature before glazing. Your loaf will likely develop a moist or tacky surface on top, but the glaze should disguise it nicely.
FAQs
What’s a pound cake?
Pound cake is traditionally made with a pound of each of the four main ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. While this makes a traditional pound cake recipe easy to remember, it doesn’t always produce the best results. You’ll see my recipe still uses a lot of butter and sugar, but the ratios vary slightly, for the best flavor and texture.
What is a lemon loaf?
A lemon loaf is a loaf-style cake with a tight, moist crumb similar to pound cake. This version is rich with butter and topped with a lemon glaze, making it both dense and ultra flavorful. It’s like a pound cake and a loaf had a baby.
Do I have to use cake flour?
This recipe uses half all-purpose flour and half cake flour for the best of both worlds. When using only all-purpose flour, the loaf had more of a muffin texture. When using only cake flour, the loaf was too delicate and crumbly.
While you can use only all-purpose flour, I highly recommend using real cake flour for the best texture here. Learn more about cake flour (and why I don’t use DIY substitutes) here.
Why does lemon flavor fade after baking?
The heating process changes the flavor compounds. That’s why I use a generous amount of zest and juice, plus a fresh glaze on top to boost the lemon flavor. The flavor will intensify as the loaf sits.
How do I know when lemon pound cake is done baking?
It’s done when a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. For precision, the internal temperature should reach 200–205°F.
Can I freeze lemon loaf?
Yes. Freeze the unglazed loaf tightly wrapped for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and glaze before serving.
Can I bake this recipe in a bundt pan?
Yes. Double all ingredients and bake in a well-greased 10 to 12 cup bundt pan and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes.
OR, use my Lemon Bundt Cake recipe.
Lemon Pound Cake Loaf
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Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (85 grams) cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest (from about 3 lemons)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (57 grams) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
For the glaze:
- 1 cup (125 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon milk or cream
Instructions
Make the loaf:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 by 5-inch metal loaf pan.*
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Pulse a few times to evenly distribute the zest. Add the lemon juice, eggs, and sour cream and pulse until combined. On low speed, gradually drizzle in the melted butter in a slow steady stream until well combined.
- Make a well in the dry ingredient mixture. Pour in the wet ingredients. Mix gently with a rubber spatula until just combined. Batter will be slightly thin.
- Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes if using a metal pan, or once an internal temperature of 200-205°F is reached.
- Cool in pan for 15 to 20 minutes then run a thin flexible knife around the edges before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until thick but pourable. Add more juice or milk to thin out or more sugar to thicken to your desired consistency. Spoon over the cooled loaf, letting it drip down the sides if desired. Let set for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Recipe Notes
More Lemon Desserts You’ll Love:
- Glazed Lemon Cookies – my favorite lemon cookies!
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Lemon Cheesecake
- Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars
- Lemon Yogurt Zucchini Bread
Wow! Best lemon pound cake I’ve ever made! While I made this mostly as directed, I subbed plain Greek yogurt for sour cream, and added a tsp of limoncello (cause I saw it in the freezer😊). We did not make the glaze. The texture and the flavor of this cake was exactly perfect!
Can a mixer be used instead of a food processor?
We haven’t tested this with a mixer, but for best results, we recommend using a food processor or high-speed blender if you have one. Learn more about why this loaf requires one here. If a mixer is your only option, it might work with the whisk attachment, but you’d likely need to whip for a longer period of time. If you try it, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Yum
Please forgive my ignorance. I’m an old, old man but a brand new baker – and you’re my teacher! In the directions, you indicate that the melted butter should be drizzled in on a low speed. I can’t seem to find anything other than full speed ahead on this Cuisinart contraption. Will I ruin the loaf and waste all those ingredients by over-mixing or something? Thanks for the help!
Hi John! Welcome to the fun world of baking!! The low speed in that step is mostly to ensure the butter is properly emulsified with the other ingredients, and to prevent two things: overmixing, and splattering the melted butter everywhere! Take caution, ensuring that you’re using a deep bowl so you don’t splatter the ingredients all over your countertops/yourself haha, and also mix only juuuust until the ingredients look well-combined, and then stop mixing, to prevent over-mixing at this stage. I hope that helps! Let us know how it goes 🙂
I made this and it was delicious. I did make two changes that I’m going to mention here just so others know you can do it. I shaved off 1/4 of the butter and I substituted 1 the eggs for a flaxegg made with lemon juice and flax seed. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again.
wow!
I made this and the cake itself was perfect. But i think i did something wrong with the glaze because mine turned out runny and translucent instead of white and thick like yours (even though i already added 1 tbsp more powdered sugar). Like you said the consistency will depends on the brand of powdered sugar so i think next time i’ll try another brand of sugar that is specialized for icing instead of this cheap powdered sugar i used lol
TLDR: This is the best recipe I’ve made to date. You will not be disappointed. This lemon loaf should be added to every (serious) baker’s repertoire. I cannot stress this enough.
I went the extra mile and ended up getting lemon extract to put in the loaf itself AND the glaze . Speaking of the glaze, I omitted the cream in the glaze just because I prefer a thicker glaze. You will not be disappointed if you do that. Regarding the extract, just make sure you don’t add too much haha, but if you do add too much, know that you will have the best flavored lemon loaf out there (I added too much because that’s my business, ha! It still was PERFECT, and booming with flavor) #SweetToothersUnite
When blending all the ingredients and putting the wet ingredients into the dry, I spiraled a bit because the batter was so liquidy. I was like “oh my gosh, what did I do this time ?” I bring this up because please know that if the batter seems more liquidy than usual, it’s totally ok. There’s literally an amazing lemon loaf waiting for you in 55 minutes (assuming you made everything right, lol)
To express gratitude to the Handle The Heat team, thank you so much for another kick recipe. You have been bringing so much joy in my life and I’m so excited to try more recipes from you. I’ve made too many recipes to count and you all are the first website I go to, because I trust you. Bravi!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for sharing your experience!
I made it several times and each time is a success ! Thank you very much for all your recipes ! And what’s more is you indicate the measurements in grams which is great for us French people
Writing this while my loaf is in the oven ! However today the batter was different, more like an emulsion and thicker than usual … no idea why but hopefully it will turn as good as it usually is ! Thanks again !
Hi Aurore! So glad to hear that you enjoy Tessa’s recipes! Without having baked alongside you, it’s difficult to say what could have gone wrong this time. Did you try any new ingredients or change brands of flour, butter, yogurt, etc? Was anything possibly mismeasured by accident? Also, check that your baking powder is still fresh, as expired baking powder could have changed the texture of your batter – learn more about that here. I hope your loaf still turned out as delicious as always!
This was good! Made it for coffee after church this morning and there was nothing left. All I got was an end piece and someone else took the other end! I made some mistakes so it was a bit drier than I think it probably might otherwise have been. I baked it in a glass pan but didn’t see the recipe suggests baking at 325 for glass pan so I baked it 30 minutes at 350 before questioning why it was browning so fast. I turned the heat down but it still got pretty brown around the edges. I trimmed it – still good! I also added a bit of lemon oil for added lemon punch. I made the glaze but added a tablespoon of melted butter to get a thicker, more stable icing, and I added a few drops of lemon oil to the glaze. It was nice and thick – almost too thick so I’m not sure I’d add the butter next time. My only bummer about this – likely my fault because I baked it too hard – was that I was hoping it would have a lighter crumb. I’m on a quest for a lighter crumb. But that is personal taste and I would absolutely bake this again! At 325… 😉
I can’t wait to make this amazing looking cake but first I have a question. I have the 1.25 USA loaf pan. Would that work for this recipe and if so, how should I amend the cooking time? I’m going out tomorrow for the cake flour!!
Thanks so much!!
Eileen
Hi Eileen! This recipe was written for the USA 1.25 Lb Loaf Pan, but alternate pan directions can be found above the recipe (in the pink tip box). Let us know what you think of this recipe once you’ve given it a try! 🙂
Have you ever made this without lemon? For a good ‘ole fashioned plain buttery pound cake?
Hi Laura! We haven’t tried that, as this recipe was formulated to be a deliciously lemon-y loaf, much like the Starbucks Lemon Loaf. Let us know if you give this a try 🙂