Lemon Pound Cake (sour cream, lemon glaze)
This sweet, moist lemon pound cake with sour cream has a perfectly dense crumb, that bright lemon flavor we all love and a wonderful golden brown top. It is easy to make, versatile (variations are included in the post) and fantastic with a simple glaze!
Servings 8 slices
Ingredients
Lemon cake:
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup + 1 tablespoon, at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest from about 1 lemon
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Lemon sugar glaze:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Make the cake batter:
- Preheat oven to 325ºF (170°C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with shortening and flour it. You can line it with a strip of parchment paper covering the bottom and the two narrow sides to make it easier to remove the cake. The two long sides are greased but unlined.
- Beat 9 tablespoons unsalted butter and ½ cup sour cream in a large bowl until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add 1 teaspoon lemon zest and mix.
- Add 1 ½ cups sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more.
- Add 3 eggs, one at a time, incorporating each one before adding the next.
- Add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.
- Sift 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour with ¼ teaspoon baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt and add it to the butter mixture in 2 additions, beating at low speed only until well mixed. Don't overbeat.
- Pour batter into the pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. It might take longer depending on your oven and the type of pan you use. If the top is browning too quickly, tent with a piece of aluminum foil for the last part of the baking.
- Cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack, run a smooth-bladed knife around the edges to loosen and remove from the pan carefully.
- Let cool completely before glazing.
Make the powdered sugar glaze:
- Mix ¾ cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice until smooth.
- Put the cake on a wire rack and a piece of parchment paper below to catch the drippings. Slowly drizzle the glaze along the center of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.
- You can scoop the glaze that drips onto the paper and pour it over again. Do so quickly before the glaze sets.
Video
Notes
Use the right loaf pan: it's important because this cake takes a while to bake. If the pan is smaller, it will color and dry out too much on the outside before being fully baked.
Storing it: well covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container, it keeps for 2-3 days at room temperature, a week in the fridge, and a month or more in the freezer. I love to freeze leftover pound cake in slices and toast them for breakfast or brunch.p
Possible pan sizes: double the recipe and bake it in a 10- or 12-cup bundt or tube cake pan like this lemon bundt cake, or a sheet cake in a 9x13 rectangular pan. Bake mini bundt cakes like blood orange cakes or chocolate Kahlua cakes.
