Lemon Loaf is an easy and delicious sweet bakery-style treat bursting with fresh citrus flavour, perfect for lovers of lemon dessert recipes.
Made in the style of a quick bread this loaf has the rich, moist texture of lemon pound cake with a lovely dense crumb, just like from your fave cafe or coffee shop.
This lemon loaf cake recipe includes a tangy lemon glaze, but I have to be honest I really enjoyed the taste without the frosting too. And I ate a lot of this lemon cake!
Table of Contents
Why you will love this lemon loaf recipe
- quick mix
- packed with lemon flavour
- no need for specialty cake flour
What you need to make this recipe
*Please see the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients with exact quantities and detailed instructions
- plain flour - all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salted butter - sub with unsalted butter and salt
- caster sugar
- sour cream
- eggs
- vegetable oil
- fresh lemon juice
- lemon zest
- lemon extract
- vanilla extract
- icing sugar - confectioners sugar/powdered sugar
*Please see the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients with exact quantities and detailed instructions
How to make a lemon loaf
- Add the wet ingredients to a bowl.
- Mix to combine.
- Add the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
- Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, folding gently to incorporate - don't overmix!
Want to save this recipe?
Email yourself a link to this page and come back later.
- Pour the mixture into a loaf tin lined with baking/parchment paper and bake.
- Combine the ingredients for the glaze then spread over the cake once it's completely cooled.
Top tips for the best result
- For the best lemon loaf I recommend using full-fat sour cream rather than a low-fat one. Having made this loaf with both, the higher fat option gives a much richer, denser cake.
- When mixing up the glaze, a little lemon juice goes a long way. Start with 2 teaspoons of juice at first, if you need more add it in at ½ a teaspoon at a time.
- Make sure the loaf is completely cool before you glaze it or the icing will melt.
Storage
Lemon loaf can be kept for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Suitable to freeze.
Serving suggestions
- slice and serve for morning or afternoon tea
- add a scoop of ice cream for an easy dessert
- leave the lemon loaf unglazed and toast slices (like banana bread) then spread on a
littlelot of butter
Other lemon recipes you may enjoy
Lemon Cupcakes - these light and fluffy lemon cupcakes are gorgeous little bites of zesty lemon cake drizzled with lemon syrup.
Lemon Slice - this no-bake, sweetened condensed milk slice is sweet and tangy with a fluffy lemon frosting.
Lemon Butter Sauce - I will show you how to make a restaurant-quality sauce using lemon, garlic, butter and salt in only 5 minutes!
📖 Recipe
Lemon Loaf
Ingredients
- 300 g plain flour (all-purpose flour) sifted
- 1 tablespoon baking powder sifted
- 75 g salted butter melted
- 280 g caster sugar
- 240 g sour cream full fat
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- 1½ teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze
- 150 g icing sugar (confectioner's sugar/superfine sugar)
- 2 - 4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Watch me make this recipe
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180c.
- Grease and line a 21 x 11 x 6cm (8½ x 4½ x 2½") loaf pan with baking/parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together melted butter and caster sugar.75 g salted butter280 g caster sugar
- Then add sour cream, eggs, vegetable oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and essences then mix to combine (it will look curdled but that's ok) then set aside.240 g sour cream2 eggs4 tablespoon vegetable oil3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice2 tablespoon grated lemon zest1½ teaspoon lemon extract1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a large (separate) bowl add flour and baking powder and whisk to combine.300 g plain flour (all-purpose flour)1 tablespoon baking powder
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, folding gently until just combined (don't overmix).
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake (uncovered) for 40 minutes. Then cover loosely with aluminium foil and bake for a further another 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick/skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean with no raw batter.
- Allow to cool completely before glazing.
For the glaze
- In a small bowl combine the icing sugar and lemon juice (starting with 2 teaspoons), adding more juice ½ teaspoon at a time until you get the right consistency (see my notes).150 g icing sugar (confectioner's sugar/superfine sugar)2 - 4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- Spread the glaze over the cooled cake then slice and serve.
Notes
- For the look of the glaze you see in my photo, you want it not to be too thick or too runny - somewhere in between. This way it will drape softly over the top of the loaf without running off completely. You can check this by spooning some onto the side of the bowl as you are mixing it up to check the consistency.
Want to save this recipe?
Email yourself a link to this page and come back later.
Made this to take to an afternoon tea and it all got eaten. So moist and rich. Thank you.
My pleasure Bobby!