Lemon Loaf
This moist, one-bowl lemon loaf is a delicious Starbucks copycat recipe. It has a decadent and soft crumb, bright lemon flavor and topped with a thick drizzle of icing.
Servings: 5
Cost: $9
Equipment
Ingredients
Lemon Loaf:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup neutral oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (store-bought or homemade)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric optional
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Makes: 8 x 4inch rectangle
Instructions
To Make the Lemon Loaf:
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Prep a 1 pound loaf pan (8x4-inch) with baking spray and a piece of parchment. (See *Notes section for pan options.) I like to make it so the sides of the parchment come up the sides of the pan. This makes for easy lifting of the loaf.
- In a large bowl, pour in the sugar and lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the sugar and lemon zest together. This will aggravate the zest and help it release flavorful oils. Add in the eggs. Using an electric mixer (you can also use a whisk), beat the eggs until pale in color, about 1 minute.
- Next, add in the neutral oil, vanilla extract, lemon extract, sour cream, turmeric, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk until smooth.
- Lastly, add in the flour and beat until completely combined. I like to take a spatula and scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure there aren't any bits of flour hiding.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Transfer to the oven to bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
To Make the Glaze:
- While it's cooling, whisk together the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream and lemon juice. It will be pretty thick! That's ok!
To Serve:
- When the loaf has cooled, pour the glaze on top. Spread it on top with the back of a spoon. Let it set. I'll sometimes put it in the fridge to speed up the process, for about 10 minutes. Slice up the loaf and enjoy!
Notes
Tips and Tricks:
-
- Rub the zest with sugar. Rubbing citrus zest with sugar releases its flavorful oil, so get aggressive with it!
-
- Oil vs butter. I love the flavor of butter but in cakes, I'm an oil-lover. They result in the most delicious and moist crumb.
-
- No lemon juice in this loaf. I find lemon juice to really dry out baked goods. So I decided to skip it in this loaf and add lemon extract and zest.
- Different size pan. This will also work in a 9x5-inch loaf pan; just keep in mind it won't be as tall but still will taste amazing!
Nutrition
Calories: 250kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 21mg | Potassium: 22mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 28IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 3mg
