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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Hi there! Can’t wait to try. Is the batter supposed to be really thick? I’m afraid I did something wrong, but I followed the instructions to a t!
Thanks!
Gabby,
Yes, the better will be thick.
This is my first pound cake and it turned out wonderfully. I was always afraid of making a pound cake that was too heavy. Although I don’t fancy myself a baker, this recipe was vey easy and certainly boosted my confidence as one. I did not make the cream cheese frosting as it would have been a bit too sweet for my taste but the cake and the glaze are more than enough of a sweet thing.
Thank you this will be my go to pound cake!
Yvonne,
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe. It is one of my favorite cakes!
Can u pls tell me how to make buttermilk .its not available to buy in any supermarkets.pls give me d recipe.
Mazeera,
Mix 1 cup of milk with 1 tbsp. of lemon juice or vinegar and let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes. You can place this with buttermilk in any recipe.
~Carrie
Mix 1 cup of whole milk with 1tsp of white vinegar
One cup of sweet milk add 1 to 2 tablespoons of vinager or lemon juice , stir and let st a min or 2 . You have buttermilk ….
Hi, first of all a very Big Thank you for sharing this recipe; it is amazingly tasty and it made me popular with my grand daughter who just thinks it is “the bestest cake Ever”
I love Lemon Anything. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe??
I added fresh blueberries to mine. Perfection! Thanks for the recipe!
Wish I had seen this last week. People liked my experimental lemon pound cake but it WAS too tart/sweet for my taste (lemon is my least favorite pound cake as well.) Also, at least here in the South, the best part of pound cake is the crusty top! It is served plain. I regretted making mine in a bundt pan since my crust was the best I’ve made so far (the cake texture wasn’t; it was too dry and crumbly; used a difft. recipe than normal). I did do a double glaze/frosting like yours though.
Not sure what happens to the crust if you glaze it, but I’m going to make mine Southern-style this time.
I have the cake in the oven. I did use the ginger, so interested to see how it taste. My husband is a huge fan of anything lemon. We’ll see
I made this for Easter and it was delicious. Everyone enjoyed it! I brought the leftovers to work and folks equally love it. You do NOT taste the ginger so add it without fear. The only thing I had an issue with is the frosting. I added the cream cheese and lemon together and then mixed but it created a frosting with teeny, tiny bits of cream cheese that would NOT break down (my cream cheese was softened). Added the sugar and still, cream cheese bits. Luckily, my sister, who is an excellent cook and baker, was with me and she suggested that I make another batch “whipping” the cream first and THEN added the lemon juice, then sugar–and it was super smooth and yummy. I will remember this the next time I make this cake. And yes, there will definitely be a “next time”. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us!