My go-to lemon loaf recipe for years! This delicious Glazed Lemon Pound Cake Loaf is always perfectly moist and lemony!
I have been making this same lemon loaf for years. It’s my “go to” when only lemon loaf will do. The fact that I’ve never posted it to this point is simply my belief that maybe the internet didn’t really need another lemon loaf recipe. But what the heck. It’s good, it’s tried and tested (many, many times!) and for anyone who has yet to find their “go to” lemon loaf, it’s definitely worthy of consideration.
I suppose lemon loaf is somewhat subjective. What makes this loaf a winner for me is the lovely texture (not too light, not too dense), the perfect level of moistness (not too oily, never dry) and just the right amount of lemon. With this one, the hit of lemon actually comes more from the glaze than the cake, though there is obviously some lemon in the cake. But it’s in the lemon glaze that the the perfect balance is struck, so definitely don’t skip that.
The final point I love about this loaf, is that it needs only 1 large lemon and pretty much typical pantry and fridge items to make it. That means I’m always stocked to make this one, which has come in handy many times when I needed a little something special to share or gift.
Featured Review: I made this lemon pound loaf today and it tastes incredible! I was worried that it wouldn’t have much lemon taste because of the small amount of lemon juice that goes into the batter. There was no need to worry though, the lemon taste is the star of this loaf. This recipe is pure perfection! – Krista
Cook’s Notes
When it comes to baking loaves like this one, there is really just one secret to success. Follow the instructions :) Take it from someone who has (in the past :) skipped certain instructions like “at room temperature”, “whisk together well in a separate bowl” and “add alternately” … yet had what I considered (at the time) to be a reasonably fine result.
It was only when I started following those instructions that I discovered the reason they were there. There’s fine and then there’s great. I learned I prefer the great, so I am willing to be a bit more organized and patient. It’s a small price to pay for great lemon loaf :)
So the moral of that story … be sure to take your eggs, butter and sour cream out of the fridge 30 minutes before you start baking. Be sure to combine the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a separate large bowl and whisk it together well. You will be rewarded!
This lemon loaf freezes beautifully. Freeze it whole in a freezer bag, or slice it first and freeze it. Slicing first means you can grab a slice when you feel the need, instead of trying to cut/thaw a slice from a frozen whole loaf. To thaw a slice, simply set a frozen slice on the counter on a piece of paper towel and it will be ready to enjoy in 20-30 minutes. To thaw a whole loaf, set on the counter inside the sealed freezer bag until thawed.
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Get the Recipe: Glazed Lemon Pound Cake Loaf
Ingredients
Loaf:
- 1/2 cup (113 g) butter, salted, or unsalted, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) white sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest, from about 1 large lemon
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups (185 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup (75 ml) sour cream, removed from fridge 15 minutes before using
Glaze:
- 1/2 cup (65 g) icing/confectioners' sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice, plus more, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F. (not convection bake). Spray an 8x4-inch loaf pan with baking spray and line with a piece of parchment paper that covers the bottom and long sides, with an inch or so extending past the top of the pan (these will be the "handles" to lift the loaf out of the pan).
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar at medium speed (about "4 or 5" on a KitchenAid mixer) until light coloured and fluffy. (Don't skimp on this process. It should cream about 3 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time and beat in well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed. Beat in the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together well the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. With mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, starting with 1/3 of the flour, 1/2 of the sour cream, 1/3 of the flour, last of the sour cream, then finally the last of the flour.
- Scrape into prepared 8x4-inch loaf pan and level batter. Bake in preheated oven for 55-60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then run a knife along the short ends and use the parchment paper edges to lift and remove from pan. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.
- While loaf is still a little warm, prepare the glaze by stirring together all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl, adding enough lemon juice to make a pourable glaze. Place a baking tray under the cooling rack to catch any drips and spoon glaze slowly over top of loaf, allowing it to drip down the sides a bit. Cool completely, then slice and enjoy.
Notes
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Hi, I made it and it didn’t came out with this beautiful yellow color. Any idea? Thanks
Hi Natalia, did you make any ingredient substitutions?
I am so excited to try this recipe out as I LOVE Lemon Loaf but have yet found a recipe that is any good! All of the positive comments give me hope! :)
I’d like to bake them as mini loaves -I’m thinking 20-25 minutes bake time and then leaving them in the tins when I glaze them… thoughts?
Thanks so much!
Hi Shay and yes, this would be lovely as mini loaves. I can’t even guess as to baking time, as I haven’t done mini loaves myself. My best advice is to watch like a hawk and test often :) Enjoy!
Hi! This made my kitchen smell soooo good while baking it but unfortunately the loaf came out pretty flat. Do you have any tips on why that would be?
Hi Myranda, there are a number of things that could cause that. What size pan did you bake it in? Did you make any ingredient substitutions? If not, it is most likely under-mixed (not creaming the butter/sugar long enough or at too high a speed, so the cake didn’t form the structure needed to rise properly) or under-baked (causing it to collapse on itself).
This is by far the most successful lemon loaf recipe I’ve ever used, and I’ve tried many. The texture is absolutely perfect—soft, moist, stays together when cut and bitten, just very slightly crisp on the edges; I truly can’t imagine better texture. My only tiny complaint—and I have this complaint about every lemon loaf I’ve ever made—is that the cake itself doesn’t taste much like lemon. Without the glaze, it would taste, to me, like a vanilla loaf (albeit a very yummy one). The glaze adds the perfect pop of lemon flavor, though, which is just one of the reasons that this recipe definitely deserves five stars. I will be using it again and maybe replacing the vanilla extract with lemon extract in order to meet my possibly excessive desire for strong lemon flavor. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it and definitely add more lemon to the loaf, if you prefer :) Thanks!
I have never left a comment on the recipes I tried online but this cake is absolutely incredible. I think I’ve made it at least once a week for the past 5 weeks to my husband’s delight!
So glad to hear, Noel :) Thanks so much!
My family and I love this cake. Now I make 2 and freeze one. I’m not much of a baker but I followed the directions exactly and the cake is perfect.
So glad to hear, Karen :) Thanks so much!
Made the cake for the first time with the assistance of three enthusiastic but disaster-prone under-10s and the recipe still worked! I used half caster sugar and half xylitol and greek yogurt instead of sour cream and it was still a huge success. Cake was gone within 15mins. Thank you!
Glad to hear, Amanda :) Thanks!
This cake was the bomb!!!!😀It turned out just right, moist and quite delicious, best I’ve ever made!! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Joseph :) Thanks so much!
Love this recipe! What if anything would you change if I wanted to reduce the white sugar from 1 Cup to 1/2 Cup?
Hi Karen, the sugar in baking recipes acts not just as a sweetener, but it contributes to the texture and moistness of the finished bake. So while you can reduce the sugar, you will obviously end up with a less sweet loaf, as well as have some effect on the quality of the finished loaf. You don’t need to change anything else to reduce the sugar. Hope that helps.
Should this be kept in the refrigerator after it is cooled? My pound cake is currently in the oven. Thanks
Hi Bea and no, I just keep it on the counter with the cut end wrapped in plastic wrap. Enjoy!
I made this for the first time tonight for dinner with friends. Delicious! When freezing this cake, do you go ahead and add the glaze before freezing?
Hi Karen and so glad to hear! For freezing, it depends. If I’m freezing the whole loaf, I don’t glaze until closer to when I’m ready to serve. If freezing a part loaf, it’s already glazed, so it just goes into the freezer like that. It’s fine when it thaws, though not quite as nice as freshly glazed, as the glaze gets a little softer.
I don’t have parchment paper. Is it ok to grease and flour the pan? Would I use a spray, or butter for the pan? And, is a convection toaster oven ok, or do I use the regular stove oven?
Hi Bea, and yes, if you have no parchment, then grease and flour well. I would use the regular oven. Enjoy!
This loaf was very easy to make. The texture and flavor are perfect. It reminds me of Coffee Bean’s citrus cake. Now I can’t wait to try it again using oranges! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Holli :) Thanks!
I have made this recipe four times now and each time I feel like it gets better and better! Thank you so much. I have been doing loaf pans but I think next time I’m going to try it in a Bundt pan just to experiment :)
So glad to hear, Tonisha :) Let me know how the bundt experiment works out! Thanks.
I did the Bundt today and it came out wonderful!!!!! I doubled all the ingredients and it is literally the best cake I’ve ever made. This recipe is heaven! Next experiment will be to add some strawberry swirls throughout. Thank you :)
Hi Tonisha, I’m thinking of doing he same thing — doubling and baking in a Bundt pan. How did you adjust your baking time/temp? Thanks!
I love this recipe! I have used it countless times – so good! Would I be able to make it without eggs (for a friend who is allergic) – or what substitutes would you personally try out.
Thank you!
Hi Allison, Glad you are enjoying it :) As for making it without eggs, I have absolutely no idea really, as I’ve never tried it. I know there is such a thing as “flax eggs”, so you might want to google and check out that idea.