I’ve always been a huge fan of pound cake, but this recipe makes a pound cake that was moist and fluffy. That sounds a little weird for pound cake, right? But really, who wants to bite in to a dense, dry cake? This cake is extra moist and the lemon flavor really pops.
Instead of doing a lemon glaze for the top, I opted for a light and simple vanilla bean glaze. That was a great decision!
The cake turned out to be everything that I had hoped for- moist, fluffy and flavorful. My family was circling the cake as it sat on the counter and kept asking me when it would be ready to eat.
As soon as I had photographed it we cut ourselves a few slices and dug in.
If you want, you can also add some poppyseeds or a handful of fresh blueberries!
I hope that you’ll give this recipe a try, you won’t be disappointed! Enjoy this lovely treat!
Lemon Pound Cake with Vanilla Bean Glaze Recipe
Ingredients
cake
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 16 Tbsp (2 sticks) butter - room temperature
- 5 eggs
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 lemons zested
- 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract - optional
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup blueberries * OR 3 Tbsp poppyseeds
lemon simple syrup
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
vanilla bean glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 1/4 Tsp vanilla bean paste
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place your rack in the middle of the oven (mine was the second “shelf” from the bottom). Lightly grease one 9×5 loaf pan with butter, then lightly dust with flour, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon oil, and vanilla for 3 minutes (on medium-high) or until light and fluffy. Add sour cream, beat until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition.
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. With mixing speed on low, gradually add dry ingredients, mixing for an additional 45 seconds after all of the dry ingredients have been added. Remove bowl from stand and fold in any “mix-ins” (blueberries* or poppyseeds), if desired.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour or until the top becomes golden brown in color. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and lemon juice to create a syrup. Once sugar has dissolved allow to gently simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Remove loaf from pan after 20 minutes of cooling. Using a toothpick or cake tester, poke holes into the top of the cake- lots of ’em! Brush the syrup over top (and the sides too) so that it seeps into the cake. Allow the loaf to cool for another 1½ hours before frosting with glaze.
- To prepare the glaze, in small mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla bean paste, and salt. It may not look like a lot, but a little goes a long way, trust me! Spread over the loaf and allow to drip over the edges and sides. Allow to sit for 20 minutes to harden before serving.
VIDEO
NOTES
- You can find vanilla bean paste (Nielsen-Massey brand) at Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table, King Arthur Flour and many other baking stores. -This recipe makes one 9x5 loaf.
I made this lemon loaf tonight. follow it to the T accept I didn’t have any vanilla bean paste so I just used a little extra vanilla extract instead. the flavor of the loaf is very good. it’s a very delicious loaf. I will definitely make this again. It’s very limoney on the inside. Thank you for your recipe. I have to add the fact that I had to bake this loaf for one hour and a 1/2 on 325゚
a little longer than the stated recipe for my oven
What lemon OIL?
It is referring to the lemon extract. You can also use lemon essential oil.