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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This pound cake is delish. I ended up putting the cream cheese frosting in a baggy to sqeeze nice lines down the cake as it was too thick to drizzle. My golfing gals loved it after playing golf today.
Exactly how long do you let the cake cool before drizzling on the glaze?
Barbara,
I wait until the cake has cooled completely before i drizzle the glaze over the cake.
~Carrie
I also stir in fresh sliced strawberries before adding to the bundt pan. Pairs perfectly with this cake !
Lindsey,
That sounds delicious! I will have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!
~Carrie
Has anyone tried gf flour with this?
Holly,
I don’t know if anybody has tried using gluten-free flour in this recipe. The recipe is formulated for all-purpose flour, substituting the would completely throw off the rest of the recipe.
~Carrie
So what is Italian about it?
Phyllis,
I get asked this a lot. It is the name of the original recipe. I have since added mascarpone cheese to the recipe, along with a many other changes. It isn’t an authentic Italian recipe, but it is amazing and I would highly recommend you try it!
~Carrie
I clicked on the print friendly….EIGHT PAGES!!!!!
Pam,
I am so sorry! I am in the process of switching to a different print friendly format. Thank you for your patience!
~Carrie
This recipe and your photos make this cake sound so delicious! What size bundt pan should be used? I have a small one and a large one.
Rhonda,
Thank you, it is one of my favorite recipes. For this recipe, I use a 10 cup bundt pan but you can get away with a 12 cup if that is what you have. I am excited for you to try it!
Happy Baking!
Carrie
My dinner guests, husband, and I all loved it so I am making it again for new dinner guests! Thank you. My 12 cup bundt pan worked just fine.
The recipe just calls for “lemon juice”. Is the that fresh or the bottled type?
Mona,
You can use either fresh or bottled lemon juice.
~Carrie
Hi! I followed the recipy step by step but my batter separated when I added the sour cream, lemon juice, zest and fresh ginger! What went wrong? I went ahead and added flour and buttermilk. Looked ok then. The cake came out of oven looking nice but then stuck to the pan! I did spray liberally with spray and cook.
Glazed it any way and it will be eaten.?..just disappointed in the way it turned out.
Karla,
It is hard to say exactly what went wrong, but if the batter was over mixed it will separate. What kind of spray did you use on the pan? The kind of spray you use can make a big difference. It needs to be baking spray not cooking spray. I like to use Pam’s baking spray. You also need to make sure that the spray gets into every little crease and crevice. If not the cake will stick to the pan. My bundt pan is a non-stick but I still generously spray the pan. I hope this helps! I know how frustrating it can be when a recipe doesn’t turn out.
~Carrie