Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

It’s a delicate cake with a rich but tender crumb from a touch of buttermilk. Pound cakes take shape in so many ways and adding lemon is a delicious way to add a pop of sunshine to your day. These little cakes are bursting with the brightness of lemon, layered from top to bottom, inside and out.

Every Southern cook has an array of pound cake recipes on hand. There are so many variations and many similarities with each. We have two true lemon fans in our family, the littlest one and the Engineer. Lemon desserts are so popular, probably second only to chocolate. To satisfy this passion, we whipped up a version of our “go to” pound cakes, creating a Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake that they’re sure to love.

This is a twist on our Sour Cream Pound Cake and it too begins with butter, sugar and a half dozen eggs. Then buttermilk is added for that gorgeous texture. Kosher salt and baking soda are sifted into the flour, creating a light cake.

The lemon comes in triplicate using fresh lemon zest and juice, enhanced by pure lemon extract and a boost from pure vanilla bean paste.

Baked until golden and finished with a citrus glaze, adding another glorious touch of lemon.

These little cakes will put a smile on any “lemon lovers” face!

Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

For the pound cakes:

1-½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 extra-large eggs, room temperature

½ cup buttermilk

3 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

1-½ tablespoons fresh lemon zest, about 6 lemons

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, about 2 lemons

For the glaze:

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Zest of 1 lemon, about 1 to 1-½ teaspoons

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, about 2 lemons

1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon pure lemon extract

Preheat the oven to 325-degrees. Spray 3 small loaf pans, 8-½” x 4-½”, with a cooking spray and line with a sheet of parchment paper, pressing into the bottom and edges of the pans.

Using a large stand mixer, beat the butter on low speed until it becomes creamy. Raise the speed to medium and continue beating until it is very light and fluffy, looking much like whipped cream, about 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make certain all the butter is whipped thoroughly.

On medium speed, add the sugar, about ¼ cup at a time allowing the sugar to blend into the butter before adding more.

Once all the sugar has been combined with the butter add the eggs one at a time.

Pour in the buttermilk, blending in using medium-low speed.

Using separate bowls, sift together the flour, baking soda, and kosher salt three times. Don’t’ skip this step; it makes a difference in the light texture of your cake.

On low speed, add the dry ingredients to the batter, blending in about ¾ cup at a time, beating just until the flour disappears.

Stir the lemon zest into the lemon juice and add to the batter along with the vanilla extract and lemon extract, blending into the batter on low speed.

Divide the batter evenly between the 3 prepared loaf pans. Bake the pound cakes on the center rack of your oven at 325-degrees for about 50 to 55 minutes or until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Using a toothpick, poke holes across the tops of the cakes. Glaze while the cakes are still warm.

For the glaze:

Whisk the powdered sugar together with the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon extract until very smooth.

Spread the glaze over the tops of each cake.

Makes 3 small pound cakes.

Makes 3 small loaves.