Italian Lemon Pound Cake is the only lemon cake recipe you will ever need! You are going to love the super moist texture and the rich citrus flavor.
The Italian Lemon Pound Cake is sure to have you hooked after just one bite. It really is that good! Every time I take this cake to a party it is always a huge hit.
Have you ever bit into a lemon dessert and instantly pucker up because the lemon flavor is so overpowering? You don’t need to worry about that with this recipe. It has the perfect balance between sweet and tart, so it is pucker free.
If you have a chance, try making the cake the day before you are going to serve it, because It tastes even better the next day!
Serve this Italian Lemon Pound Cake at a baby or wedding shower or enjoy it while sitting on the back porch on a quiet summer evening.
Who am I kidding, this cake would be amazing no matter where you are or who you serve it to.
With love from my kitchen to yours,
Carrie
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Here are some of the items that I recommend for making this cake.
*UPDATE: I added 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger to the cake batter, because I felt like it needed a little bit of kick to the lemon flavor. It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes. Then I omitted the butter from the glaze, because the butter is very temperamental and can curdle. I brush the glaze on the warm cake and once it has cooled down, drizzle the lemon cream cheese frosting over the cake.
Italian Lemon Pound Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup of sour cream
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tsp. of fresh ginger, minced
Zest of 2 lemons ( about 2 tbsp.)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in the sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla, ginger, and lemon zest.
2. Mix half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix in the buttermilk and then add in the remaining flour mixture. Mix just until the flour disappears. Pour the cake batter into a bundt pan that has been generously sprayed with baking spray.
3. Bake for 70 to 80 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Turn the cake over on a cake platter. Spread the lemon glaze over the warm cake so that the glaze can soak into the cake. Let the cake cool completely and drizzle the lemon cream cheese frosting over the cake.
Lemon Glaze
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoon lemon juice, at room temperature
1. Whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together and mix until the glaze is smooth.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. of cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp. of lemon zest
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 cups of powder sugar
- Mix the all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
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… I keep re-reading thr recipe and can’t seem to find the flour amount (?)
Marie,
The flour amount is the first ingredient listed in the recipe. You need 3 cups of all-purpose flour.
Happy Baking!
Carrie
Hi Carrie, where I leave, we cannot buy buttermilk. I have never been able to find an adequate substitute. I really want to make your cake. I use to make Italian Wedding Cake but it requires buttermilk as well but never has the right texture or flavor when I substituted goat’s milk. Please advise.
Susan,
You can substitute buttermilk by adding 1/2 tbsp. of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1/2 cup of milk and let it stand for about 10 minutes. I hope this helps.
~Carrie
Use regular milk, but add a Tablspoon of vinegar first to your cup with milk. You can see it changes it to buttermilk. I use it for everything requiring buttermilk.
What makes this cake Italian?
Taylor,
It was the original name of the cake. You can substitute 1/2 cup of mascarpone for the sour cream.
~Carrie
I don’t see any Italian in it at all. We don’t make cakes like this but it looks very nice. I would not substitute marscapon for sour cream two different textures. Two different weights of ingredients. I may try this to see what it does I will let you know…. pretty cake
Laura,
Mascarpone cheese might not have the same texture as sour cream, but it tastes amazing when it is substituted for the sour cream in this cake!
~Carrie
Getting ready to make this cake, after going over the video and recipe, I noticed you are using butter in either the glaze or icing on the video, but neither the Glaze or Frosting has butter in the Recipe. Can you tell me if the recipe is supposed to have butter in the Frosting or Glaze and if so, how much?
Thanks
Yetta,
I changed the recipe after the video was made. I omitted the butter because a lot of people were having problems with it curdling. It tastes just as good without the butter. Sorry for the confusion.
Carrie
I just made this cake. The glaze looks like an icing itself, so I won’t make the icing that the recipe calls for. I put the exact amount of powered sugar and lemon juice (fresh from room temperature lemons) that the recipe calls for. I waited about 5 minutes and flipped the cake out and applied the glaze. I noticed that the glaze was thick while stirring it. Any suggestions on how to get a thinner glaze like your photo shows?
Jessica,
You can thin the icing down with more lemon juice. I would add 1 tbsp. at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
~Carrie
More lemon juice, a tiny bit at a time, until the desired consistency. Also, make the glaze as soon as you put the cake in the oven, then stir it occasionally while the cake cooks. That’ll help the tiny lumps smooth out before you glaze the cake.
Thanks Sue!
Jessica, you can also put the glaze in the microwave for about 7 seconds to make it thinner. I do it all the time for my pound cakes.
I made this cake exact, well I did not have any ginger but it came out soooo good.
Nicole,
I am so glad you liked it! It is one of my favorite recipes. You should try it next time with the ginger, it makes a huge difference.
~Carrie
Hello,
So I used coconut milk instead of sour cream, buttermilk and ginger and it’s amazing!!
Thanks for this recipe!!
Glenn,
That sounds delicious! Did the coconut have a pronounce flavor in the cake or was it more subtle?
~Carrie
Glenn,
That sounds delicious! Did the coconut have a pronounced flavor in the cake or was it more subtle?
~Carrie
This recipe is wonderful. My family raved about this cake! I made it with gluten free flour and used all organic ingredients. It was easy to make and so delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Julie,
What kind of flour did you use? I have never tried gluten free flour, but I have had a few people ask me about substituting it in this cake. Thanks for the feedback. I am so happy you enjoyed the cake!
~Carrie
I dont have sour cream. Anything I can sub?
Carol,
You can substitute equal parts of whole milk greek yogurt for sour cream. If you have regular plain or vanilla yogurt you can use that as well, you will just need to strain it first through cheesecloth for an hour or until it is a little thicker. I have never tried these alternatives, so I can’t guarantee that they will work 100%, but they are common substitutes for sour cream.
~Carrie
Hello the first time I made this cake it was moist and on top that cake was crunchy. It is that the right texture for the italian lemon cake?
Farah,
The top should not be crunchy. Did you bake the cake at 325 degrees?
Yes I bake 325 degree.. not very crunchy on the top but too moist and melting. What exactly italian texture???
Farah,
It should be soft and moist and not at all crunchy. To prevent it from browning too much and becoming crunchy make sure that the cake batter is smooth and even. An uneven surface can cause the cake to brown uneven. Also, make sure that your oven racks are not set too high in the oven. If it is too close to the heat source it can bake unevenly. Some ovens can cook hotter than others, make sure to keep a close eye on the cake and turn it a quarter turn several times during baking. Lastly, you can lightly cover the cake pan with foil half way through the baking. Just make sure that the foil does get in the way of the cake rising. I hope this helps.
~Carrie
Tq carrie..
I try my best..
i hope this time lemon cake is better from before..
Your cake so amazing taste.. i like it..
Farah,
Thank you! If you have any question about the cake let me know.
~Carrie
do i use lemon juice from fresh lemons that i squeeze myself or do i use bottle
Rita,
You can use fresh squeezed lemon juice or bottled lemon juice. They both would work fine.
~Carrie