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This Lemon Loaf Recipe is ultra-moist, bursting with bright lemon flavor, and topped with a silky, tangy lemon glaze for an extra zing. The combination of this super soft lemon loaf, fresh lemon flavor, and that creamy lemon glaze on top makes this recipe an absolute treat. Perfect for a morning treat, dessert, or afternoon tea!
For more lemon desserts, try this Lemon Creme Brulee, Lemon Olive Oil Cake, Lemon Blackberry Cake!
This easy Lemon Loaf Cake recipe is my new obsession. The cake itself is soft, tender, and buttery, akin to a lemon pound cake, then topped with a lemon syrup and a sweet lemon glaze that’s both easy to make and packed with flavor.
I’ve tried so many lemon cake recipes and I’ve always found that the lemon flavor was more subtle as opposed to packed with that tangy flavor at first bite. This recipe, however, is quite the contrary.
It has the perfect balance of lemon and vanilla flavors and uses lemon zest and lemon extract to give you that undeniable citrus punch in every bite. Lemon lovers, bookmark this recipe!
Now, this is nothing like the Starbucks version – it’s a million times better. And trust me, I’ve tried tons of copycat Starbucks recipes and this is truly the best lemon loaf you’ll find on the internet. I firmly stand by this.
What’s even better is that this classic lemon loaf calls for nothing but simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
Let’s make this easy and moist lemon cake together with step-by-step photos below to ensure this becomes new foolproof, tried and true go-to lemon loaf recipe.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
(full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card)
- Cake flour creates a tender, delicate crumb due to its lower protein content compared to all-purpose flour. This makes the loaf soft and moist, enhancing the overall texture of the cake.
- Baking powder is the leavening agent in this recipe. It releases carbon dioxide during baking to create a light and fluffy texture.
- Ground Ginger – yes, ground ginger! Believe it or not, ginger actually enhances the lemon flavor. You don’t really taste the ginger at all. I use this in my lemon cream cheese pound cake
- I like to use kosher salt because its larger crystals provide better flavor and control over the saltiness.
- Fresh Lemon Zest is pinched into the sugar to release their oils. This adds an beautiful fresh lemony flavor.
- Granulated Sugar for both sweetness and moisture!
- Unsalted butter provides rich flavor, moisture, and promotes browning, creating a tender and flavorful lemon loaf. Butter-flavored shortening contributes to a softer, more stable crumb while adding buttery notes without extra water content, ensuring a moist and evenly textured loaf.
- Vegetable oil keeps a lemon loaf exceptionally moist and tender by adding fat without solidifying, resulting in a soft crumb that stays fresh longer. You can also use olive oil, canola oil, or any neutral oil.
- Eggs provide structure, air, and moisture when mixed into the batter.
- Lemon extract intensifies the citrus flavor in a lemon loaf, providing a concentrated lemon flavor.
- Vanilla Extract smooths out the strong citrus flavor.
- Sour Cream gives this cake its moist texture and adds a subtle tang that compliments the lemon flavour perfectly.
You’ll also need a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
Substitutions and Variations
- Lemon Extract: if you’ve run out of lemon extract, you can use 2 tablespoons of lemon juice instead. For the best flavor, make sure it’s fresh lemon juice as opposed to the bottled store bought stuff.
- If you don’t have cake flour, you can use all purpose flour OR you can make your own homemade cake flour by mixing together flour and cornstarch.
- Gluten Free: use your favorite gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour.
- No shortening? Just use unsalted butter in its place for a quick and easy swap.
- Add poppy seeds! Make this iced lemon loaf into a lemon poppyseed cake by adding 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds to the cake batter!
- Use another citrus! Mix it up a little bit and try swapping lemon for grapefruit, orange (I did this with my cranberry orange bread – so good!), meyer lemons, or even limes!
How to Make Lemon Loaf Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
First step, mix together the dry ingredients – cake flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and kosher salt. (Image #1)
In a separate bowl, make the lemon sugar. Combine lemon zest and sugar. Pinch together for about 3 minutes, until sugar becomes a pale yellow. (Image #2)
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add room temperature butter, butter flavored shortening, vegetable oil, and lemon sugar and cream together on medium speed for 5 minutes. Then add eggs, one at a time. Add lemon extract and vanilla extract and continue to mix until combined.(Image #3)
Add half of the flour mixture into the bowl, then add the sour cream, and then the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until combined and smooth. (Image #4)
Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
As the cake bakes, make the lemon syrup by adding sugar and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil until the sugar dissolves, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, pour in lemon juice, and allow the syrup to cool.
Fresh out of the oven, pour the lemon syrup onto the cake. Allow it to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove onto a wire rack to cool completely.(Image #5)
While the cake cools, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice, milk, and sour cream until smooth. Pour the glaze on top of the cooled loaf.
Pro Tips
- Cream butter, oil, and sugar together for the full 5 minutes! This makes sure that the cake is nice and fluffy by beating air into the butter. Once the butter mixture is a pale yellow, you can begin adding the eggs.
- For best results, be sure to use room temperature ingredients to prevent the batter from breaking. This specifically refers to using room temperature butter, eggs, and milk!
- When mixing the lemon zest and sugar, make sure to mix for at least 3 minutes to squeeze all of the lemon flavor out of the zest and into the sugar. It makes a huge difference!
- I recommend using a stand mixer but it’s not mandatory for this recipe. You can use an electric hand mixer too!
- If you notice that the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, cover the edges with a piece of foil and continue baking.
Storing
Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days. I do not recommend storing this loaf in the refrigerator as it can cause it to dry out.
Freezing: Once the cake is cooled and the glaze is set, cover the cake with plastic wrap and place in an airtight container to prevent it from becoming freezer burnt. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQs
When the loaf has cooled completely, drizzle glaze on top.
There are many reasons that this can happen – the most common is underbaking the cake. When the cake isn’t fully baked, the cake will collapse onto itself. Be sure to stick a toothpick into the center of the cake to make sure it comes out clean. Another reason for a sinking cake could be expired baking powder. Be sure to check your ingredients prior to baking!
The differences are few! Loaf cakes are simply baked in a loaf pan while regular cakes are baked in bundt pans or round or square baking pans. Because loaf pans tend to be smaller, loaf cakes also tend to have different quantities of ingredients.
More Cake Recipes
- Chocolate Ganache Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Sheet Cake
- Strawberry Crunch Cake
- Red Velvet Bundt Cake
- Lemon Cream Cake
- Black Velvet Cake
- Cardamom Cake
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If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and comment below! You can also tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can celebrate your beautiful creations!
Lemon Loaf
Equipment
- 9×5 inch loaf pan
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (281 g) Cake Flour
- 1 tsp (4 g) Baking Powder
- 1 tsp (6 g) Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) Ground Ginger
- 2 cups (400 g) Sugar
- 2 tbsp (12 g) Lemon Zest
- 1/2 cup (113 g) Unsalted Butter, (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup (56 g) Butter Flavored Shortening
- 1 tbsp (14 g) Vegetable Oil
- 3 large (150 g) Eggs
- 1 (18 g) Egg Yolk
- 2 tsp (10 g) Lemon Extract
- 1 tsp (4 g) Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 cup (180 g) Sour Cream, (room temperature)
Lemon Simple Syrup
- 1/3 cup (80 g) Water
- 1/3 cup (67 g) Sugar
- 2 tbsp (30 g) Lemon Juice
Lemon Icing
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) Powdered Sugar
- 2 tbsp (30 g) Lemon Juice
- 1-2 tbsp (15 g) Milk
- 2 tbsp (24 g) Sour Cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Mix together the dry ingredients – cake flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and kosher salt.
- In a separate bowl, make the lemon sugar. Combine lemon zest and sugar. Pinch together for about 3 minutes, until sugar becomes a pale yellow.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add room temperature butter, butter flavored shortening, vegetable oil, and lemon sugar and cream together on medium speed for 5 minutes. Then add eggs, one at a time. Add lemon extract and vanilla extract and continue to mix until combined.
- Add half of the flour mixture into the bowl, then add the sour cream, and then the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until combined and smooth.
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- As the cake bakes, make the lemon syrup by adding sugar and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil until the sugar dissolves, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, pour in lemon juice, and allow the syrup to cool.
- Fresh out of the oven, pour the lemon syrup onto the cake. Allow it to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake cools, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice, milk, and sour cream until smooth. Pour the glaze on top of the cooled loaf.
Notes
- Lemon Extract: if you’ve run out of lemon extract, you can use 2 tablespoons of lemon juice instead. For the best flavor, make sure it’s fresh lemon juice as opposed to the bottled store bought stuff.
- Whole Milk: any milk can be used here whether that be oatmilk, cashew milk, almond milk etc.
- Gluten Free: use your favorite gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour.
- Cream butter, oil, and sugar together for the full 5 minutes! This makes sure that the cake is nice and fluffy by beating air into the butter. Once the butter mixture is a pale yellow, you can begin adding the eggs.
- For best results, be sure to use room temperature ingredients to prevent the batter from breaking. This specifically refers to using room temperature butter, eggs, and milk!
- When mixing the lemon zest and sugar, make sure to mix for at least 3 minutes to squeeze all of the lemon flavor out of the zest and into the sugar. It makes a huge difference!
- I recommend using a stand mixer but it’s not mandatory for this recipe. You can use an electric hand mixer too!
- If you notice that the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, cover the edges with a piece of foil and continue baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just wow. Lemon sugar? How did I not know that was a thing? The pro tips are key. Very much appreciate the specific guidance, as to not only timing but look and texture as well. I’m not sure why you included a note on how to store leftovers. I brought this into work. I don’t have many colleagues. The cake didn’t last a day!
I’ve refreshed several times and the metric button isn’t there. 🙁
Hi Jean! I just updated the recipe to include the metric measurements, it’s there now!