As an antidote to other muted winter produce, the arrival of colorful citrus on the shelves is like nature’s own burst of sunshine. Lemons, with their vibrant hue and unmistakable zing, are a welcome reminder that brighter days are ahead. And what better way to celebrate their return than with this luscious lemon pound cake?

This cake is everything you crave in spring- fresh, buttery, and bursting with vibrant lemon flavor. It’s irresistibly soft and tender, thanks to a splash of buttermilk that adds a subtle tang and keeps every crumb perfectly moist. The fresh lemon zest infuses every bite with fragrant brightness. The real star, though, is the zesty glaze — a sweet-tart blanket of lemony goodness that melts into the warm cake, creating a glossy finish that’s as beautiful as it is delicious. It’s simple, stunning, and perfect for any occasion, from a relaxed brunch to a sunny afternoon tea.  So grab those gorgeous lemons while they’re at their peak, and let’s get into it!

For many many years, I, like so many of you parents, would have to come up with creative, thoughtful presents for my children’s teachers. And this lemon cake was my go to. Every December, right before the winter break, I would bake two dozen of these cakes, package them, and send them off with the girls. In Miami, very few people bake and these cakes took on a life of their own. Teachers would tell me how much they enjoyed sharing them with their families, how they hoped my kids would be in their classes the following year, or how lucky they were that they taught both my kids so they received double. I even had teachers I didn’t know stop me and tell me they couldn’t wait to teach my kids so they could get a lemon cake! All of this to tell you that this simple, affordable, and easily multipliable cake will win you many friends should you wish to share.

The success to baking, unlike cooking, is science. And that’s the reason why I always use a digital scale to weigh ingredients-the scale never lies. If you don’t follow the rules, you may not always get what you want, especially if you don’t bake often enough to get a good feel for it. But using a scale ensures you’re getting the exact measurements every time. Flour, sugar, and other ingredients can vary a lot depending on how they’re scooped or packed into measuring cups, but a scale takes out the guesswork. It also makes it easier to follow recipes from around the world, which often use weight measurements. Once you get into the habit, you’ll wonder how you ever baked without it!

I get it—not everyone has a kitchen scale and maybe you don’t want to invest in one if you don’t bake that often, which is why I always include standard measurements in my recipes, too. However, if you’re using cups to measure dry ingredients like flour or sugar, make sure to use the ‘spoon and level’ method. Instead of scooping directly from the bag, lightly spoon the ingredient into the measuring cup and then level it off with a straight edge. This prevents you from accidentally packing too much into the cup, which can throw off the balance of the recipe (think tough and dry instead of tender and moist).

After I weigh the flour, I add the baking powder and the salt. Never skip the salt in a baking recipe. I know it seems counter intuitive to add salt to a sweet dessert, but salt makes chocolate taste more chocolatey, lemons taste more lemony…you get the picture. Baked goods without salt taste flat.

Then it’s time to cream the butter and sugar. Start with softened/room temperature butter, which means that you can leave an indent if you press your finger in it. Butter that is too warm will result in a dense cake that doesn’t rise properly. “Room temperature butter” can be a misleading term in recipes because you’re looking for butter that is soft enough to beat but not a melting goo (and room temperatures can be vastly different during the year).

I use my stand mixer, but you can also use a handheld mixer. I mix the butter and sugar until it’s fluffy and pale yellow. You actually need to beat it for a couple minutes to get the right texture. I think people tend to under-beat their butter but over-beat their batter. This is the time when you’re trying to incorporate air so don’t be stingy, give your butter and sugar enough time with the paddle.

Then I add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until thoroughly incorporated before adding the next. This helps create a smooth emulsion, without the batter separating or curdling. Your mixture should look like thick, gritty mayonnaise when you’re done with this step.

With the mixer on the lowest setting, I add about one-third of the flour and mix until almost combined. Then I add half the buttermilk and mix until just combined. I repeat with another third of flour, and then the last half of the buttermilk, ending with the last third of the flour plus the lemon zest. This may seem fussier than just dumping in all the flour at once, but doing it in stages like this prevents overmixing, which can create a tough cake. Taking this extra few minutes ensures your lemon pound cake will be moist and tender.

After the last batch of flour is mostly incorporated, I use a rubber spatula to scrape around the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all the dry ingredients are fully mixed into the batter.

And then it’s time to bake! First I spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray.

And then I fill it up with the lemon pound cake batter:

Bake until golden brown, about 50-60 minutes. Remember, you can always bake more but you can never un-bake. So I usually check it around at the 50 minute mark. I’d rather have to bake it a few minutes more than wish I had baked it a few minutes less because it’s over-baked.

While she’s cooling, I whip up the luscious lemon glaze. Fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar get mixed together until thick and glossy.

Once the cake has cooled down for 10 minutes I remove it from the pan and put it on a cooling rack over parchment paper (to prevent a mess) and glaze it.

The residual heat of the cake will encourage the glaze to melt and spread over the top and down the sides of the cake. You can always pour more on but don’t use any utensils to spread it because it will make a mess of the glossy finish.

I’m so excited for you to try this bright and sunny lemon pound cake. Let me know what you think and tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen!

Got a sweet tooth? Get your fix with some of our other popular desserts like Matcha Cake, or this amazing Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

Lemon Pound Cake

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• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 60 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: serves 8
• Category: sweets

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Ingredients

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For the Cake:

• 6–3/4 oz. (1 ½ cups) all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 oz. (½ cup) unsalted butter, slightly soft 
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup buttermilk
• Zest of 1 lemon, finely chopped or grated

For the glaze:

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
• A few drops of lemon oil or the zest of one lemon (optional)

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. 
2. Prepare the baking pan– Spray a loaf pan that’s about 8x5x3 inches with a nonstick coating.
3. Make the cake- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended. You can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (which is what I use or you can use a hand mixer). Combine the sugar and butter in the mixing bowl and beat it on medium speed until it’s pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until blended before adding the next one. 
5. With the mixer on lowest setting, add about one-third of the flour and mix until almost combined. Then add half the buttermilk and mix until just combined. Repeat with another third of flour, and then the last half of the buttermilk, ending with the last third of the flour plus the lemon zest. 
6. Mix until almost all of the flour is incorporated and then turn the mixer off. Use a stiff rubber spatula and scrape around the side and bottom of the bowl to ensure all of the flour is mixed into the batter.
7. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out with some wet crumbs, about 50-60 minutes. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes. Use this time to make the glaze. 
8. Make the glaze-Combine the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a bowl and mix with a fork until it is completely smooth. It will be thick like toothpaste. 
9. Glaze the cake-Carefully tip the loaf pan, tapping it to release the cake. Put the cake on a cooling rack. It is a good idea to put a piece of parchment or a baking sheet under the cake to catch any dripping glaze. Pour the glaze slowly over the cake. You can go over it again with the glaze if you missed some spots but DO NOT use any utensils to touch the glaze because it will mar the surface of the glaze. Let the heat of the cake melt the glaze. 
10. Cool the cake completely on a rack before serving. The glaze will harden as the cake cools. 

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Notes

*This cake is very easy to double. You will need to increase the baking time by about 10-15 minutes.

*You can freeze this cake if desired, wrapped in aluminum and tucked into a ziptop bag. I prefer to freeze it whole but you can also slice and freeze the slices. The glaze gets a little sticky as it defrosts but still delicious.

Keywords: spring, citrus, sweets, brunch, cake, lemon

There may not be a more crowd pleasing, popular dessert than cheesecake, and this Japanese Cheesecake is next level. It’s melt in your mouth delicious; part cheesecake and part soufflé. All the creamy tang of cheesecake, lightened with the airy cloudlike texture of a soufflé. Now you know what you’re making next time someone says, “bring dessert”.

Unlike New York style cheesecake, which is rich, dense, and decadent, this Japanese Cheesecake is soft, airy, and sophisticated. It perfectly reflects Japanese tastes when it comes to desserts. It’s modestly sweet and just rich enough for you to feel like it’s dessert. Honestly, it’s hard to stop at just one serving. So if you’re a cheesecake lover (and let’s get real, who isn’t?), switch it up and try a different spin on a familiar favorite.

Japanese Cheesecake?

What separates Japanese cheesecake, also called Soufflé cheesecake, from a New York style cheesecake that you may be more familiar with is its incredibly light, fluffy, and airy texture. That texture comes from an egg white meringue that gets mixed into the cream cheese batter. And it relies on having a truly preheated oven. Don’t rush, give your oven enough time to heat up. If the oven isn’t hot enough, the egg whites will deflate and the cheesecake will be dense and heavy instead of light and airy, so turning on the oven is always the first thing I do. Then I begin by prepping my soufflé ramekin.

Prepping the Ramekin

I use the same ramekin here that I use for making soufflés. It’s 7 inches across and 5 inches deep. You can use a slightly bigger one too; your cake will just be a little bigger but flatter. First I swipe it with softened butter (you can also spray it with nonstick spray), and then I use parchment paper to fashion a sling that helps lift it out. The butter/oil is important for not only making sure the non-parchment parts of the cake don’t stick, but also for sticking the parchment in place.

I used standard parchment paper from a roll and cut out a circle by tracing the ramekin on paper with a pencil. Then I cut out the circle. The circle should either fit exactly into the pan or be a tiny bit smaller. I’m a terrible cutter, and can rarely cut a straight line, so my circle is typically asymmetrical. But that’s ok too; just make sure that the parchment circle is not so big that you have excess paper that’s balled up at the edges.

Next, I rip off two wide strips for the sling, which will help us pull the cake out from the baking dish. You do not need much overhang of paper. In fact, if they are too long, there’s always a chance they will burn getting close to a heating element. The sling should be long enough to reach the top of the ramekin so you can grip and pull out the cheesecake. Even if the cake cooks to the top of the ramekin, it will shrink back as it cools.

If you don’t have a ramekin, you can also use a 7 inch deep pan (about 4 inches). Since this cheesecake cooks in a water bath, a spring form pan may not be the best idea, unless you are POSITIVE that it will not leak-either batter out or water in. No matter what pan you use, use the same parchment technique. Only oil the pan. Do not oil the parchment as it’s already non stick and putting extra oil will cause you to bake up a wet gummy layer on the parchment.

Make the Batter

Then I start making the batter. Make sure to bring the butter and cream cheese to room temperature so that it can blend easily. I usually leave both out on the counter before I go to sleep, so the next day it’s there, ready for me.

This recipe uses a lot of bowls and equipment-yeah sorry about that! But there’s just no way around it. Because this cake is so simple, no real garnishes or add-ins to distract your eye, every step is important to achieve that smooth silky texture and lush mouthfeel. You will be rewarded in the end, so roll up your sleeves and don’t get discouraged.

Now it’s time to make the meringue, which gives the Japanese cheesecake its trademark cloudlike texture. There a couple rules to whipping a great meringue. First, make sure your equipment is squeaky clean. Any oily residue on your bowl or whip will interfere with the meringue and you will not get the volume you want. Also, your hands should be very clean for the same reason. Finally, make sure that you separate the egg yolks from the whites cleanly. Any trace of yolk in the egg whites will also affect your meringue.

Egg whites are at the soft peak stage when they will briefly hold a shape before collapsing. They are soft and malleable, not the stiff shiny peaks that happen after beating for several minutes longer. Soft peaks are easier to fold into the batter, which will help you retain the volume (it’s all about volume people ;))

Adding the meringue to the base helps to lighten the cheesecake mixture so it doesn’t deflate the meringue when it all gets mixed together. If you’ve ever made a soufflé, this technique will be familiar to you. Once you add the lightened base to the rest of the meringue, mix gently, taking care to not deflate the meringue. It’s ok to have a couple of thin streaks of egg white, which is preferable to over mixing.

Now it’s time to bake. I bake my Japanese cheesecake in a water bath to help ensure a gentle, even heat.

Bake for an hour undisturbed, and then test with a skewer. It should come out mostly clean. I turn the oven off, leaving the door cracked open with a towel wedged in the crack. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for at least another hour or two. This helps it set up so it’s not as jiggly when you try to remove it. The gentle cooling will help the cake from deflating. If you were to remove the cake from the oven immediately, the cold air would cause the cake to shrink down significantly. Don’t let your hard work go to waste!

Once the cake has cooled in the oven, transfer the ramekin to the counter and run a knife around the edge of the cake to make sure it’s free. Then grab the 2 parchment slings on the left with your left hand and the other slings with your right hand. Gently lift and transfer the cake to a serving plate.

You can serve this at room temperature when it’s at its fluffiest, most soufflé-like texture, but I prefer it after a few hours in the fridge. I like to simply garnish my cheesecake with a dusting of powdered sugar but some fresh berries would be nice too.

If you are a cheesecake fan, you cannot sleep on this one. There’s a reason Japanese Cheesecake is so Instagram and TikTok famous. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think. Rate and comment on the recipe below, and tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen-we love seeing your creations!

Japanese Cheesecake

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• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour (2 hours cooling time)
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: serves 8
• Category: sweets
• Cuisine: Japanese

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Ingredients

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Base:

• 8 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 4 egg yolks (at room temperature) 
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup whole milk
• ¼ cup granulated sugar+2 Tablespoons granulated sugar for pan
• ½ a large lemon, zested and then juiced (you should yield 2 Tablespoons juice)
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup (1.125 ounces) all purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Meringue:

• 4 egg whites at room temperature
• ¼ cup granulated sugar

For the pan:

baking spray or 2 Tablespoons melted butter 

Garnish:

• powdered sugar

 

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and move the oven rack to the middle.
2. Liberally grease the inside of your 7½ inch soufflé ramekin with the softened butter using your fingers (you can also use oil spray) and sprinkle the 2 Tablespoons of sugar to coat the surface evenly.
3. Line the ramekin: Cut two strips of parchment paper that are 2½ inches wide and 15 inches in length (this was the length of my parchment roll. It’s fine if yours is a little longer). These strips will form a sling that will help you pull the cake out. Next cut out a 7½ inch circle for the bottom of the pan. Lay the long strips for the sling first, forming a cross, and let any excess paper hang over the sides of the pan. Next place the circle down. (Don’t oil the parchment paper; it will create a wet gooey layer.)
4. Combine the milk and heavy cream and microwave for 30 seconds until barely warm.
5. Add the cream cheese and butter to a bowl and whisk for a couple minutes until smooth. Add the yolks one at a time, mixing well each time. Then add the heavy cream, milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and flour. Whisk well again.
6. Pour the mixture through a strainer into another bowl to make sure there are no lumps of flour or coagulated egg. Mix in lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside.
7. In a clean bowl, add the egg whites and beat on medium speed (6 on a stand mixer) for a couple of minutes until they become foamy.
8. Add the sugar in a very slow stream while the egg whites continue to beat. Raise the speed to high (8 or 9 on a stand mixer). Beat until soft peaks form. (When you lift the whisk attachment, the meringue forms a peak but then it slowly flops over.)
9. Add a third of the meringue to the batter and mix gently using a spatula until the white meringue is completely mixed in. Now pour the lightened batter into the meringue bowl and fold gently until you don’t see unmixed meringue (small streaks are ok).
10. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. 
11. Place the cake pan in a deep baking tray or a large deep oven safe skillet. Fill the baking tray with cool water about 1½ inches high.
12. Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Test the center with a skewer. It should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
13. Turn off the oven, crack the door open (you can sandwich a kitchen towel in the opening if the oven door will not stay open), and leave the cake in the oven for 1-2 hours to gently cool. 
14. Remove the cake from the water bath and set it on the kitchen counter.
15. Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it. Pull the cake out using the slings. 
16. You can serve the cake at room temperature which is where it will be extra soft and most souffle-like. Otherwise, chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.
17. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.

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Notes

*Preheating your oven is crucial. Turn on your oven before you start the recipe. If you do not have an automatic beeper letting you know your oven is ready, let your oven heat up for 25 minutes before you start baking. Check that the inside of the oven is the correct  temperature as some ovens have a variance between the actual temperature and what the setting indicates. 

*My baking setting is automatically set to a convection (or forced fan) oven. If you’re using a standard oven, you may need to cook the cake for 10 minutes longer.

*If you do not have a soufflé ramekin, a 4 inch deep 7 inch cake pan (that is not springform) is best. But if the cake pan has a springform bottom, cover the bottom and side of the cake pan with a large sheet of aluminum foil so that the foil continuously covers the bottom and the side to just below the rim. You want to make sure no batter leaks out and no water leaks into the pan.

*Getting the right texture on the meringue is very important. Soft peaks means when you lift the whisk attachment or dip in a clean spoon, the meringue forms a peak but then slowly folds over. Do not beat too much or you will get a hard peak where the meringue looks very stiff and will actually start to ooze liquid. It will be very difficult to fold this into your base and you will get much less rise in your cake. If you’re not sure, it’s always better to use slightly under beaten eggs than overbeaten. 

*The temperature of ingredients is very important in baking. Use room temperature eggs. If your eggs are straight from the fridge, put them in warm water for 10 minutes. Butter should also be room temperature, which normally means you should be able to make an indent if you push a finger into it. In general, room temperature butter should not be greasy soft. But in this case, we are mixing it into cream cheese so it’s fine if it’s very soft.

*A kitchen scale is your best friend when baking because it is the most accurate. If you do not have one, make sure you always stir your dry ingredients before scooping. Never pack flour into a measuring cup. And always level off with the back of a butter knife if using the scooping method.

Keywords: cheesecake, dessert, sweets, holiday, japanese