Meyer Lemon Pound Cake

Bright and citrusy Meyer Lemon Pound Cake with a sweet glaze—so delicious, it’s hard to eat just one slice!

One of my favorite flavor combinations is a citrus and sweet blend. When I recently spotted fresh Meyer lemons at the grocery store, I knew it was time to make Meyer Lemon Pound Cake again. Despite using the same recipe for years, I couldn’t resist trying out this one from my friend Laura’s website Tutti Dolci.

Why I Love This Recipe

Because I love the tangy flavor, I might have gone overboard with the amount of zest in the glaze. Having confessed that, this is the best Meyer Lemon Pound Cake that I have baked. The cake was very moist, and the balance between sweetness, tanginess, and sourness was just right. I know I’ll make this again while Meyer lemons are still in season. I hope you enjoy this pound cake too!

Simple Pound Cake with Bright Flavor and Texture

The best recipes are simple to prepare, fun to make, and, of course, delicious! This recipe hits all those points and more!

• Just 15 minutes of prep time is required.
• Using yogurt and buttermilk keeps this cake extra moist.
• The Meyer lemon zest in the glaze is oh-so-tangy.

Ingredients

• Butter — For greasing your pan and for the pound cake batter.
• All-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
• Granulated white sugar for the cake, and icing sugar for the glaze.
• A dash of salt
• Meyer lemons — For juice and zest.
• Large eggs
• Vanilla extract — Be sure to use pure extract, if you can.
• Fat-free plain yogurt and low-fat buttermilk — These give you a fabulous moist texture with less fat content.

How to Make Meyer Lemon Pound Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare a loaf pan.
2. Prepare the dry mixture: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Food processor: Pulse the sugar and Meyer lemon zest in a food processor to combine.
4. Make the wet mixture: In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and lemon-sugar mixture until light and fluffy. Then, beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the yogurt and buttermilk in a small bowl.
5. Combine the dry and wet mixture: Add half of the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Add the yogurt mixture, then finish with the remaining dry mixture.
6. Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 60 minutes.
7. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.
8. Prepare the glaze: Sift powdered sugar into a bowl, add Meyer lemon zest and juice, and whisk together. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and let it set before serving.

Simple Substitutions and Recipe Tips

This recipe is perfect the way that it is! That said, the following works nicely as well.

• Almond slices or poppy seeds make a nice garnish addition to the glaze.
• For lovers of almond-lemon combinations, almond extract could be substituted for pure vanilla extract.
• If you have dairy allergies, it would be possible to make this cake dairy-free. Dairy-free yogurt would be fine to substitute for regular yogurt, and coconut milk or cream (with a high-fat content) would work okay in place of the buttermilk. Butter substitutes will work in place of butter, although I think the creaminess level might be less.

How To Store

• Place in an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
• This pound cake freezes well; ideally, though, it should be frozen without the glaze. When the loaf is completely cool, wrap it in wax paper and store it in a heavy-duty freezer-proof bag or airtight container. It keeps well up to 6 weeks in the freezer. When ready to use, thaw the cake to room temperature and finish it with the glaze and lemon zest.

Meyer Lemons for Baked Goods

Meyer lemons are in season from December through May, though they’re often available in stores for a shorter period. Because they’re sweeter than regular lemons and have a nice floral aroma, they are great with baked goods. While you could substitute regular lemons, bear in mind that they are much more acidic than Meyer lemons, so you’ll need to adjust recipes accordingly.

You can also find my two other popular recipes: Meyer Lemon Cookies and Meyer Lemon Chiffon Cake!

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Meyer Lemon Pound Cake

4.90 from 19 votes

Bright and citrusy Meyer Lemon Pound Cake with a sweet glaze—so delicious, it’s hard to eat just one slice!

Print Pin

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Servings: 1 pound cake

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 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

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

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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.

Notes

The recipe is slightly adapted from Tutti Dolci.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 loaf · Calories: 2148 kcal · Carbohydrates: 371 g · Protein: 36 g · Fat: 60 g · Saturated Fat: 36 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 16 g · Trans Fat: 2 g · Cholesterol: 331 mg · Sodium: 1087 mg · Potassium: 757 mg · Fiber: 6 g · Sugar: 224 g · Vitamin A: 1959 IU · Vitamin C: 25 mg · Calcium: 540 mg · Iron: 10 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake, lemon

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