Limoncello Pound Cake Lemon (Printable)

A moist, citrus-infused pound cake with a tangy lemon glaze, ideal for festive gatherings or everyday delights.

# What you need:

→ Pound Cake

01 - 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 0.5 teaspoon baking powder
03 - 0.5 teaspoon fine sea salt
04 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - 2 cups granulated sugar
06 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
07 - 0.33 cup limoncello liqueur
08 - 0.25 cup whole milk, room temperature
09 - 0.25 cup fresh lemon juice
10 - Zest of 2 lemons
11 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

→ Lemon Glaze

12 - 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
13 - 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
14 - 1 tablespoon limoncello liqueur, optional
15 - Zest of 1 lemon for garnish

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan or bundt pan.
02 - Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.
04 - Beat in eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated before adding the next.
05 - Mix in limoncello, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until combined.
06 - Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Avoid overmixing.
07 - Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top surface.
08 - Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Tent with foil after 40 minutes if the top browns too quickly.
09 - Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
10 - Whisk powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and limoncello if using, adding more lemon juice as needed for pourable consistency.
11 - Drizzle glaze over cooled cake and garnish with lemon zest. Allow to set before slicing.

# Expert tips:

01 -
  • The limoncello keeps the cake impossibly moist while the glaze adds a sophisticated tang that feels fancy but requires zero fancy skills.
  • It's the kind of cake people assume took hours, but honestly comes together in under 90 minutes from start to finish.
  • This one gets better over a day or two, so bake it ahead and let the flavors deepen without any stress.
02 -
  • Room temperature ingredients are not a suggestion—cold eggs and butter won't emulsify properly and the batter falls apart instead of becoming silky.
  • Overmixing the batter after adding flour is the fastest way to ruin this cake; stop mixing the moment you can't see dry flour anymore and trust that the oven will finish the job.
  • If you want extra limoncello flavor, brush the hot cake with 2 tablespoons of limoncello right after it comes out of the oven; it soaks in and deepens everything.
03 -
  • Measure your lemon zest before juicing; once the lemon is halved, it's harder to zest effectively, so do zest first and juice second.
  • If you don't have a bundt pan, a standard loaf pan works beautifully and the cake actually slices easier from a loaf shape, though the bundt looks prettier on a plate.
Go back