Instant Pot Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
Instant Pot Lemon Pound Cake is bursting with tangy-sweet lemon zest and juice as well as buttermilk and vanilla flavors. The result is a delectable tartness and sweetness with every bite. It is the perfect simple recipe for any time of the year for dessert or just a snack.
If you want to make more instant pot sweets, try our Instant Pot Banana Bread with sour cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon or this Instant Pot Lemon Blueberry Bread made with powdered sugar and blueberries. Or you can try our moist Lemon Pound Cake made with lemon juice and sour cream.
With this moist Bundt cake recipe, you will have no problem kicking back and relaxing while you wait. There is very little prep time, and the pot does all the important work for you.
If you want a change, next time try this recipe in your oven for another way to make a delicious cake. You can serve it as is with some whipped cream and fruits or use it to make a delicious trifle.
Ingredients needed:
To find our recipe card with step-by-step instructions, scroll down to the bottom of the page. But here are the main ingredients you need for this instant pot lemon cake:
- Unsalted butter: At room temperature.
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs: At room temperature.
- Buttermilk: Make your own with one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice added to one cup milk.
- Lemon zest: Homemade or store-bought.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed or store-bought will work.
- All purpose flour
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
How do you make instant pot lemon pound cake from scratch?
- Mix: Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer with a large bowl, combine the juice, vanilla, sugar, and butter until it is light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg.
- Sift: Then, sift the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour in a medium bowl.
- Add: Next, add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet ingredients, alternating between the two before adding the zest.
- Pour: After, pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan and cover with foil.
- Add water: Then, pour two cups of water into the pot and put in your trivet.
- Cook: Finally, put the cake on top of the trivet using a sling before closing the lid and turning the pressure valve to manual for 90 minutes.
- Release: Lastly, do a natural release before removing the cake from the bundt cake pan.
- Serve: Allow it to cool on a wire rack before removing it from the pan and serving with fresh fruit topping.
Recipe variations:
- Box: To make this lemon Bundt cake even easier, use lemon cake mix but use juice instead of water.
- Berries: Alternatively, add some blueberries or blackberries to the cake batter for a lemon berry cake.
- Lemon glaze: Top this delicious lemon pound cake with lemon glaze. Just mix two cups of powdered sugar, five tablespoons of lemon juice, and ½ tablespoon of melted butter in a small bowl until it is smooth.
- Creamy: For a creamier cake, add a half-cup of cream cheese or sour cream to the mix.
- Chocolate lovers: Toss a cup of chocolate chips into the mix for chocolate lovers.
How to serve:
To serve this perfect dessert, place it on a serving plate and adorn it with slices of fresh fruit like lemon, lime, and orange slices. Or try one of these serving suggestions:
- Add a scoop of homemade whipped cream on top for extra creaminess.
- Drizzle some maple syrup over the top for a nice glaze.
- Feel free to frost your cake with any kind of frosting like this cream cheese frosting.
- Enjoy your perfect cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
- This fluffy cake also goes great with a glass of our tangy cranberry mocktail.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an instant pot and a pressure cooker?
An instant pot is just like an original pressure cooker, but it uses electricity instead of having to put it on the stovetop. They both use high pressure although the level of PSI (pressure) is only 12 compared to 15 with the pressure cooker.
Also, the new safety features and the way it is made means you do not have to worry about steam burns anymore.
What is the difference between a pound cake and a regular cake?
The pound cake batter makes a very moist cake and has a lot more moisture than regular cake batter. This is because of the abundance of eggs, milk, and butter compared to your typical cake.
These cakes are also denser and tend to be heavier than a traditional cake.
Why do they call it pound cake?
The original recipe from the 1700s was made with one pound of each ingredient including eggs, butter, sugar, and flour.
That amounts to about nine or 10 eggs, four sticks of butter, almost four cups of powdered sugar, and 3 ½ cups of flour.
Our lemon pound cake does not use anywhere near that much of any of these ingredients.
How to store leftovers:
- Store: After the cake cools to room temperature, wrap it in plastic wrap or put it in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for up to a week in your fridge.
- Freeze: For individual servings, wrap each slice in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and put them in a freezer bag where they will stay good for up to three months.
- Thaw: Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving for best and serve at room temperature.
More desserts:
Cooking tips:
- Make your own lemon zest by using a grater or peeler to remove only the yellow peel from two lemons.
- To make sure your cake is not too dense, spoon the flour into the cup rather than scooping it.
- Feel free to add some lemon zest on top of the glaze for even more lemon flavor.
- If you do not have a trivet with handles, make your own foil sling by folding a sheet of aluminum foil lengthwise.
- The cooking time of instant pots varies depending on the size and brand.
- This recipe calls for a 6-cup Bundt pan, but you can use your favorite.
- Don’t forget to apply a liberal coat of nonstick cooking spray to your pan.
- Place a paper towel on top of the pan before covering it with foil to catch any excess moisture.
Instant Pot Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, until very light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.
- In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Slowly add the buttermilk and flour mixture to the cream mixture.
- Alternate between the flour mixture and the buttermilk. Stir in the lemon zest.
- Pour the batter into a greased 7-inch bundt pan.
- Cover with foil.
- Add 2 cups water to the inner pot and add a trivet.
- Place the pan onto the trivet.
- Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to seal.
- Pressure cook for 90 minutes. After that, let the pressure release naturally.
- Remove the pound cake and place it on a wire rack, allow to cool before removing it from the pan.
- Garnish with whip cream and fresh fruits when serving.
Nutrition
