Sour Cream Lemon Pound Cake Recipe – Light, moist, and citrusy, drizzled with a refreshingly delicious lemon glaze. A no-fail sweet treat for summer and all year round!
Pound cake is a Southern classic with lots of variations. You can top it with fresh berries, whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream. And, depending on the flavor, homemade chocolate syrup.
However, this lemon sour cream pound cake doesn’t need anything. Trust me! It’s sooo moist and melt-in-your-mouth that every time I make it, I always take a minute or two to moan in delight. You’ll get some oohs and aahs for sure!
Content…Why Use Sour Cream |
Why Use Sour Cream in Lemon Pound Cake
The sour cream and lemon complement each other in this insanely rich and moist sour cream lemon pound cake. The deliciously sweet tang in your mouth is the perfect cure for even the most challenging sweet tooth. Take it to your next party and soak in all the praise. Because everybody needs a cake to brighten up their day once in a while, right?
So why is sour cream important in baking? This question gets asked often, so let me explain. Sour cream contains fat and acidity, which have a significant impact not only on the cake’s flavor but also on the texture. It delivers a moist and fluffy cake with a tender crumb.
Not only that, but the sour cream’s acidity also delays browning for an even golden color on the outside and a perfectly baked interior. What do you think of the cake’s look? Love the lovely bright golden color!
Ingredient List
- Butter makes everything better. The fat adds richness and flavor, while the small amount of dairy contributes to even browning.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar delivers sweetness and makes a moister cake.
- Sour Cream – Acidity, fat, and dairy all contribute to a moist texture, a good rise, and even browning.
- Eggs are a great binder because we’re not actually depending on gluten to hold it together. And extra fat never hurts.
- Dry Ingredients – All-purpose flour and baking powder are the base for this amazing pound cake. Feel free to replace them with the same measurement of gluten-free options. If you don’t have baking powder, replace it with ½ teaspoon baking soda. The acidity already in the batter will activate it just fine.
- Flavor – Fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and almond extract provide incredible taste and aroma.
- Lemon Glaze – Powdered sugar, another lemon, zested and juiced, almond extract, and butter create a mouthwatering glaze. Adjust consistency if needed with water. Of course, the glaze is optional but delicious.
How to Make Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake
The Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease a 10-inch tube pan generously with cooking spray—set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar at high speed in a stand mixture until fluffy and looking white, about 5 minutes. (Photo 1)
- Add sour cream and mix for another minute. Stir in the eggs, a little at a time, beating the mixture well between each addition. (Photos 2-4)
- Dry Ingredients – Sift the flour and baking powder into the batter.
- Combine – Add lime zest and juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Stir well until everything is fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. (Photo 5)
- Bake – Pour the cake batter into the greased cake pan. Tap the cake pan on the work surface to eliminate large air bubbles. Bake at 325℉ (162℃) until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55–60 minutes. (Photos 6-7)
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then, transfer your pound cake to a wire rack and let it cool completely before glazing. (Photo 8)
The Lemon Glaze
- Combine confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and zest, almond extract, and melted butter in a bowl.
- Whisk gently until the mixture is smooth. Adjust the glaze’s consistency as desired with water. It should be thick but pourable.
- Serve – Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake with a spoon, letting it run down the sides.
Recipe Notes
- Thoroughly oil your bundt pan. Also, let the pound cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, but try not to leave it too long because it might get sticky.
- Bring your ingredients to room temperature before starting for a better texture.
- Add more glaze if your cake didn’t come out as pretty as you’d like. 😉
- To turn your bundt cake into loaves, divide the batter (10-12 cups) between two 8″x4″ loaf pans.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
Any pound cake, especially lemon sour cream, is the perfect make-ahead dessert. It lasts 2-3 days at room temperature, up to a week in the fridge, and 3-4 months in the freezer. I love freezing individually wrapped slices for the unexpected guest. Thaw it gently in the microwave while the coffee brews, and you’re good to go.
What to Serve With Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake
Whether pairing it with a cup of coffee or lemongrass tea, this lemon sour cream pound cake is even better with homemade whipped cream. Of course, pineapple ice cream is also fabulous with lemon cake.
More Decadent Pound Cake Recipes to Try
- Sweet Potato Pound Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
- Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
- Buttermilk Pound Cake
- Strawberry Pound Cake
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in July 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake
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Ingredients
Sour Cream Lemon Pound Cake
- 8 ounces (226g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (170g) sour cream at room temperature
- 5 large eggs
- 2½ cups (315g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (10g) baking powder
- 1 medium lemon, juiced and zested (about 3 tablespoons of juice and 1 tablespoon of zest)
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract or almond extract
Lemon Glaze
- 1¾ cups (200g) powdered sugar
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 3 tablespoons (45ml) of juice and 1 tablespoon (6g) zest)
- ½ teaspoon (2.5ml) almond extract
- 1-2 teaspoons (5-10g) salted butter
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) water (adjust to desired thickness)
Instructions
Sour Cream Lemon Pound Cake
- Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan generously with cooking spray—set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar at high speed in a stand mixture until fluffy and looking white (about 5 minutes). Add sour cream and mix for another minute.
- Stir in the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture well between each addition. Sift the flour and baking powder into the batter, then add lime zest and juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- Stir well until everything is fully combined, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Pour the cake batter into the greased pan. Tap it on the work surface to eliminate large air bubbles.
- Bake at 325℉ (162℃) until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55–60 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool completely before glazing.
Lemon Glaze
- In a mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest, almond extract, and melted butter. Adjust the thickness with water if needed for the desired consistency. Gently whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Adjust the glaze's consistency as desired. It should be thick but pourable.
- Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake with a spoon, letting it run down the sides.
Tips & Notes:
- The secret to baking a perfect pound cake lies in the mixing. Please don’t overmix, or you risk ruining your cake.
- Be sure to cream the butter and sugar until they look white and fluffy. Then, add the eggs one at a time to create volume in the pound cake batter, which usually takes about 5 minutes.
- This cake is somewhat fragile, so take extra care when removing it from the oven and releasing it from the pan. Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before proceeding so it has time to firm up. Then, let it cool completely before glazing.
- I use a nonstick spray coating to grease the pan. If using a bundt pan, thoroughly grease the indentations because they’re notorious for sticking and making it harder to release your cake.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
GNA says
I don’t have a stand mixer, just a handheld one. Will that suffice?.
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, a handheld mixer would work 🙂
Sydney says
I only have salted butter at home. Is that fine to use for the cake?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Sydney! While this recipe does call for unsalted butter, given the times we currently live in, I would say just go ahead and use the unsalted butter. Your cake will still taste cake, albeit a tiny bit salty :).
Janet B. says
I used salted butter in my recipe batter. Tasted just fine.
I also baked it at 325 degrees for 60 min. And that was perfect.
Thank you for this lovely recipe. It’s one. That will be in my cook book for a long time!
Immaculate Bites says
Thanks so much for sharing, Janet!
Janet B. says
I used salted butter in my recipe batter. Tasted just fine.
Marae Uriah says
This was my first pound cake attempt and… your recipe is amazing. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
You’re welcome. Glad it worked out well.
Gina says
I’m making this right now, my first cake also. I’ll send an update !
ImmaculateBites says
Fantastic!!! Now I am excited :)! Will be waiting for the update, Gina!
Nicole says
I made half the recipe and made 4 bundt cakes. They are amazing! This is my second time using this recipe. The cake is very moist and has a really good flavor.
Jackie says
I made this cake yesterday and it’s Devine! I used a 10 cup bundt pan and 60 minutes in the oven, plus 15-20 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack, was all it needed to bake.
imma africanbites says
Thank you for sharing your results, Jackie. Glad it turned out well for you.
Nicole says
My cake is currently in the oven @ 325 and it’s been baking for 55 minutes, and there’s no way it’s done. Maybe at 350 it might take 55-60 minutes. Im letting it cook for another 10 minutes before checking it again.
imma africanbites says
Hi Nicole. Sorry if I missed this. How did it turn out?
Laura says
I usually bake my pound cakes at 325 1hour and 30 min if you raise temp it may cook to fast and dark..
ImmaculateBites says
That’s a great tip! Thanks for sharing .
Molette R Bradley says
I made this using Pillisbury Gluten Free flour and it turned out great!!! I was so nervous about over mixing but it worked out great even though I used GF flour!!!
imma africanbites says
Thank you for sharing. Glad it worked out great for you.
William says
Despite receiving emails and visiting your site often I didn’t realize you had a Lemon Sour Cream Cake recipe on the menu. I was on your site this morning because I’m using your delicious Prime Rib recipe for the third straight Christmas and took a chance search and after the first bite I’m in heaven. You continue to top yourself ……….Merry Christmas!
imma africanbites says
Thank you for making my recipes a part of your holiday, William. Happy holidays!
Luz says
Aw-shucks! Now I’ve got a lot of lemon zest in a baggie. 🙁
But thanks for the update. 🙂
Luz says
The icing recipe lists lemon zest, but the instructions do not mention the zest. Did I miss a step? 🙁
ImmaculateBites says
You didn’t Luz. Have updated recipe . Thanks.
Safi says
Delicious cake. I only used 3/4 cup of sugar and it was still sweet and delicious.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing this with us.
Cheryl58 says
I knew when I saw this recipe, it would be a winner. It came out really really good!! I made some minor adjustments. One I added 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt to the floor. And I combined half almond, half lemon extract and 1-1/2 tablespoons of butter to the icing. Brought it to a low boil. Also cake baked for about 1 hour and 20 mins. I had too much batter for my bundt pan, so made a small sample cake for testing. Just delicious!! Thank you so much for this great recipe!!
imma africanbites says
Awesome! Glad you like this. And thank you for sharing those tips.
LaWanna Ezeji says
I doubled the recipe for Thanksgiving and let me tell you it tasted just like my Grandmama’s!
Lorraine says
Super helpful in my search to add lemon to my mother’s sour cream pound cake recipe. And I used your icing recipe and its the best one I’ve made or tasted.
Faunta says
Been trying several Pound cake recipes. Finally, one that delivered, and with ease! I delighted in not having to alternate the flour. Just sift it right into the mixture. Not sure if “stir” flour mixture meant hand stir, so to be safe I stirred by hand. Noticed some lumps and didn’t know if that was normal or not. So I turned the mixer on low & mixed batter for about 10 seconds or less… just until the larger lumps disappeared, hoping to hit that sweet spot and not under nor over mix. Don’t quite care for almond so only used 3T of real lemon juice and also omitted the zest (don’t care much for it). The cake is moist with lemon flavor perfectly popping. Texture is perfect, not too fluffy and not too dense. Removed cake from oven at exactly 55 minutes using bunt pan. Cake turned out almost exactly as pictured. I suspect it will taste even better tomorrow. Definitely placing this recipe in my “go to” recipe. Thank you for posting!
imma africanbites says
Yaaay! Awesome! So happy to hear that you like this, Faunta. And thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
Ellen says
Great recipe and your comments were very helpful. I stumbled upon your recipe for my monthly cake club meeting. I look forward to trying your other recipes for dinner. Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Ellen. Looking forward to your feedback. Thanks for stopping by!