I am absolutely in love with this Italian Lemon Pound Cake recipe!! It is my new go-to recipe when I want a fresh and flavorful summer cake! I love that this particular recipe includes fresh lemon juice in BOTH the cake and the glaze. This cake pairs well with coffee and tea but is also perfect for bringing to any spring or summer event! Some lemon recipes are too tart for my kids, but they LOVE this one, an added bonus!!
How to Make Italian Lemon Pound Cake
It’s really quite easy to whip up this fresh summer cake! I love that the ingredients are ordinary ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. There is a recipe card at the bottom of this page in case you want to scroll past all of the details. Although, some people really like the step-by-step instructions, so I included those, too!
Ingredients for Italian Lemon Pound Cake
All-Purpose Flour – Flour provides the structure for this Italian Lemon Pound Cake recipe. I have not tried substituting almond flour or coconut flour. If you do try it, let me know how it turns out!
Baking Powder and Baking Soda – These are the leavening agents which enable the batter to rise!
Salt – If you use salted butter, you don’t have to use salt in this recipe.
Unsalted Butter – Be sure to set aside time beforehand to set your butter out so it’s room temperature.
Sugar – I have only tried regular sugar and not any keto-friendly sugars.
Lemon Zest – Be sure to only use the yellow part, as the white part of the lemon is really bitter and unpleasant!
Eggs – The eggs provide structure and flavor in this Italian Lemon Pound Cake recipe!
Vanilla Extract – Besides being sweet, vanilla enhances the other flavors.
2% or Whole Milk – Do not use skim milk, as it would be too watery for this recipe!
Sour Cream – This is one of my favorite things to add to recipes, as it adds much more moisture than milk alone.
Lemon Juice – It is best to only use freshly squeezed lemon juice in both the cake and the glaze. I have not tried substituting the bottled lemon juice with this recipe, but when I have in the past, it just did NOT taste as delicious!
Step-By-Step Instructions for Italian Lemon Pound Cake (With photos!)
First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit for the Italian Lemon Pound Cake. Next, grease and flour your Bundt cake pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside while you whip the butter.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on high until the butter is fully blended and smooth. Next, add sugar and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy and fully blended. This will create a very light texture for your Italian Lemon Pound Cake!
Add lemon zest and blend. While still mixing with your electric mixer, add the eggs, one at a time, and mix some more for a few seconds in between each egg. While slowly mixing, slowly add about half of the flour mixture, then pour in both your vanilla and milk. After that, add the second half of the flour and then add the lemon juice and sour cream. Blend just until all of the ingredients are well incorporated. Don’t overmix!
Pour/scoop batter into prepared Bundt cake pan, using a spatula to smooth the top if you need to. Next, bake your Italian Lemon Pound Cake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs. (Just be sure there is no wet batter on the toothpick.)
Cool in the pan, sitting on a wire rack, until the pan is cool to the touch, or about an hour. Gently use a small spatula to loosen the cake around the center and edges of the pan. Invert the Italian Lemon Pound Cake onto a plate or cake stand, tap the pan on the bottom, and then lift up pan. My cake came out perfectly and yours will too, if you follow those instructions exactly and properly grease and flour your pan!
Italian Lemon Pound Cake Glaze
Combine melted butter and powdered sugar and whisk together in a small mixing bowl. Next, add lemon juice and whisk. Personally, I like the glaze a bit thicker, so I added a bit more powdered sugar. You can also let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before you drizzle it on. However, you can make the glaze however you prefer. That’s one thing that is great about glaze- it is very forgiving whenever you’re making it! If your glaze gets too thick for your liking, add a little milk to it and whisk. Easy-peasy!
If you like Lemon Italian Pound Cake, here are some more lemon recipe ideas!
These Easy Lemon Bars are a snap to whip up! I think you’ll also really love these Soft Lemon Sugar Cookies that are made from scratch! This recipe combines lemon AND strawberry in a Strawberry Lemon Dump Cake!
Italian Lemon Pound Cake
This Italian Lemon Pound Cake recipe includes real lemon juice and zest and is so refreshing! The homemade glaze is a delicious lemon flavor, too!
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1 lemon
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup 2% or whole milk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Instructions
CAKE INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Grease and flour the Bundt pan. (Be sure you cover every inch so the cake releases properly after cooling.)
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Next, in a large mixing bowl, blend the butter with an electric mixer on high until fully smooth. Add sugar and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy and fully blended. After that, add lemon zest and blend.
- While you are still mixing, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for 5 seconds in between each additional egg. While slowly mixing, slowly add about half of the flour mixture, then pour in the vanilla and milk.
- Next, add the second half of the flour and then add the lemon juice and sour cream. Blend only until all of the ingredients are mixed together. Don't overmix!
- Scoop the batter into the prepared Bundt pan, using a spatula to smooth the top, if you need to.
- Bake 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs. (Just be sure the toothpick does not have wet batter on it.)
- Cool in the pan, sitting on a wire rack, until the pan is cool (or just barely warm) to the touch - about 1 hour. This cooling step is very important!
- Gently use a small spatula to loosen the cake around the center and edges of the pan. Flip the cake onto a cake plate or pedestal, tap the pan on the bottom, and then lift up pan.
GLAZE INSTRUCTIONS
- Melt the butter in a medium sized bowl, then add powdered sugar. Use a whisk to combine.
- Add the lemon juice and whisk. The glaze with thicken as it sits a room temperature, so you can play around with how thick you want it before pouring it over the cake. If you happen to get the glaze thicker than you prefer, whisk in a little milk and that will fix it!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 431Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 216mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 1gSugar: 35gProtein: 6g
