How to make a Meyer Lemon Pistachio Pound Cake-
I just love the flavor of a Meyer Lemon. They come in second only to Lemons from the Amalfi Coast….sigh, How I miss Italy!
But when life gives you Meyer Lemon, you don’t complain you bake a Meyer Lemon Pistachio Pound Cake! And of course, you can make this delicious pound cake with regular lemons too.
I hate to admit that I’ve never been a big fan of Pound Cake, the ones I’ve had were usually too dense, or too dry, but never too delicious. And for that reason, I’ve never made a pound cake before. So I started looking through the recipes I found on Google for some inspiration and to get the idea of how this cake should be put together.
I found some similarities and some differences, most notably the use of cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. I finally decided to use what looked like a stellar recipe from Julia of Dozen Flours and was thrilled to see her claim that it was better than Starbucks! Her cake looked too good to fool with, but being a chef I still made a few alterations to her original recipe. I also cut the recipe in half so I only ended up with one loaf instead of the killer bundt cake that she made.
The lemon pound cake did not disappoint.
Can you freeze a lemon pound cake?
This cake freezes well, just wait till it defrosts to add the glaze. Double the recipe and freeze one of the cakes for a later date.
What size pan do you use for a pound cake?
I used a standard 9×5 loaf cake pan that traditionally makes a one pound cake. Hence the name. You can double the recipe and make it in a bundt pan or 2 layer cakes.
Do I have to use Meyer lemons for this lemon pound cake?
No, regular lemons can be used instead of Meyer lemons.
Of course, I’m sure you could find a willing friend or neighbor to take the other cake off your hands! And trust me when I say this is even better than the original at Starbucks.
If you like this recipe, you will also like these:
- Clementine Cranberry Pound Cake
- Peach Pecan Pound Cake
- Peaches and Cream Cottage Cheese Cake
- Italian Cannoli Pound Cake
Meyer Lemon Pistachio Pound Cake with a Lemon-Lime Glaze
Ingredients
Pound Cake
- 2 Meyer lemons 4 tablespoons of juice, you can use regular lemons
- 1½ cups cake flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces unsalted butter softened
- 1½ cups superfine sugar*
- 3 in eggs warmed for 10 minutes hot tap water before using
- ½ cup Greek yogurt at room temperature full fat
- 1 tablespoons Meyer lemon zest or regular lemon zest
- ½ cup salted pistachios
Lemon-Lime Glaze
- 1½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tbsp juice from one Meyer lemon or regular lemon
- 1 tbsp juice from one lime
- 1 tbsp zest from one Meyer lemon and one lime
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour one standard size loaf pan
Lemon Pound Cake
- Using a zester or grater carefully remove the zest of the two Meyer lemons, being careful not to get into the white part of the skin.
- Juice the lemons, removing the seeds and set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the sugar and lemon zest and pulse until well blended (5 or 6 times) You can do this by hand if you like.
- Allow this to set for 5 minutes to build the aromatics.
- Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside
- beat the butter in the bowl of your electric mixer for two minutes on medium to high speed (scrape down the bowl as needed)
- add half the sugar mixture and whip for an additional minute, then add the remainder and continue to whip the butter /sugar mixture for four more minutes, scraping down the bowl and blade as needed.
- Remove the eggs from the water, dry them off and add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 30 seconds in between each addition.
- On a very low speed add in the flour mixture, mix until just blended.
- Add in the Greek Yogurt and lemon juice , mixing just enough to incorporate them.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, and top with the pistachios
- Place the cake on the center rack of your oven and bake for 55-60 minutes. (start checking your cake at around 50 minutes. It should be browned on top and a tester stuck in the middle should come out clean when the cake is done)
- Allow cake to cool on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes then remove from pan.
Lemon-lime glaze
- mix the juice from one Meyer lemon and one lime with the confectioners’ sugar and mix until well blended, then add zest.
- Allow glaze to set for 10 minutes before using.
- Top pound cake with glaze adding and additional coat as it drys.
- Slice pound cake and enjoy!
Nutrition
Alexandra
I was hoping you might provide some guidance as to how much lemon juice and zest you expect for this recipe. My lemons are huge and the juice from two lemons might throw off the ratio of ingredients. My lemons are the size of softballs. Thank you.
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Alexandra
use 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of zest.
Alexandra
Thank you!
Stacie
Hi! I made this yesterday and the texture was impressively light and fluffy. I am a little confused though because in response to Alexandra’s question about how much lemon juice to use you recommended 2 tablespoons of juice and 1 tablespoon of zest, but now I see in the recipe itself you clarify that 2 lemons should yield about 4 tablespoons of juice….? I used 2 and the texture was nonpareil, but I craved a little more intensity of flavor (although the cake got rave reviews from everyone.).
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Stacie
the two tablespoons of lemon juice ands 1 tablespoon of zest is for the glaze. The cake uses 4 tablespoons of juice. These amounts are both in my recipe. did you make the glaze?
Stacie Green
Yes! Thanks for your reply.
Care
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Step number 6 seems dangerous. LOL I bought some lemons yesterday and this will give me something to try while we are isolating. Thank you for sharing it.
Chef Dennis Littley
haha…. thanks for catching that, it would be a little difficult to do!
Greg
They are in the oven, but I think I misunderstood the recipe. Your text says the recipe makes two loaves, but the recipe itself calls for preparing only one loaf pan. Since I wanted two, I doubled the recipe. The result has been overflowing pans, a messy oven and I’m hoping to salvage them with increased baking time.
If the recipe is for two, you might want to edit the instruction to butter/flour only 1 pan…
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Greg
the recipe is only for one cake, I talk about the original recipe I used as a guide that made two cakes but I also state that I cut the recipe in half to make only one cake.
I used standard 9×5 loaf pans for the cake and have made it at least 20 times over the years without any problems. I’m not sure what happened with your cakes.
cc
WOW. This was really, really good….yes, much better than Starbucks! Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the pound cake and thanks for the great review!
aimee
I made this yesterday, after an impulse buy of a bag of Meyer lemons. I had never seen them in my small town grocery store before. It was wonderful. I had no pistachios, so I used chopped salted pecans, and I had no lime, so I made the glaze as all Meyer lemon. I made life easier by peeling with a really sharp serrated vegetable peeler, then throwing the peels into a mini food processor until fine. After that, it was pretty easy to make. The cake was tender, moist and just rich enough. The lemon flavor was fresh and light. I am saving this to my favorites folder. Thank you Chef Dennis.
MamaG
I made this pound cake for my husband to take to work since I knew they were going to have a busy day. Well, I’ve had to make it an additional three times due to the rave reviews! Thank you!
Chef Dennis Littley
thats what I like to hear!!
Peggy Duvak
Can this be frozen? I would think if you froze it tightly in foil it should be fine. Perhaps add glaze after defrosting?
Chef Dennis Littley
Absolutely! It freezes very well, just add the glaze after defrosting.
Peggy Duvak
Thank You!!
The Ninja Baker
I am a pound cake fan so if this is Chef Dennis approved I know it’s divine! P.s. Love Meyer lemons, too. On the bucket list to try one from the Almafi coast =)
Maria
Lemon and pistachio! Yum! This cake looks perfectly moist without being super dense! It looks absolutely delicious. Wish meyer lemons were easier to find up here in Seattle:( Will probably have to substitute regular lemons.
Candace @ Cabot
My mother’s birthday is coming up. She adores lemon pound cake and this one looks simply extraordinary. She’s going to be soooo happy! Wish I could give this recipe six stars.
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks Candace!
I hope you enjoy the pound cake as much as we did and I hope your mom has a delicious birthday!
Sarah
Looks amazing! So if I wanted to make the larger cake in a bundt pan, would I just need to double all the ingredients?
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Sarah
it is one of the best pound cakes I’ve ever made! As for the size difference, I don’t think you’d need to double the batter. I would suggest that you measure the capacity of your bundt pan by filling it with water to the same level you would batter, and then measuring that. This will let you compare the volume to your loaf pan.
This will give you an idea of how much more batter you need, if any. The bundt may just be not as high as normal.
If you do use extra batter remember that it may take a little while longer (usually) to bake through than loaf pans will, so make sure you test for doneness instead of relying on timing.
Good luck
Dennis
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
extreme yum!
Julia
What a great variation on my recipe. Awesome job. I will need to give this a try!
Kimby | a little lunch
Dennis, pound cake is a staple of the South, and if made correctly (as yours apparently is) is a treat to be reckoned with… nothing dry or too dense about THAT. Thanks for your creative adaptation!
Lynn
I just gave a huge bad of Meyer lemons away and still have a boat load on my tree! Can always use more ideas of what to make with all those lemons. Funny as I’ve done lots and lots with them but haven’t with them yet.
Karen
Yes, yes! Meyer lemons are fantastic. I bought way too many the other day and have to give up on the idea of hoarding them forever 🙂
Your cake looks perfect! Ciao, Karen
Minnie@thelady8home
It makes me dive headlong into spring! Lovely cake 🙂
anna
ooooo this looks lovely! i do like pound cake, but like you i’m picky. i need it to be moist and very flavorful, and this looks like you hit it!
Laura Dembowski
I love pound cake. The addition of lemon sounds great! I love lemon and pistachios together too.
Kate | Food Babbles
If life gave me meyer lemons I would certainly be baking this cake! I love using citrus in baked goods so I know this wouldn’t disappoint but what I think makes this pound cake really special is the addition of those lovely pistachios on top. I bet that little crunch and their flavor made this cake something hard to resist.
adam @unorthodoxepicure
I once would have concurred on the blah of pound cakes, until my sister brought the most moist and dense (and warm) coconut pound cake to a family gathering. — Your Meyer Lemon pound cake belongs up there! Very nice!
Betty Ann @Mango_Queen
This cake is amazing. I love to make pound cake & my sons will surely enjoy these flavors – lemon and pistachio. Bookmarked this. Baking this one soon. Thanks for tweaking the recipe for us, Chef Dennis!
RavieNomNoms
I am dying for some tastes of spring. I love lemon…this just screams spring doesn’t it? 🙂
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
A delicious twist on a classic recipe. Love the meyer lemons here 🙂
hasna
wow…i’m defenitely going to try this
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I love meyer lemons, this is a perfect use for them!
Swathi
I like this ctirusy pound cake. addition of Greek yogurt make is more soft. Sure I will try this one.
Brian @ A Thought For Food
I agree… pound cake can sometimes be a little boring. But this… this… looks amazing.