This moist and zesty lemon loaf cake, is a lemony pound cake topped with a tangy glaze, is easy to mix and is perfect for lemon lovers.
This cake is the ultimate treat for lemon lovers. Its soft, buttery crumb is infused with fresh lemon zest and juice, which creates a tangy flavor that pairs perfectly with the rich, moist texture of a classic pound cake.
Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!
The glaze for this cake is super easy to make and adds a sweet and tart finish to the cake
This lemon cake is great for breakfast or serve it as a light dessert. Plus, with its simple ingredients and easy mixing method, it’s a breeze to whip up in no time at all.
What’s special about this cake?
- Bursting with lemon flavor
- Moist texture with a soft, buttery crumb
- Easy recipe with simple ingredients
- Tangy/ sweet glaze
- Versatile treat to eat as a dessert or even breakfast
How to make this zesty lemon loaf cake:
(The full printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and grease and flour a 9 or 8-inch by 5-inch loaf pan,
Step 2:
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Step 3:
In another medium-sized mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, sour cream and vanilla extract. Whisk well and set aside.
Step 4:
In another large mixing bowl, mix the sugar and the lemon zest with an electric mixer on medium-high for about 30 seconds. Add the room-temperature butter and mix on medium-high for about two minutes until light and fluffy.
Step 5:
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium for about 20 seconds after each egg.
Step 6:
Add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix only on low-medium and only until it’s just combined and you don’t see any dry flour.
Add the liquid ingredients and mix on low-medium only until just combined.
Add the second half of the dry ingredients and mix on low-medium until just combined.
Use a silicone spatula and scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl, then use the spatula to mix the batter a bit more to finish mixing without the electric mixer.
Step 7:
Add the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
Step 8:
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it. Ovens vary.
Step 9:
Once baked, remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack, still inside the pan, for about 20 minutes, then turn the cake out of the pan and set onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before adding any glaze or confectioner’s sugar.
Step 10:
Mix all the ingredients for the glaze.
Once the cake is completely cooled, drizzle the glaze over the top. Let it set before slicing and serving.
Note About Recipe Measurements: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric/weight measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.
Recipe
Lemon Loaf Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 ½ sticks)
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup sour cream, room temperature
- 2 drops yellow gel food coloring (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Lemon Glaze:
- 1 ½ cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 or 8 inch by 5-inch loaf pan,
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In another medium-sized mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, sour cream and vanilla extract. Whisk well and set aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, mix the sugar and the lemon zest with an electric mixer on medium-high for about 30 seconds. Add the room temperature butter and mix on medium-high for about two minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium for about 20 seconds after each egg.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again on medium for another 10 seconds.
- Add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix only on low-medium and only until it’s just combined and you don’t see any dry flour.
- Add the liquid ingredients and mix on low-medium only until just combined.
- Add the second half of the dry ingredients and mix on low-medium until just combined.
- Use a silicone spatula and scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl, then use the spatula to mix the batter a bit more to finish mixing without the electric mixer.
- The goal is to try and use the electric mixer the least amount that is needed. If scratch cake batter is mixed too long or at too high of speed, the cake will turn out dense and rubbery and may fall in the middle.
- Add the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it. Ovens vary, so it may take a little less or a little more time depending on your own oven.
- Once baked, remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack, still inside the pan, for about 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes turn the cake out of the pan and set onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before adding any glaze or confectioner’s sugar.
For the lemon glaze:
- While the cake is cooling, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice until smooth. I like to use a fork to mix it as it seems to work better than a spoon or a whisk.
- Adjust the consistency with more lemon juice or powdered sugar if needed.
- Once the cake is completely cooled, drizzle the glaze over the top. Let it set before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Share
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FAQs:
It’s really best if you can as that adds a lot of lemon flavor. If you omit the lemon zest, then the cake may not have enough lemon flavor.
Unsalted is always best because you can estimate the proper amount of salt that will be added plus salted has a different water content than unsalted. However, if you’re unable to get unsalted butter, you can use salted in the cake and the buttercream, but omit the additional salt that each recipe calls for.
Sour cream is best in this recipe as it helps make a very moist cake and gives a little flavor. If you don’t have access to it, you can use plain yogurt, but use the full-fat yogurt instead of the low fat or fat free type.
No, you can omit it. It just gives the cake a nice yellow color.
This cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it or clean, but no raw batter.
This cake can be made ahead of time and frozen if desired. Let the baked cake cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and foil and place in the freezer for up to a month.
To thaw, place the wrapped cake on the counter at room temperature and let thaw completely, then remove the wrapping. Once defrosted, add the glaze.
This loaf cake should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and can last up to 5 days.
It’s fine to eat cakes cold, but most cakes are best served close to room temperature, especially when made with butter like this one. The texture is just softer that way. If the cake is cold, set it out to come closer to room temperature for about 20-30 minutes before serving.
You can also pop a slice in the microwave to warm up a bit.
I have not tested this recipe out as a layer cake. I’m not sure that the batter would be enough to make a two layer cake though. I do have many other recipes on my site or lemon layer cakes though that are tried and true. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see them listed with links.
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Joy Trigg
Hi there
I tried this recipe today it is very easy and delicious 😋 thank you so much for sharing it
From
Joy in Oz
Kara
Yay! Thanks Joy for that great review!