Bright and citrusy Meyer Lemon Pound Cake with a sweet glaze – It’s so hard to eat only 1 slice!
One of my favorite flavors is the citrus and sweet combination. When I saw fresh Meyer lemons at the grocery store, I couldn’t resist and knew I should make a Meyer Lemon Pound Cake. I have been using the same recipe for years, but this year I decided to go with this recipe from my friend Laura’s website Tutti Dolci.
Baking A Pound Cake with Myer Lemons
Meyer lemons are in season from December through May, but I typically see them at the store for much shorter than that period. They are sweeter than regular lemons and have a nice floral aroma. They are great with baked goods and salad, and I typically stock condiments such has Meyer lemon curd (drool!) and marmalade in my pantry. You can substitute with regular lemons but remember they are much more acidic than Meyer lemons so you will need to adjust.
Because I love the tangy flavor, I might have gone overboard with the amount of zest in the glaze. This is the best Meyer Lemon Pound Cake that I baked. The cake was very moist throughout the bread and the balance between sweetness and tangy sourness was just right. I know I’ll make this again while Meyer lemons are still in season and hope you enjoy this pound cake too!
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Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
- ½ Tbsp unsalted butter (for greasing)
- all-purpose flour (plain flour) (for dusting the pan)
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 Meyer lemons (zested)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup fat-free plain yogurt
- ¾ cup low-fat buttermilk
Meyer Lemon Glaze:
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar (sifted)
- 1 Tbsp Meyer lemon juice
- ½ tsp Meyer lemon zest
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Butter an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, dust the paper with flour, and tap out the excess. Or spray the loaf pan with non-stick spray if you have one. Set aside.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Place sugar and Meyer lemon zest in a food processor and pulse 30 seconds.
- Beat butter and lemon-sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy and then beat in egg and vanilla.
- Combine yogurt and buttermilk in a small bowl.
- Reduce speed to low and add half of flour mixture, beating just to combine. Add yogurt mixture, then finish with remaining flour mixture.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Give the pan several sharp taps on the counter to bring up any air bubbles that may be trapped in the batter. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; carefully remove cake from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
- To prepare glaze, sift powder sugar in a bowl and add Meyer lemon zest.
- Add Meyer lemon juice and whisk all together.
- Drizzle glaze over cooled cake and let set before serving.
To Store
- Keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I made this cake the other day with normal lemons and it turned out beautifully, just like in the pictures. So fluffy and moist inside. The taste is spot-on for a lemon pound cake. I’d love to try it with proper Meyer Lemons next time, but I don’t think they sell them here.
Hi Suji, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your baking experience!
We are glad to hear it turned out beautifully!
The Meyer Lemons have a sweet orangy taste, so if you can’t find them, you can also replace half of the lemon amount with tangerine or orange and see if you like it.
We hope you enjoy it. Happy Baking!
What is a dairy free substitute for yogurt and buttermilk?
Hi Samantha! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
You can use vegan sour cream, coconut yogurt, non-dairy milk, etc., to make dairy-free pound cake. However, we have not tried it as a substitute in this recipe, and we are not sure how the outcome will be. Please let us know if you try it.
[…] Meyer Lemon Pound Cake @Just One Cookbook […]
Hi Nami… could you make some dessert with lemon??? i love lomon…. your dessert it’s very delicious… and something else … could you make japanese mooncake… with easy recipe???
Hi Chris! We just finished shooting/filming Meyer lemon sable recipe, and hope to share it soon! Moon cake? It’s a Chinese dessert. I’m not sure how to make it….
Hi Nami, i chanced upon your myer lemon pound cake and would love to try. What can i substitute buttermilk with?
Hi Suz! I’ve never tried it without buttermilk so I am not sure what’s the best substitute. FYI you can make buttermilk with milk and lemon…
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-quick-easy-buttermilk-substitute-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-185757
I’ve made the cake, i used Orange because we don’t have Meyer Lemon here, but the taste still really really good. thank you for sharing this recipe 🙂
Hi Suri! Thank you so much for your feedback! Now we all know we can use orange and it tastes wonderful too! Glad you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂
I just made this and OH MY GOD!!!!! This is so so so so delicious and the cake is very moist.. I was actually surprised it turned out much softer than when i made pound cake with vegetable oil.. oh and i couldn’t find meyer lemons here in Australia, so i used normal lemon and adjusted the amount that i put in.. and it’s perfect!!!! Thanks Nami!!!
Hi Devie! Yay! I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you so much for trying this recipe. We also loved it too! I need to try with regular lemon next time! Thank you so much for the feedback. 🙂
how many calories would you say are in a normal sized piece of this cake?
Hi Brittney! I’m so sorry but I am not familiar with that information.
However, I googled and found this. It’s not the same cake (and prob ingredients are different), but I think it’s close enough?
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/williams-sonoma-meyer-lemon-pound-cake-prepared-24934185
Hope that helps!
Hi Nami,
I have a Meyer lemon tree with beautiful fruit on it right now. I am going to try this cake tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Tomi! You have a Meyer lemon tree! So jealous~~. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the cake! Thank you for writing. 🙂
Oh, this looks so good, Nami! I remember you sharing this on Instagram. I will try it with regular lemons and adjust for the acidity. Will let you know if I do!
Hi Donna! Yes I did – usually it takes more time to write a post but I was afraid Meyer lemon goes out of the season so I hurried up. 😀 Hope you enjoy the recipe with lemons!