Lemon Pound Cake | Olive & Mango

Tall, buttery, moist, dense. This pound cake is classic. This easy to make basic and delicious old fashioned lemon pound cake is flavorful and dense but not dry. It buttery soft but with a tight crumb – Just enough lemon flavor in this great dessert .

The lemon glaze and the lemon syrup are optional but recommended for extra lemony/citrus flavor. Most modern’ish pound cake recipes call for adding leaveners like baking powder or baking soda to the batter and that is fine but a traditional pound cake has neither – the lift and rise from the cake come from the eggs and air in the butter. The original recipe for pound cake called for 1 pound of sugar, 1 pound of butter, 1 pound of eggs, and 1 pound of flour, thus the name but this would likely yield and uber dense, rich and dry cake – more modern takes on an old fashion pound cake have adjusted the amounts of those staple 4 ingredients to create a more balanced cake while keeping that dense tight texture but keeping it soft, more moist and buttery.

Lemon Pound Cake Recipe Ingredients

• CAKE FLOUR: This finely milled, bleached flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour. Gives cakes and desserts a soft, tender texture and an excellent crumb – perfect for a pound cake. Make sure to sift as well before using. Technically you can substitute it with all purpose flour but the texture will not be as soft and tender.
• BUTTER: I use unsalted butter and the butter must be room temperature. If your kitchen runs hot this shouldn’t take long. You want it soft enough to indent your finger into it but when pressing it your finger should not go right through. It will indent easily, but not be oily.
• EGGS: You will need 4 large eggs and these you want room temperature as well. Eggs will make this cake rise. You do not need baking soda or baking powder in this cake.
• SUGAR: I use granulated sugar for this recipe
• YOGURT: Plain yogurt is all you need or a good swap is sour cream – either one you use must be room temperature.
• LEMON JUICE& LEMON ZEST: Freshly squeezed and zested is best
• SALT: Just a pinch for flavour
• VANILLA EXTRACT: I use pure vanilla extract for best flavour.

How To Make Lemon Pound Cake

To get that traditional pound cake texture that’s crusty on the outside with a dense, moist, soft inside make the recipe as written.

1. SIFT FLOUR: Then whisk it with the salt
2. WHISK WET INGREDIENTS: Whisk tother the yogurt or sour cream with the vanilla, lemon juice and zest
3. CREAM BUTTER & SUGAR: for 3-5 min over medium speed until pale in colour light and fluffy (use paddle or whisk attachment either or will work here – I have tested with both)
4. ADD EGGS: Add them into the batter one at a time or if whisking them together 1 tablespoon at a time – mix very well between additions. Be patient with this part to prevent batter from splitting.
5. ADD FLOUR MIXTURE AND WET INGREDIENTS: Alternate adding the dry ingredients and sour cream mixture in stages, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Once flour is added into the batter, only gently work it and stop mixing once the flour is incorporated because gluten formation begins as soon as flour is hydrated.
6. POUR BATTER INTO PAN & BAKE: You want to remove the cake from the oven when the tester comes out with a few moist crumbs. The residual heat will continue the cooking process even after the cake is out of the oven. If you wait to pull the cake out until it is completely dry and no crumbs on toothpick tester in the middle, you will have a very dry pound cake.

Lemon Pound Cake Tips

• The most important thing when baking your pound cake is to make sure that you do NOT over-bake it. The cake will continue to cook for a few minutes after you remove it from the oven. To ensure a soft, tender cake, try to catch your cake slightly before it’s done. Look for the skewer to come out with a few moist crumbs and immediately remove it from the oven.
• Your eggs and other dairy ingredients also need to be at room temperature. They will incorporate much easier into the other ingredients at room temperature, making for a lighter, fluffier cake.
• Mix until the ingredients are combined but do not over-mix! An over-mixed batter results in a tough cake. Once flour is added into the batter, only gently work it and stop mixing once the flour is incorporated because gluten formation begins as soon as flour is hydrated.
• In order to create an emulsion, the eggs must be added very slowly. The whole process usually take 5 min – this slow process prevents the batter from splitting or looking curdled (it is totally not the end of the world if this happens to your batter and once the flour is added in the batter will return to a creamy texture – but the splitting batter could affect the rise and texture of the cake slightly)
• Serve with freshly whipped cream, ice cream, fresh berries, Blueberry Sauce or Citrus/LemonCurd
• Or, the beauty of a pound cake is it is delicious and plain without any extra accompaniments. Enjoy!!

Lemon Pound Cake Storage & Freezing Recommendations

• STORAGE: Wrap leftover cake in plastic wrap after fully cooled and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.
• FREEZING: Wrap cooled cake tight with plastic wrap then a layer of foil and place in an air tight container or ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge over night before serving.

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