If you like lemon treats like this lemon sour cream pound cake recipe you may enjoy some of our other lemon sweets. Make these Lemon Cooler Cookies, dipped in a zingy lemon Koolaid and powdered sugar coating. Or try this Lemon Freeze, a no bake lemon pie from the 1960’s.
Lemon desserts are always so fresh and so full of flavor! This lemon sour cream pound cake recipe is no exception.
This dense cake is made from scratch with a bright lemon flavor. It is so moist and fluffy with a tender crumb and topped with a gooey, tart lemon powdered sugar drizzle. It tastes like summer!
I have grown to love lemon treats over the years. Instead of reaching for overly sweet chocolate desserts, I find myself leaning toward more tangy sweets. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely still reach for chocolate everything, but now I appreciate things that are less sugary. And if you are watching what you eat, try this keto lemon pound cake.
When Life Gives you Lemons, Make Pound Cake
This cake could be treated kind of like a pastry or coffee cake and would work well as a breakfast or brunch food served right along side a hot cup of coffee.
I don’t know about you, but I am all for eating cake for breakfast! My hips may not agree, but my heart and mouth say, YES!!
Of course, you can eat this for solely as a dessert if you are adamantly against the idea of eating it for breakfast.
I mean it is sweet AND dripping with a zesty lemon glaze. This lemon sour cream pound cake can be eaten whenever you feel like eating it.
If you love lemons you have got to try this lemon pound cake. It makes sense that some of my favorite desserts are citrusy. This one isn’t a copycat recipe but it does make me think of the Starbucks lemon loaf.
For a lemon cake made with yogurt, check out this lemon yogurt cake.
The Secret to Making the Best Lemon Pound Cake
You may be wondering how to make an amazing lemon sour cream pound cake come out perfectly every time. Well, I have some helpful baking tips to help you out!
- Room temperature eggs, sour cream and butter. Make sure to allow your butter, sour cream, and eggs to come up to room temperature before making this recipe. This means you will need to pull out the ingredients a few hours in advance to make sure.
- Properly pack flour. Make sure to get the right amount of flour by scooping fluffed flour with a spoon into a measuring cup. Then level it off with a knife. Don’t pack your flour into the measuring cup.
- Don’t over mix batter. If the batter gets overly blended, it can end up tough and dry. Mix it just until the flour is gone.
- Don’t over bake. If you start smelling the cake while it is cooking, you can check the cake to see if it’s done. It will be done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Why we Love this Recipe
- It makes a delicious dessert.
- It’s an easy dessert to make.
- Kids love to help with this pound cake.
Why does this Pound Cake have Sour Cream?
If you are wondering what sour cream does in pound cakes, I’ve got the answer for you. Surprisingly, sour cream adds a lot of moisture to desserts without watering them down. So, you end up with a loaf cake that is tender and moist. Which is exactly what you want in a pound cake.
How do you Make Pound Cake from Scratch
It is super simple to make your own lemon sour cream pound cake right in your own kitchen and it will taste better than what you get at the store.
Mix up the dry ingredients in a bowl, making to especially pay close attention to how you measure out the flour. You don’t want to accidentally add too much flour. I like to spoon the flour into the dry measuring cup and level it off with a butter knife.
Next, cream the softened butter with the sugar. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients and once incorporated, slowly mix in the dry ingredients.
What to Serve with Lemon Pound Cake
- Cut up some fresh fruit like strawberries or bananas. Or top with fresh blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries.
- A large, hot cup of coffee.
- A big scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.
- Sprinkle on some nuts.
Oh no, Why did my Pound Cake Crack?
The cracking actually means that you made it correctly. YAY! When you cream together the ingredients, you add air into them. The crack means that the cake expanded due to the air pockets.
Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake Ingredients
Here are the basic ingredients you need to make lemon pound cake. Scroll all the way to the bottom of this post to the recipe card for the exact measurements.
- Flour: All purpose flour is all you need.
- Baking Soda: This leavening is to help make your pound cake rise.
- Salt: Just a small amount is needed to bring out the sweetness of the lemon loaf.
- Butter: Fresh, unsalted butter is best.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar.
- Eggs: Three eggs that are at room temperature.
- Sour Cream: I like to use full fat sour cream that is room temp.
- Vanilla: Vanilla extract and not imitation vanilla flavoring.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice from 2 lemons. Make sure not to use bottled lemon juice.
- Lemon Zest: You only need about the zest of one lemon.
Pound Cake Glaze Ingredients
- Powdered Sugar: If your powdered sugar is overly lumpy you can sift it.
- Lemon Juice: Use fresh lemon juice.
- Butter: Helps add a creaminess to the flavor of the lemon glaze.
- Vanilla: Just a hint of vanilla will add delicious flavor.
How to Make Lemon Pound Cake
Let’s get right into how to make this delectable citrus cake. Here are the basic steps, check out the recipe card below for the full instructions.
- Preheat oven. Coat 9×4″ loaf pan with butter, oil, or cooking spray. Add a parchment paper sling and also coat that with butter or cooking spray.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar.
- Add in vanilla and one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the sour cream, lemon juice, and zest. Combine well.
- Slowly add the flour mixture. Add about half, mix just until the flour disappears.
- Scrape down the sides and add the rest of the flour. Combine just until the flour is gone, do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean or with just a few dry crumbs (not wet or gooey). Let the cake rest for about 15 minutes before pulling it out of the baking pan onto a cooling rack.
- Once the cake is completely cooled, mix the ingredients for the glaze.
- Drizzle over the top of the cake.
How to Keep Pound Cake from Sticking to the Pan
You want to be sure that you oil or grease the pan really well, really get into every crease. Then add a parchment paper sling and spray that with non-stick cooking spray or butter, to further add to the releasability. Once you take the baked cake out of the oven let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then turn it out onto a cooling rack.
Tips & Variations
- Room temp ingredients. Two hours before starting this lemon sour cream cake, pull out the butter, eggs, and sour cream so that they come to room temperature.
- Center of the oven. Pound cakes are best cooked in the very center of the oven. Make sure to rotate halfway through the baking time. Cook the cake by itself and not with anything else.
- Add fresh fruit. This lemon cake would be incredible with some added blueberries or raspberries.
- Swap out the extract. Instead of vanilla extract, try this pound cake with almond extract.
- Thicker glaze. If you want a thicker glaze you can add more powdered sugar to the glaze.
- Greek yogurt. You can substitute the sour cream for greek yogurt instead like in this lemon yogurt cake. Use the same amount of yogurt as sour cream.
- Powdered sugar. You can use a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top of this cake instead of the glaze.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to make sure my baking soda is not expired? Drop a pinch of baking soda into a little vinegar to see if it is still good. If it foams up it is still active and you can use it in your recipe.
Why did my sour cream pound cake fall? If you put too much baking powder in a pound cake it can cause it to fall. If you measure it properly you shouldn’t have a problems.
Does sour cream make a pound cake moist? Since sour cream has such a high amount of fat in it, that is what makes the pound cake so moist.
Can you freeze lemon pound cake? Yes, lemon sour cream pound cake can be frozen. See the storage instructions below for how to do it.
Storage Instructions
How to refrigerate lemon pound cake? Let the cake cool and put in an air tight container. It should last about a week in the fridge.
How do you store lemon pound cake at room temperature? Let the cake cool and put in an air tight container. The cake should last about 2-3 days at room temp.
How to freeze lemon pound cake? Let cake cool completely then wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Place into an air tight, freezer safe container or zip bag. It can be frozen for 3 months, just be sure to label with the recipe and date.
How to thaw frozen lemon pound cake? Thaw frozen lemon pound cake in the refrigerator overnight until defrosted, then bring up to room temperature or heat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before enjoying.
Try these other lemon recipes!
Welcome to #LemonWeek 2022 which is hosted by Lynn from Fresh April Flours and Rebecca from Devour Dinner! What better way to welcome summer than with over 50 recipes featuring bright and sunny lemons? Please join me and my fellow Lemon Week blogger friends as we bring you a wide variety of lemon recipes from appetizers to drinks to entrées and desserts!
I am celebrating all things lemon this week with some of my foodie friends. Take a look at their delicious lemon recipes!
Friday #LemonWeek Recipes
- Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf by Fresh April Flours
- Grilled Chicken Piccata by Palatable Pastime
- Creamy Lemon Smoothie Recipe by Blogghetti
- Gluten Free Lemon Bars by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Lemon Tarragon Salmon by Art Of Natural Living
- Meyer Lemon Vanilla Shortbread Cookies by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Lemon Poppy Seed Thumb Print Cookies by Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Lemon Pasta by Devour Dinner
- Lemon Blueberry Cookies by Best Cookie Recipes
- Lemon Tea Bread by The Freshman Cook
- Homemade Lemon Cake by Simply Inspired Meals
- Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake by The Fresh Cooky
- LLemony Shrimp Pasta by A Day In The Life On The Farm
- Rosemary Watermelon Lemonade by The Spiffy Cookie
- Lemon Crumb Muffins with Lemon Glaze by An Affair From The Heart
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake by Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog
- Ina Garten’s Lemon Chicken by Jen Around The World
- Lemon Ice Cream by Lemon Blossoms
- Grilled Lemon Herb Flatbread by That Recipe
- Lemon Meringue Cheesecake by The Redhead Baker
- Oven Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken and Gnocchi by Jonesin’ For A Taste
- Dragonfruit Lemonade by Magical Ingredients
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Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake
Ingredients
For Pound Cake
- 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, about 1 lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Lemon Glaze
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×4" loaf pan with butter, oil, or cooking spray. Add a parchment paper sling and also coat that with butter or cooking spray.
-
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar.
-
Add in vanilla and one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, and zest. Combine well.
-
Slowly add the flour mixture. Add about half, mix just until the flour disappears. Scrape down the sides and add the rest of the flour. Combine just until the flour is gone, do not over mix.
-
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean or with just a few dry crumbs (not wet or gooey). Let the cake rest for about 15 minutes before pulling it out of the baking pan onto a cooling rack.
-
Bake for 40-50 minutes, the top will be golden and cracked on top. If the cake is getting too dark, cover with foil until done baking. Toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean or with just a few dry crumbs (not wet or gooey).
-
Let the cake rest for about 15 minutes before pulling it out of the baking pan onto a cooling rack.
-
Once the cake is completely cooled, mix the powdered sugar with the lemon juice for the glaze. Drizzle over the top of the cake.
Recipe Notes
- Center of the oven. Pound cakes are best cooked in the very center of the oven. Make sure to rotate halfway through the baking time. Cook the cake by itself and not with anything else.
- Powdered sugar. You can use a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top of this cake instead of the glaze.
* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.
Nutrition Information
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Rodelle Prize Pack includes:
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- 4oz Vanilla Paste
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La Tourangelle Prize Pack includes:
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