Classic Pound Cake with Lemon Cardamom Glaze

I don’t make pound cake often, but every time I do I’m reminded of why I should. It’s a perfect dessert for guests, as a dessert or at coffee time. I adapted King Arthur’s recipe for this pound cake and everyone loved it. My dad especially, it’s one of his favorite desserts! I served it before dinner on Easter. For actual dessert, my sister Natasha made this Apple Galette, which is amazingly good so don’t miss it!

This is a classic pound cake recipe. It doesn’t have any sour cream or buttermilk, just simple ingredients like butter, sugar, and eggs. The sugar content isn’t that high comparatively (1 cup versus 3 in another recipe I used to make) and I appreciate the buttery, lightly sweet taste and texture. I added a bit of bourbon for that special kick.

For me, pound cake is not pound cake without a good glaze. I know it’s not for everyone, half of my family is split on whether or not they prefer glaze, which is the reason why I add it individually. I made this glaze without measurements, but I’ll try to be as accurate as I can. The flavor combination of the lemon zest and ground cardamom works wonderfully.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Print Recipe

Classic Pound Cake with Lemon Cardamom Glaze

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Pound Cake

Servings: 16 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 cup (16 tablespoons) salted butter at room temp
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs at room temp
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbsp. bourbon
• 1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

LEMON CARDAMOM GLAZE:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp. butter
• 2-4 tsp. milk
• Zest of one lemon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (you can use butter or coconut oil) and flour a bundt pan.
• In a large bowl, beat the butter until very light, about 5-7 minutes.
• Beat in the sugar gradually and beat until the mixture is very light and fluffy. Then the eggs, one at a time. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix until combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In another small bowl, whisk together the milk, bourbon, and vanilla extract.
• Alternately add the wet and dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Stir to combine after each addition.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
• Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes, until it springs back when pressed lightly in on top, and a long toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. If the cake appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with foil for the final 15 minutes of baking. If the cake starts smelling delicious, start checking on it in 5 minute increments until done.
• Remove the cake from the oven, and loosen its edges. Wait 5 minutes, then carefully turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.
• Store wrapped in plastic. Wrap well and freeze for longer storage.
• To make glaze: Whisk all glaze ingredients in a bowl until fully combined and drizzle on each piece as you serve, or on the entire bundt cake with a piping bag. Store leftovers in refrigerator.