Moist and tender yet delightfully dense, this old-fashioned Southern Lemon Pound Cake makes an excellent dessert for a large gathering or potluck. It’s hearty, sweet, and chock-full of lemon flavor. Bonus? This pound cake is quite easy to put together and makes your kitchen smell heavenly.
Start by beating together the butter, shortening, and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla and lemon extract. Mix in lemon yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. For the brightest hit of citrus, be sure to use fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Next, combine the dry ingredients and gradually add them to the wet mixture. Pour the batter into a pre-greased and floured bundt pan and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. While the cake cools, make a lemon simple syrup. Turn the cake out and lightly brush the still-warm cake with the syrup. Finally, make a lemon vanilla glaze and drizzle it over the top of the cake before slicing and serving. Serve garnished with fresh whipped cream and lemon zest.
To make the Southern Lemon Pound Cake, you will need the following ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 325 °F. Prepare your bundt pan by generously greasing and flouring the inside, and set aside.
In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together 1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup butter-flavored shortening, and 2 ½ cups granulated sugar.
Beat in 5 eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Add in 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and 1-2 teaspoons pure lemon extract.
Mix in 5.3 ounces lemon yogurt and ½ cup buttermilk.
Mix in the zest of 2 lemons and juice of 3 lemons.
In a separate bowl whisk together 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing well, but gently.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and gently tap the pan on a bench to release any air bubbles.
Bake the cake for 1 hour and 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake as the cake will continue cooking as it cools in the pan.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes or until warm. Remove the cake from the pan.
Mix together ½ cup boiling water, ½ cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons lemon juice, adding more if you want more tartness.
Slowly brush the lemon simple syrup over the cake. You won't necessarily need all of the prepared syrup, use just enough to make one light coating.
Once the lemon simple syrup has dried and cooled completely, make the lemon glaze. Mix together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice (or more if needed), and a splash of vanilla extract.
Drizzle the prepared lemon vanilla glaze over the cooled cake. Let the glaze harden.
Slice and serve with fresh whipped cream sprinkled with lemon zest. Enjoy!
If you love lemons, put this Southern Lemon Pound Cake recipe on your baking list. It’s packed with lemon flavor and has a velvety yet perfect dense texture. You will love it! Made this recipe? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
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