Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Tons of bright fresh lemon flavor! The perfect balance of sweet and tangy.
Texture: Unapologetically buttery and moist with a thick, luscious glaze on top.
Ease: The batter comes together in minutes.
Pros: The most perfect spring treat.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Absolutely. Any lemon lovers will go crazy over each slice of this recipe.
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Dare I say it: this Iced Lemon Pound Cake Loaf tastes even BETTER than the Starbucks Lemon Loaf recipe.
(And it’s certainly much cheaper!)
Right behind chocolate, lemon is one of my favorite flavors. Both in sweet or savory dishes!
Now that spring is upon us, I was craving something bright and sweet but still rich and satisfying.
I knew I wanted to tackle perfecting the lemon loaf. I envisioned something ultra moist and buttery and bursting with lemon flavor.
Many lemon recipes seem to lose the intensity of lemon flavor after baking, so I had to find a way to pack a strong lemon punch without using difficult to source ingredients into this lemon loaf cake!
The resulting lemon loaf recipe just below was heavily inspired by both Baked and Cooks Illustrated recipes. I tested batch after batch, tweaking and experimenting until I was obsessed with the final result! This Starbucks Copycat Lemon Loaf recipe turned out better than I could have imagined.
How to Make Lemon Pound Cake Loaf
What is Pound Cake?
Pound cake is traditionally made with a pound of each of the four main ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Despite the fact that this makes a traditional pound cake recipe easy to remember, it doesn’t always produce the best results. You’ll see my recipe below still uses a lot of butter and sugar, but the ratios vary slightly.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Moist Lemon Pound Cake:
- All-purpose flour
- Cake flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Lemons – TONS of zest and 1 tbsp lemon juice, for maximum flavor
- Eggs
- Butter – the butter is melted instead of creamed!
- Sour Cream (or full-fat plain unsweetened yogurt)
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 has more of a muffin texture. When using only cake flour, the loaf is too delicate and crumbly.
While you can use only all-purpose flour, I’d highly recommend using real cake flour for the best results. Learn more about the science of cake flour (and why I don’t use DIY substitutes) here.
Why Does This Loaf Recipe Require a Blender or Food Processor?
Like all pound cakes, this is a high-ratio cake – meaning there’s as much or more sugar as there is flour. This provides a beautifully moist tight-crumbed texture without needing to cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer.
Instead, a blender or food processor not only assists in making quick and easy work of making this batter, but it also helps emulsify all the rich ingredients together into a smooth batter.
The last ingredient is the melted butter, which must be drizzled in a steady stream as the blender or food processor goes to perfectly emulsify.
Can I Use a Different Sized Pan?
This recipe uses a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan for best results.
To Bake in a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch Pan
Add about 5 minutes to the baking time. This is the pan I use for smaller loaves. Loaves baked in this slightly smaller pan will rise higher and look taller, more like what you’d see in a bakery case.
If you use an even smaller pan, you may run the risk of the loaf overflowing, or collapsing slightly in the center – especially if you live at higher altitudes.
To Bake in a Bundt Cake Pan
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 which is more light and cakey than this pound cake recipe.
To Bake in Glass or a Ceramic Pan
I tested this recipe in a metal pan because it conducts heat quickly and efficiently. Glass and ceramic are slower conductors of heat, so if you use this style pan you’ll need to decrease your baking temperature to 325°F and increase your baking time by about 10 minutes. Check out my article on Glass vs. Metal Pans.
The Trick to Bright Lemon Flavor in Pound Cake (even after baking)
Lemon flavor can dull during the baking process. That’s why this recipe calls for two whole tablespoons (not teaspoons!) of both lemon zest and juice. Then there’s a tablespoon of fresh juice in the glaze, which helps give a fresh punch of lemon flavor. You’ll need about 3 large lemons in total!
How to Make Lemon Glaze for Pound Cake
You’ll just need 3 ingredients for the lemon glaze: powdered sugar, a lemon, and milk or cream. Whisk together the glaze ingredients until thick but pourable. The consistency of your glaze will depend entirely on the brand of powdered sugar you’re using and how humid it is in your kitchen.
- To Make the Lemon Glaze Thinner: Add more lemon juice or milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- To Make the Lemon Glaze Thicker: Add more powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time.
How to Store Lemon Pound Cake Loaf
The glazed loaf can be covered in foil or plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Can I Freeze Lemon Pound Cake Loaf?
Yes! Wrap the unglazed loaf tightly in plastic wrap and store for 1 month. Your loaf will likely develop a moist or tacky surface on top, but the glaze should disguise it nicely.
More Scrumptious Lemon Desserts to Try:
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Lemon Cheesecake
- Glazed Lemon Cookies
- Lemon Bundt Cake
- Lemon Cupcakes
- Soft Batch Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
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Lemon Loaf Pound Cake
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 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 loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- 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. If using a glass or ceramic pan, decrease your baking temperature to 325°F and increase your baking time by about 10 minutes.
- Cool in pan for 15 to 20 minutes then run a thin flexible knife around the edges before inverting onto a wire rack and 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 until your desired consistency. Spoon over the loaf, letting it drip down the sides if desired. Let set for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Recipe Notes
June 2021 Baking Challenge
This recipe was the June 2021 pick for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here. Check out everyone’s loaves:
This was amazing!! I’ve made it twice already! Super easy to put together also.
Absolutely the best! I can’t tell you how many recipes I have tried to only “toss” them after taking a bit. This is definitely a keeper!!! Thank you Tessa!
Hi. I’ve made many of your recipes and they never disappoint. I also recently purchased your cookie book. Love it! I made your lemon pound cake this morning. My question is if it is normal for the outside of the cake to be quite dark? Inside seems just fine. Just curious if the dark color is normal? I used a nonstick loaf pan. Not glass or ceramic. Thank you in advance!
Thank you so much for your sweet review, Rachel, I’m so glad you love my cookie book! Yes, it is normal for the outside of the loaf to be a bit darker. You can see it’s more of a dark golden brown in the above photos 🙂 I hope you enjoy your loaf!
If it’s a nonstick (dark) pan, it tends to create a darker crust. I use light silver pans for all of my baking. You can also try using parchment in the bottom and sides to see if that helps keep it from getting too dark. The outsides bake faster than the middle, of course, and that’s why they tend to get darker.
Fantastic! The best lemon loaf pound cake I’ve made! Amount of tanginess from the lemon is just right and the texture is ‘pound cake perfect’! The only change I need to make for next time is to grease my loaf pan more generously (I had a bit of a problem getting it to release after cooling). Thank you for a great recipe and technique!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this recipe!
My husband loved it!
I had to add 10 more minutes to bake time.
So happy he loved this recipe! Baking time can vary depending on type of pan and oven. Glad it worked for you!
I made this wonderful cake last weekend and it came out perfectly. The texture and flavour were amazing (I cannot stand crumbly, dry and bland cakes). It was chewy and you could really taste the lemon. It was a big hit with the family and I will definitely be making this again.
I have two questions.
1. What’s sprinkled on top of the cake in the picture? Is it lemon zest?
2. Could I use packed lemon zest or just lemon juice for the batter? I know it’s not exactly the same but lemons can be super expensive where I live in winter.
I’m so happy to hear you love this loaf! You are correct, lemon zest is sprinkled on top in the picture-I LOVE LEMON 🙂 I wouldn’t just use lemon zest as lemon juice is absolutely necessary for the flavor, but you could definitely just use juice without zest (it’ll be a little lighter in lemon flavor though). I’ve had a few reviewers switch this recipe to an orange loaf with great results too! That might be an idea for you in the winter months? Good luck!
I made this lemon pound cake loaf recently. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make as I’m not a baker. It turned out amazing! Very moist and delicious. I would use this recipe again! Thanks for the recipe, Tessa! It is definitely better than the Starbucks one.
YAY! I’m so thrilled to hear this!
Scrumptious! My Grand daughter said that it was better then the lemon cake available at Starbucks.. WOW!
YAY! So happy you both enjoyed this lemon loaf!!!
If I dont have a cake flour then what to do?
I discuss this in the pink box above the recipe!
I made this cake today ! Used lime as we don’t get lemon in our area. It was sooooo good !!!! Thank you so much for the recipe !
Yummy! Glad you made this loaf your own with lime!
I’ve tried other recipes that claim to taste better than Starbucks, but this one really does!! Light, moist and flavorful! The perfect amount of lemon and that glaze on top is to die for (I used organic powdered sugar and it was just right – not too sweet).
Woohoo! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Will it turn out the same if I use a mixer instead of a blender?
A blender or food processor not only assists in making quick and easy work of making this batter, but it also helps emulsify all the rich ingredients together into a smooth batter. You can try a mixer, but it might not have QUITE the same outcome. Good luck!