A rich and buttery classic filled with lemony flavor! This Lemon Pound Cake recipe will remind you of your grandma's cooking. Made with fresh lemon zest and juice, and drizzled with a tart lemon glaze, this cake is a literal slice of heaven!

A little Taste of Heaven

Out of all the desserts out there, it’s nothing like having one that brings back memories. Sometimes the simplest desserts have the most flavor. They also seem to never get old. From generation to generation, recipes like this are passed from one person to the next just off of memory.

My Church Lady Lemon Pound Cake recipe brings back so many memories of family gatherings, church dinners, and lost loved ones. Now to some, this dessert might seem basic and filled with too many calories. But, to me, it’s priceless and packed with flavor!

Let the church say Amen!

As you all can see from the title, I call this the Church Lady Lemon Pound Cake. Growing up in church, we always used to have dinners after certain services. I can still remember so many of the older ladies in my church. They would work in the kitchen downstairs attached to the membership hall.

They would make everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, from scratch. No recipes were needed at all! Their hands knew exactly what to do, and how to do it. My grandmother used to be one of these ladies until she got a little older and sickly. Lemon Pound Cake was her favorite dessert!

There was always a butter knife and a trail of cake crumbs leading to my grandmother’s room. My mom and I would follow the crumbs to her room and look at her dead in the eyes. She would then look at us with her eyes wide open knowing she got caught. It’s moments like these that made me want to replicate this signature dessert. 

Church Lady Lemon Pound Cake Ingredients

The ingredients in this recipe are rich, to say the least! This is not a cake to eat if you’re on a diet. All of the ingredients are very easy to find, but let’s walk through them. Most of them are relatively cheap depending on your local grocery store.

• Fats: I decided to go with both butter and cream cheese for this delicious pound cake. The butter adds a lot of great flavors but can make the cake dense. Adding cream cheese to the cake batter helps to lighten the cake batter as it bakes.

• Granulated Sugar: You’ll just need good old granulated sugar to sweeten the cake. You’ll cream it with the fats until it gets light and fluffy. Make sure not to over-cream the two. 

• Large Eggs: The eggs help to add structure, leavening, color, and flavor to the cake. The additional fat from them really helps the overall taste of this cake. Make sure that they are all room temperature before adding. 

• Sour Cream: I decided to use sour cream as the liquid component for the recipe. With sour cream being one of the fattiest dairy products, it helps to make the cake moister and richer.  

• Cake Flour: Cake Flour is always my go-to flour for my pound cakes. Its softer texture will create a very soft end product while still giving the cake structure and stability. 

• Salt: A majority of baked goods need a dash of salt to help balance all of the flavors in them. You only need a ¼ tsp for this recipe. It is optional since we are using salted butter.

• Pudding Mix: I learned a trick a long time ago on how to make the cake even moister. One packet of instant pudding mix will do wonders for your cakes! Sift in with the rest of the dry ingredients. Use lemon or vanilla pudding mix for this recipe.

• Lemons: You can’t have a lemon pound cake without fresh lemons! I used 2 large lemons for this recipe. Zest them first and then juice them. 

• Extracts: I used two types of pure extracts for this recipe (lemon and vanilla). A little goes a long way. I used about 1 tbsp of each.

How to make The Church Lady Lemon Pound Cake:

This cake has become a fan-favorite with my family and friends! I can barely get a slice! The steps for this cake are very simple and can be followed by ANYONE. You’re just a few steps away from a slice of heaven!

The full written recipe is below, but here’s an overview.

STEP 1: Preheat the Oven & Prep the Bundt Pan. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 10-15 cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray and set aside. Sift the flour, salt, and lemon pudding mix in a large bowl and set aside.

STEP 2: Cream the Fats & Sugar. With a hand or stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Gradually add in sugar and beat well. Remember to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. 

STEP 3: Add the Liquid Ingredients. Add one egg at a time, beating just until combined. Add the sour cream. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and extracts.

STEP 4: Add the Dry Ingredients. Gradually add in dry ingredients until fully combined making sure not to overmix the batter. 

STEP 5: Add the Batter to the Pan. Pour batter into your greased bundt pan. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the batter out. Take a wooden skewer or toothpick and make about two circles in the batter to allow air to escape.

STEP 6: Bake the Cake. Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes or until a cake tester or wooden skewer comes out clean. Let the cake fully cool and remove it from the bundt pan onto a cooling rack or cake stand. 

STEP: 7: Make the Glazed & Decorate. Mix all of the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl. Top the cake with the glaze and enjoy!

Baking Tips & Tricks

I know baking may seem very intimidating too many, but with the right tips and tricks, you’ll be baking in no time. Here are some of my favorite tips for making this cake even better:

Here a just a few baking tips and tricks that will make your Bundt Cakes even better!

• Keep all of the ingredients at room temperature. This will create moist, fluffy, and consistent cakes. Plus, all of the ingredients will work better together when the temperature.

• Do not overbeat or overmix the batter. The less air that you have in the batter, the better. Overmixing will make your cakes less moist and fluffy. You also run the risk of having lots of holes in the cake due to overmixing.

• GET QUALITY INGREDIENTS. Cooking is one thing, but baking is another. You can get away with a lot more when you cook. Baking requires a lot more attention to detail. Fresh ingredients are always better! Trust me, you will taste the difference.

• SET A TIMER! You do not want to overbake your cakes. The longer they stay in the oven, the longer the sugars have to cook. You do not want a bitter cake. You want a nice golden to brown color, nothing more.

• Spray the bundt pant very well with non-stick spray, or use a cake release mixture (i.e. equal parts vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, and flour). Lightly brush the cake pan with the cake release mixture. If so, the cake will fall right out.

How to store this Pound Cake

This cake is too delicious to go to waste! Store it in an air-tight cake container for 3 - 5 days; or, refrigerate for longer shelf life (about 7 days).

You can also slice the cake and freeze the individual slices in plastic bags. The slices will be good for about 3 - 4 months. All you have to do is remove the slices from the freezer and microwave them for a few seconds until they are warm.

Cake Flour Substitute

Don’t have or can’t find cake flour? Here’s an easy Cake Flour Substitute:

For every 1 cup of all-purpose flour, remove 1 tbsp. Add 1 tbsp of cornstarch to replace the flour. Sift the cornstarch and flour together.

I’d love to hear your feedback about this DELICIOUS Church Lady Lemon Pound Cake! Leave me a message in the comments section below. Remember to share and enjoy! Follow Be Greedy Eats on Pinterest and Instagram as well!