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I love everything made with lemon, and this Healthier Lemon Pound Cake is one of my favorites. It is easy to make, soft and fluffy, and the perfect treat that I can have for breakfast with my coffee.
You may also like my almond flour brownies. They are so good.
4 out of my 5 kids love lemons so I consider that a huge win because this lemon pound cake is so good I make it quite often. Sometimes I add in some lemon extract to get that extra lemon flavor even though it’s not necessary. This lemon cake made with olive oil is easy to make with just a few ingredients that I bet you all already have sitting around in your pantry and fridge so you have no excuses!
This recipe is similar to my healthy lemon loaf, or you may also love my blueberry lemon bread.
Ingredients needed
Below is a list of the ingredients you will need to make this lemon pound cake. Just to give you an idea of what you will need and what else you can do to make it. Full measurements are listed down below in the recipe card.
- Olive oil: you may use any other oil like vegetable oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil.
- Granulated sugar: I also use light and fine cane sugar instead of granulated sugar, which works just as great.
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Lemons
- Milk: my go-to milk is 2% since it’s all I usually have on hand, but any other milk works, so feel free to use almond milk.
- Kosher fine salt
- Baking powder
- All-purpose flour: or any other flour
- Powdered sugar: this is for the glaze, so if you plan not to make the glaze, skip this.
How to make lemon pound cake
Preheat the oven to 350 F and position a rack in the middle of the oven.
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, juice and milk.
Step 2: Mix with an electric mixer until the sugar has mostly dissolved. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt over the mixture.
Step 3: Fold in the flour until just combined. Do not overmix; some lumps are just fine. The pound cake will come out tough if overmixing!
Step 4: Transfer to a loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Step 5: Remove and allow it to cool in the pan.
Step 6: Meanwhile, prepare the glaze, in a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice until white and creamy and drizzling.
Step 7: Remove the pound cake and place it on a rack to completely cool. Drizzle with the lemon glaze.
Recipe Notes
- Allow the pound cake to cool on a wire rack before slicing
- You can add in some lemon extract to get that intense lemon flavor if you prefer.
- The glaze is optional but adds a nice touch.
- You can add in some blueberries! Coat the blueberries with some flour before you fold it in with the batter in step 3.
- Any flour will work, so feel free to use gluten-free flour or whole wheat flour.
- Do not overmix the batter. It is not necessary.
- Any oil works instead of olive, which is high in calories. You can swap it with coconut oil.
Frequently asked questions
Even though bottled lemon juice will technically work and won’t “ruin” the recipe, the flavor will not be the same compared to fresh lemons.
Yes. Feel free to add fruits like blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, or chopped strawberries to this lemon pound cake. I recommend you coat the fruits with flour first before adding it to the batter so they don’t sink to the bottom while baking.
Yes. If you do not have any fresh lemons, you can opt to use lemon extract instead and vice versa. Lemon juice can always be used in recipes that call for lemon extract.
Yes. Lemon pound cake can be left on your kitchen counter overnight for up to 2 days so long as it is covered so it doesn’t dry out. After that, I do recommend storing it in the fridge.
This may happen if you added too much flour or didn’t add enough oil or butter to give it that moist texture.
Storage recommendations
- You can keep the lemon pound cake for one day covered on your kitchen counter.
- After 24 hours, place them in a sealed container and store them in the fridge for up to one week.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Similar recipes you may like
- Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Apple Walnut Raisin Bread
- Gingerbread Cake
- Easy Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Healthy Banana Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
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Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Light Olive oil, or coconut oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar, or fine cane sugar
- 3 medium eggs, room temperature, or two large
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large lemon, zest and juice
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon kosher fine salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, or any other flour
- Optional lemon extract, 1 teaspoon
Optional Glaze:
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice for glaze
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and position a rack in the middle of the oven.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the ¾ cup Light Olive oil, 1 ½ cup granulated sugar, 3 medium eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 large lemon (zest and juice), and ½ cup milk and mix with an electric mixer until the sugar has mostly dissolved. At this point, if you want to add a bit of Optional lemon extract, you can.
- Fold in the flour until just combined. Do not overmix, some lumps are just fine. The pound cake will come out tough if overmixing!
- Stir in the 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and ½ teaspoon kosher fine salt over the mixture.
- Transfer to a loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- Remove and allow it to cool in the pan.
- Meanwhile, prepare the glaze, in a small bowl whisk the ⅓ cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice for glaze until white and creamy and drizzling.
- Remove the pound cake and place on a rack to completely cool. Drizzle with the lemon glaze.
Notes
- Use light olive oil and not extra virgin.
- Do not overmix the batter.
- If you get 12 slices, each slice will be 331 calories instead
- Olive oil is high in calories, you can use another oil like coconut oil, which brings the calorie count to 328 per slice.
- If you use cane sugar instead of granulated sugar, the calories per slice will be 334 per slice.
- Any flour will work, so you can use what you have on hand or mix two different types of flour.
- To get that extra lemon flavor, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon extract.
- To make this vegan, use dairy-free milk and replace the eggs with egg substitutes, or use three tablespoons of ground flax seeds mixed with nine tablespoons of water.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t use reg flour, white nor wheat or gf. I can only use oat, tapioca, coconut or almond flour. Would oat flour work with this recipe as a substitute for reg flour? TY
Yees. Oat flour tends to be a bit dry, either add 1/4 cup apple sauce too or 1/4 cup yogurt or sour cream.
Do you grease your loaf pan? Line it with parchment paper?
Hi. Either works. I like to line it with parchment paper.
This is amazing
Thank you.