I must introduce you all to my favorite dessert in the world - lemon pound cake!

I've always had a strong love for this classic dessert, and I have such nostalgic feelings each time I bite into a slice. As a kid, my Mom would treat us to homemade pound cakes often, but I especially appreciated the many pound cakes she made for us during college. It was such a taste of home and was so comforting when I was homesick and tired of college life. (Yes, I do eat my feelings AND I did gain the freshman 15! Yikes!)

While I was in college, I heard a rumor that one of my professors made an incredible bakery-like lemon pound cake. You have no idea how excited I was when I actually got a chance to try it many years later. It totally lived up to the hype! I remember embarrassing myself a bit by eating my slice so quickly and then proceeding to beg her for the recipe. I treasure the text I received from Mrs. L with the recipe!

Once I had the recipe, I attempted to make the cake. Emphasis on attempted! My first try was a complete failure. I even have an old cell phone picture to document the mess I made.

 

 

I had made a rookie mistake. Mrs. L had recommended White Lily flour, and, in my haste at the grocery story, I had accidentally bought self-rising flour instead of all-purpose flour. My cake literally blew up in the oven, and I had such a mess to clean up. Learn from my mistake, friends!

I've been making this cake for years now, and it never disappoints! It's gorgeous to look at, but the cake texture and flavor is to die for. I know you're going to love it! Thanks for sharing this incredible recipe with us, Mrs. L!

 

 

 

 

Tutorial

Step 1: Gather all of the ingredients and preheat the oven to 350° F.

 

 

You'll need (for the cake):

  • 1.5 cups of salted butter (3 sticks of butter)

  • 3 cups of white (granulated) sugar

  • 5 large eggs

  • 3 cups of flour (Mrs. L recommends using White Lily flour for this cake...it really makes a difference!)

  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder

  • 1 cup of milk

  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

  • 1 teaspoon of lemon extract

 


You'll also need (for the icing):

  • 6 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter

  • 3.5 cups of confectioners sugar

  • 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and zest from 1 lemon

  • 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract

  • 2 tablespoons of milk (plus more if icing is too thick)

 

 

Step 2: Mix ingredients together in a large bowl.

  • In case you missed it in step 1, preheat the oven to 350° F.

  • Put the 1.5 cups (3 sticks) of salted butter and 3 cups of white (granulated) sugar into your mixing bowl. Make sure your butter is softened a little (either leave it out on the counter for 30 minutes before mixing ingredients OR place the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds).

  • Mix the butter and sugars together for 1 to 2 minutes. Don't cheat here. Set a timer for at least a minute and mix away!

  • Add 1 egg to your creamed butter/sugar mixture and mix together until combined. Add the remaining 4 eggs one at time, mixing well after each egg is added.

  • Add 3 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder to a separate bowl and stir ingredients together.

  • Add flour/baking powder mixture alternately with 1 cup of milk, beating until well blended after each addition. Note: I typically begin by adding 1/3 cup of flour/baking powder mixture followed by a splash of milk. I repeat this process until all ingredients have been added to the mixing bowl. Be sure, though, to start and end this step with the flour/baking powder mixture (dry ingredients).

  • Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of lemon extract. Mix again until combined.

 

Step 3: Prep cake for the oven.

  • Prepare tube pan or bundt pan by generously coating the pan with a non-stick baking spray. I prefer to use a cooking spray with flour. My favorite spray is Baker's Joy.

  • Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan. Be sure to only fill the pan about 2/3 full.

  • NOTE: If you choose to use a bundt pan instead of a tube pan, you probably will not be able to use all of the batter. Bundt pans typically do not hold as much batter as a tube pan.

 

Step 4: Bake cake.

  • Place cake pan in a preheated 350° F oven.

  • Bake cake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out "almost" clean. You do not want the toothpick to be wet, but it may come out with a few crumbs. That's okay! You don't want to over bake this cake.

  • Remove pan from the oven. Allow cake to rest in the pan for about 10-15 minutes before carefully inverting pound cake onto a cooling rack or cake plate.

  • Allow cake to cool before icing the cake.

 

Step 5: Prepare icing.

  • Put 6 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter, 3.5 cups of confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, zest of 1 lemon, and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract into a mixing bowl.

  • Mix ingredients together. The mixture will be lumpy and dry.

  • Add 2 tablespoons of milk to icing mixture. Mix very well (no lumps). If the icing mixture is too thick, add more milk and mix again. I typically end up adding 5-10 tablespoons of milk to achieve the desired consistency.

 

Step 6: Ice the cake.

  • Make sure that the cake has cooled completely before icing the cake. A warm cake will melt the icing, and you will not achieve the best icing design.

  • Add icing to a freezer Ziploc bag (medium or large size).

  • Use food-safe scissors and cut off the tip of one bottom corner of the Ziploc bag.

  • Squeeze icing in a back and forth motion until you achieve your desired icing pattern. You can use the image below as a guide for how we ice our lemon pound cake.

 

 

 

 

Printable Recipe

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