Southern Lemon Pound Cake (From Scratch)
“Velvety soft and moist lemon pound cake recipe made the old-fashioned way! Easy recipe with the perfect amount of natural lemon flavor & a secret ingredient!”
Watch me make this southern lemon pound cake from start to finish!
The weather has been INSANE here lately. Get this, it was over 70 degrees last Monday and snowing up a storm on Saturday! And now as I look outside mother nature is doing this weird off and on rain-sunshine-cloudy thing. I’m kinda like ..over all of her split personalities! I’m ready for some Spring sunshine!!
So I did what I always do when I’m craving sunshine on a cloudy day. I MAKE SOMETHING WITH LEMONS!!!
I’ve said this so many times but lemons truly make me happy!! They always have, even when I was little. There is just something about their bright, cheery color and fresh, crisp scent that makes me smile.
Today I’m going to be making a highly requested recipe for some good ol’ Southern Lemon Pound Cake from scratch! I have two lemon pound cakes that I make often but I wanted to share this one first since I’m making it for a friend. It’s always a win when I can knock out 2 birds with one stone (which is a really mean figure of speech to say, now that I’m thinking about it) and not have to keep the desserts in my house!
I seriously wish I could make this stuff and pass it through the screen. There is only so much my family and I can eat! I use to pass most of my Divas Can Cook recipe to my in-laws and then they up and went gluten-free on me! Sheesh!
I digress, lemon pound cake is one of my favorites! It’s right up there with this brown sugar caramel pound cake.
The texture of this Southern lemon pound cake is amazing!!! Thanks to the shortening, lemon yogurt and buttermilk! It produces this velvety fluffy yet perfectly dense pound cake that is simply incredible!
And let me just say how much I adore the lemon-sweetness ratio! Sometimes it can be so hard to strike a good balance of tart but not too tart when it comes to lemon flavored baked goods. And sometimes the lemon flavors just disappear altogether! The oven tends to downplay the lemon flavor so I always layer it!
To Add Pudding To Lemon Pound Cakes or Not to Add Pudding?…That Is The Question!
This is the big decision when it comes to lemon cakes. In this lemon pound cake recipe I’m using lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, pure lemon extract and lemon yogurt!! Yep, it’s all about layers! I personally tend to steer clear of using lemon jell-o, lemonade mix or lemon pudding in my lemon cakes.
Yes, those items give a MUCH bolder lemon flavor and gorgeous yellow color but to me it’s too much like that artificial grocery store bakery lemon taste, which my husband loves but I’m not a huge fan of.
But hey let’s be clear, I’m not knocking you if you do, rock on sister! I’d def. devour it either way simply because I have yet to meet a cake I didn’t love!
This southern lemon pound cake delivers nothing but good ol fashioned fresh lemon flavor. It’s not overpowering but you’ll def. know it’s there. If you want , you can add some yellow food coloring to boost the yellow color.
Want a darker yellow lemon pound cake?
Most homemade lemon desserts, including this lemon pound cake won’t come out as that bright yellow color you see with store bought cakes, simply because lemon juice is not that color.
I don’t mind one bit, but if I’m making this cake for someone or company I always add a bit of food coloring, simply because people love the look of a yellow lemon cake.
You can purchase natural yellow food coloring made from lemon zest or turmeric. I’ve never used that kind but it would be a pretty cool option if you’re not into artificial coloring. My grandmother makes her lemon cakes a deeper shade of yellow by adding in a few more egg yolks or simmering lots of lemon zest in a bit of water.
Tips for making the BEST LEMON POUND CAKE!
- Use Meyer lemons if you can find them. I swear they taste better but I could just be crazy.
- Make sure all ingredients are room temperature.
- Layer the moisture! I’m a big fan of putting as much moisture as I can get away with in pound cake, especially lemon. Nothing worst than a dry, crumbly lemon pound cake! This recipes rely on my favorite, trusty standby: BUTTERMILK!! And some lemon yogurt for moisture.
I love the crust on this cake! It’s golden with that slight, chewy crunch and tart from that fine brushing of lemon simple syrup and lemon glaze. Don’t skip those ok. They really balance out the sweetness of the cake.
Get the Recipe: Southern Lemon Pound Cake (From Scratch)
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room tempt.
- 1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons pure lemon extract
- 5.3 oz lemon yogurt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- zest of 2 lemons
- Juice of 3 lemons
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- LEMON SIMPLE SYRUP
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoon lemon juice, can more if you want more tartness
- LEMON VANILLA GLAZE
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoon lemon juice, may need more
- splash of vanilla extract
- Garnish, lemon zest & fresh whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Generously grease and flour a bundt pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl cream together butter, shortening, and sugar at medium speed
- Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each egg. *see note
- Add vanilla extract and lemon extract.
- Mix in yogurt and buttermilk.
- Mix in lemon zest and lemon juice.
- In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing well, but gently.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Shake pan to smooth out and to release any trapped air.
- Bake for 1 hour and 25-30 minutes or until moist crumbs cling to toothpick. (Do not over bake as cake will continue cooking as it cools.)
- Remove from oven and let cool until pan is warm.
- Remove from pan.
- Mix together lemon syrup mixture and slowly brush over the cake. Go slowly so the syrup seeps into the crust. You won't need all of the syrup, just enough to do one light coat.
- Once syrup has dried and cooled completely, mix together lemon glaze ingredients (adding more lemon juice if needed) and drizzle over the cooled cake.
- Let glaze hardened.
- Serve with fresh whipped cream sprinkled with lemon zest if desired.
Im about to bake this and come back and let you know the results. Hope it turns out as good as yours.
Ok let me know how you liked it!
My pound lemon cake didn’t come out what happened, I followed the re recipe exactly.
I am making this cake right now! All the wet ingredients are being mixed but I wonder why mine looks so lumpy, the in the video it’s very smooth.
Should I just dump the dry ingredients and hope for the best?
I really enjoy your recipes & videos!! I would like to know where you got your Mickey Mouse Hand Scrapper please. I love Mickey and would love to have a couple of those scrappers in my kitchen.
Thanks love! I got that when I visited Disney World.
I have made your lemon pound cake yesterday and I am overly pleased. Love the extra lemon flavor, very moist and I didn’t even put the glaze on it just the syrup. Thank you and keep the recipes coming. By the way my family loves your red velvet cupcakes
I’m so happy to hear that hun!!
I made your lemon cake and I followed all your steps but I don’t know what happened. The outside was nice and brown but when I cut into it there were parts that were kind of too soft..Almost like it was undercooked . I cooked it for the time the recipe said and left it in the pan to cool. Do you know what may have went wrong? I love your recipes! I’ve made your yams, cornbread & grandmothers pound cake. Thanks!
Yep this has happened to me before too and it’s usually when I get to “mixing happy” while mixing the butter, sugar, and eggs. I’m kinda obsessed with stirring and mixing so I have to catch myself. Here’s a great article on it. http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2014/07/15/how-to-prevent-dense-gluey-streaks-in-your-cake/
You made my family curse me and my sister out for making this cake!! Everyone loved it. Excellent recipe!
hahaha too funny! So glad they enjoyed!