Copycat Starbucks iced lemon pound cake tastes fabulous, and has no chemicals, strange additives or preservatives. Why go to Starbucks and pay for a slice when you can make an entire loaf that’s much healthier for about the same price?
We rarely go to Starbucks, but when we do, my daughter loves to get a slice of their iced lemon pound cake.
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So as an after-school surprise, I thought I’d make her a copycat Starbucks homemade version, which she’d also be able to take to school in her lunch. I started my baking endeavor by looking at the ingredients in Starbucks’ own lemon cake. I must say, I was extremely disappointed after reading the list. Let’s just say we’ll be skipping the pound cake purchases in future— just take a look at this~
Starbucks Iced Lemon Pound Cake Ingredients
Sugar, bleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin and folic acid), egg, unsalted butter (pasteurized cream), powdered sugar (sugar, cornstarch), water, lemon juice (lemon juice from concentrate (water, concentrated lemon juice), sodium benzoate, sodium metabisulfate and sodium sulfite (preservatives), lemon oil), vegetable shortening (palm and canola oil), emulsifier (propylene esters, mono-diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, tricalcium phosphate), nonfat milk, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), food starch – modified, natural flavor, salt, icing base (dextrose, stearic acid, agar agar, salt, pectin, guar gum, sodium hexametaphosphate), corn syrup, natural butter flavor (maltodextrin, natural butter flavor, annatto and turmeric (for color)), vital wheat gluten, guar gum, xanthan gum, natural lemon oil, beta carotene wsp (maltodextrin, glucose syrup, gum arabic, vegetable oil, tocopherol, vitamin c, beta carotene pure, silicon dioxide), titanium dioxide, pan spray (soy lecithin, [contains one or more of the following: canola oil, palm oil, soybean oil, natural flavor, mineral oil])
I don’t know about you, but this just puts me right off. Can you imagine making this in your own kitchen? Even the icing, which could easily be made of sugar, water and lemon juice, has sodium hexametaphosphate in it. The FDA claims it is “generally recognized as safe”. Generally? Hmmm, no thanks. If I can’t make it in my kitchen, I’ll pass.
You will probably also enjoy this beautifully moist Sicilian Whole Orange Cake recipe, too.
Now let me tell you about the Copycat Starbucks iced lemon pound cake I made, and you can easily make in your kitchen–it’s so much better! Honest! Why? Because it tastes like Starbucks’ pound cake without all the junk ingredients, that’s why. I hope you enjoy it–my daughter did!
I also made a loaf for a Downton Abbey party for her and her friends and they LOVED the copycat Starbucks pound cake!
For another recipe, try this whole Meyer lemon bundt cake recipe which uses the rind and all. You can choose to glaze or ice it, too.
You won’t regret making this cake, I can almost guarantee it!
Copycat Starbucks Iced Lemon Pound Cake
adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Simplifying Lemon Pound Cake serves 12
Ingredients (compare to the list above!)
- 1 1/2 cups (7.5 oz) cake flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup (2 sticks) (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (8 oz) sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice, preferably Meyer lemon
- zest of one lemon, preferably organic Meyer lemon
- 8 to 10 drops of pure lemon oil
Icing
- 1 cup (4.25 oz) confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
- about 3 tsp. lemon juice and water to make a runny glaze
Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC) and butter and flour a standard size loaf tin (about 5.5″ x 9.5″) and set aside.
Make the Batter for the Better Than Starbucks Iced Lemon Loaf
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
Cream room temperature butter and sugar in mixer, scraping down the sides once or twice.
Add one egg, and mix well, then add about 2 tbsp of flour until blended. Continue with the rest of the eggs, and a little flour, scraping the sides of the bowl from time to time.
Now add the vanilla, lemon juice, lemon rind and lemon oil, and mix well.
Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in the remaining flour with a spatula.
Place cake batter into prepared loaf pan and put into preheated oven for 15 minutes. Afterwards, lower the temperature to 325ºF (150ºC) and continue to bake for another 40 to 45 minutes, or until tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
My first cake fell in the center as it wasn’t finished baking when I checked it at 35 minutes, so you will just have to use trial and error to see how your oven bakes.
Let cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and place on rack to cool completely.
When cool, prepare the icing, if desired.
Just mix the confectioner’s sugar and lemon and water until smooth.
Spread or drizzle over cooled cake…
letting it drip down the sides.
Allow the icing to dry/set before cutting the cake with a serrated knife.
Oh, and one last thing: click the 5 stars in the recipe card if you think this copycat cake is way better than Starbucks Iced Lemon Pound Cake, thank you!!
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Way Better Than Starbucks Iced Lemon Pound Cake!
A lovely lemon pound cake similar to the one served at Starbucks without the massive number of incomprehensible ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (7.5 oz) cake flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup (2 sticks) (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (8 oz) sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice, preferably Meyer lemon
- rind of one lemon, preferably organic Meyer lemon
- 8 to 10 drops of pure lemon oil
- 1 cup (4.25 oz) confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
- about 3 tsp. lemon juice and water to make a runny glaze
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC) and butter and flour a loaf tin/pan and set aside.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
- Cream room temperature butter and sugar in mixer, scraping down the sides once or twice.
- Add one egg, and mix well, then add about 2 tbsp of flour until blended. Continue with the rest of the eggs, and a little flour, scraping the sides of the bowl from time to time.
- Now add the vanilla, lemon juice, lemon rind and lemon oil, and mix well.
- Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in the remaining flour with a spatula. Place cake batter into prepared loaf pan and put into preheated oven for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 325ºF (150ºC) and continue to bake for another 40 to 45 minutes, or until tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and place on rack to cool completely. When cool, prepare the icing, if desired.
- Just mix the confectioner’s sugar and lemon and water until smooth. Spread or drizzle over cooled cake, letting it drip down the sides.
- Allow the icing to dry/set before cutting the cake with a serrated knife.
Notes
See my other lemon loaf recipe that's gluten free.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 14 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 102Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 105mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g
Nutrition information is only estimated.
Christina’s Cucina is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Looks amazing Christina! Can’t wait to try your cake <3 Nettie
Thank you, Nettie! I hope you love it as much as I do! CC
No paleo but the photos are soooo GREAT! I would like to bite into the screen… seriously! Yum… outch… (hit my head on the screen)
Hi Christina! Do you have any of your recipe’s in a printable format i.e.., without all the photo’s (lovely as they are)
everything looks delicious!
Hi Louise! I just revised my blog about two weeks ago and will be adding a feature which will allow the recipe to be printed without the photos, very soon (I think this week)! So stay tuned! CC
This sounds super tasty Christina, and ingrédients are always on hand. Love the recipe.
I’m sure yours will look beautiful, Hadia, because everything you make is gorgeous! Let me know how you like it! CC
Yikes!! I lurve Starbucks lemon pound cake (sometimes it’s the only reason I go in there) but had NO idea about the long list of ingredients. I’ll have to try making yours instead – it looks super yummy!
I loved the starbucks lemon pound cake and wanted to try baking one at home. . When I came across this recipe the name itself caught my eye and I was shocked to see the ingredients used by bucks!
This on the other hand is a really really good and obviously much healthier recipe. Lovely results.
Thankyou for sharing :)
You are so wecome, Tanvi! I’m so glad you found the recipe. I too was shocked at the list of terrible ingredients. Happy baking! CC
Hi, Christina:
Just want to let you know that I have made a few times your recipe for
Lemon Poundcake.
It definitely is 100% times better than Starbucks, and my family just
loves it!!
Thank-you so much for being so generous with us in sharing your
delicious recipes.
I am anxious to try many of your other recipes!
They look equally fantastic,
Raquel Musgrave
Thank you, thank you, Raquel!! Your note makes me very happy! I’m so glad that you love the poundcake and are going to try more of the recipes on my blog!
You made my day! CC ;)
After finding lemon oil in Las Vegas at the grocery store came across recipe again. and going to make for fish friday at church. I have given up flour/sugar,so I won’t be able to taste, but i can’t wait to smell it cooking in my kitchen.
Oh that is so kind of you to make it when you can’t have it yourself, Lori! You’ll love the smell and I’m sure everyone else will appreciate you making the cake for them! CC