Ritz Carlton Hotel Lemon Pound Cake
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The Famous Ritz Carlton Hotel Lemon Pound Cake has a fine crumb texture and bright lemon flavor. This classic lemon pound cake is supremely moist & tender! It’s the perfect finale to dinner!
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Famous Ritz Carlton Hotel Lemon Pound Cake
I found this recipe in a stack of recipes that were my grandmother’s and have no idea if it actually was served at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Furthermore, I couldn’t find it on any of their menus now. But, being #PoundCakePaula as one reader put it, I have been wanting to test this Famous Ritz Carlton Hotel Lemon Pound Cake for my Pound Cakes Reviewed Series for a long time.
Believe me, I wish I had sooner. This is one of my favorite pound cakes now.
When given a choice between chocolate and lemon I will choose lemon every time. I know that seems bizarre to most people. Lemon is bright and fresh. It’s tart yet sweet.
The lemon flavor is intense. The texture is buttery with a small crumb. It’s tender on the inside crusty on the outside. However, the top did not yield that crusty layer that my Coconut Pound or Whipping Cream Pound Cake does.
Between the golden crust and the lemon flavor, I did not feel this cake needed any frosting or glaze. I do have this wonderful Lemon Glaze if you prefer your Famous Ritz Carlton Hotel Lemon Pound Cake to be sweeter.
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Pans and such
I bake my pound cakes on a cookie sheet to bake. Setting the pan on a cookie sheet may affect the baking time. As well, using a light versus a dark tube pan will affect baking times. For my cakes, I bake in a light pan on a round cookie sheet.
Your
I’m not a fan of non-stick spray for pound cakes. Some of the sides always stick pulling off that crust that I worked so hard to create. Instead, I like to use solid vegetable shortening and follow that with a dusting of granulated sugar. (Yes, sugar. Sugar doesn’t leave any white areas on the cake.) Alternately, I like the Wilton cake release. (When I started this pound cake series, I did use non-stick spray. However, after making so many and trying other methods, I do not use non-stick spray for cakes now. I have tried to go back and update those posts, but may have missed some.)
HOW TO MEASURE FLOUR CORRECTLY
Measure all the ingredients carefully, especially the flour.
How do you measure flour?
To correctly measure flour, first, sift the flour. Then using a spoon or scoop lightly scoop flour out of its container into a measuring cup. Continue filling the cup until it is overflowing, then using the back of a butter knife level the flour. Scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour to fill can result in up to 25% more flour than lightly spooning the flour into the measuring cup. More flour in a recipe will make it dense and dry.
Pound Cake Tips
It’s very important when making this cake to start with room temperature ingredients. Don’t rush the mixing process, make sure each ingredient is combined well before moving to the next one.
As well, sift and measure your flour carefully.
Please read this post for more tips on How to Bake the Perfect Pound Cake.
I can’t stress enough to calibrate your oven. Everyone thinks their oven is the correct temperature, but ovens really need to be calibrated every year. For more information, please read How to Calibrate your Oven.
Below are a few pound cake recipes that I’ve reviewed. Click the photo for the recipe. You can get all of the recipes here: Pound Cakes Reviewed.
Ruby Red Grapefruit Pound Cake
Sour Cream Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Classic Ricotta Pound Cake
Praline Glazed Pumpkin Pound Cake
Million Dollar Pound Cake
Shop Ritz Carlton Hotel Lemon Pound Cake
- I recommend Crisco solid vegetable shortening and White Lily or Martha White flour. Pans and more recommendations are here.
- I have found solid vegetable shortening and sugar instead of flour to be the best for coating the pan to prevent sticking. By using sugar instead of flour, you won’t have white patches on the cake. You can use flour if you prefer.
- If you use a bundt pan instead of a tube pan, make sure it’s a taller bundt, about 5 inches tall.
- I couldn’t do without my stand mixer for baking!
Equipment
More recipes you’ll enjoy
- Ritz Krispie Treats Recipe
- TRAVEL ON THE CHEAP
- BAKED SEASONED RITZ BITS
- CHEESY RANCH RITZ BITS
- RITZ BITS CHURROS RECIPE
Famous Ritz Carlton Hotel Lemon Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup Crisco shortening at room temperature
- 6 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 6 tablespoon fresh lemon juice fresh
- zest of one lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sift flour, baking powder, and salt.3 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugar.3 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup Crisco shortening
- Add eggs one at a time beating until the yellow is incorporated before adding the next egg. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides, beat again.6 large eggs
- With the mixer on low, add dry ingredients alternating with the heavy cream and milk. (Add 1/3 dry ingredients, add heavy cream, add 1/3 dry ingredients, add milk, add last 1/3 dry ingredients.½ cup whole milk, ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- Mix in lemon juice and zest. Stop the mixer and scrap down the sides of the bowl. Mix again.6 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, zest of one lemon
- Spoon into prepared pan.
- Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until done. Cooking time will vary depending on your oven and the color and size of the pan you're using. Watch it closely the first time you bake this cake and make notes.
- Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes before inverting on a cake plate.
- Cool completely before covering.
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are important to you, I recommend calculating them yourself.
I’m so excited to make this cake. Is it okay to use butter flavor shorting?
It is, but personally I’d use the non-flavor or real butter.
Hello, looking for a new recipe of my favorite flavor, lemon, I found yours and loved it. I made it today exactly as per recipe, the only thing I did was prepare a simple syrup just to make the cake shinny. It is delicious and beautiful, the instructions are very easy to follow with great tips and the ingredients very easy to find. Now, I will try some other recipes.
Thank you
Thanks so much! I’m happy you liked it!
I tried this recipe 3 times. I read all of the instructions on how to make the perfect pound cake. I used quality ingredients. I used room temperature eggs and butter. I brushed up on the proper way to sift the flour and measured it out perfectly. I measured out all of the ingredients. I didn’t over mix the batter. I calibrated my oven and when preheating to 350 degrees, I put an oven thermometer in the oven to be sure. I made sure that the rack was at the proper height. I did not open the oven until the 1h 5 min was done.
Despite all of that, my cake sank. On the last try, it sank in the middle less than the other 2 – but it sank. I don’t know what else I could’ve done which is making me wonder if there’s a misprint on the recipe. Anyone have that same experience? If so, did you resolve it? Please share because I think this would be a great cake IF I can just get it right. Thanks!
I can’t begin to apologize enough to you. I did leave out the milk in the recipe and I am so very sorry! But thank you for commenting so that I looked at the recipe again. I had tried different liquids and had them written in the margin of my notes and just overlooked them.
Yeyyyy! Thank you so much for looking into this! I can’t wait to try this again! My family’s tastebuds thank you!
My cake sank in the middle. I make lots of pound cakes and don’t normally have a problem. The cake has a wonderful taste. I wondered if 1 T of baking powder was too much. I noticed other bakers had the same problem. What is the solution?
Most times when a cake sinks in the middle, it is underbaked. I would try baking it longer and calibrating you oven if you haven’t lately. https://www.callmepmc.com/how-to-calibrate-your-oven/
what are your thoughts on using a European butter
Lil
I enjoy European butter on biscuits and such. And, I like it in pie crusts. But for cakes, I stick to traditional (American) butter (I always use salted) because it’s cheaper and I find the sometimes the flavor of the European butter I’ve tried conflicts with certain flavors of my pound cakes. I will admit, I haven’t tried it extensively in baking though.
I have used the European butter in my pound cakes & they all come out great. European butter is a better butter because it has more fat than American butter which can be watery. There is a better crumb when using European butter. You still use exactly the same amount as recipe states.
Good info. Thanks!
This Ritz lemon pound cake sounds amazing.Can not wait to make it!Thank you.
Can butter instead of shortening be used?
Butter can be used
Will be making this soon. There’s a similar recipe regarding Carlton’s 1920’s Tea-Room Lemon Pound Cake.
Pound cakes are my favorite. If you have a recipe for a coconut pound cake, I would love to have it…
This one is so good! https://www.callmepmc.com/coconut-cream-cheese-pound-cake/
Pound cakes are the best. I had a cookbook years ago. This cook booksold as a fundraiser by the United Way. It contained appetizers and desserts. In the cake section it had the recipes for about 10 pound cakes. I miss my book. But, any way, this lemon pound cake is it really tart and a little sweet or is it the opposite.
It’s not overly sweet. I don’t know that I’d classify it as tart though but the lemon flavor does come through
Will a regular hand mixer do the job if you don’t have a stand mixer?
Yes, a hand mixer will work. I just didn’t grow up using a hand-mixer so I fall back on my stand mixer always