This Easy Glazed Lemon Loaf Cake is extra moist and lemony, melts in your mouth, and is irresistible.
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The lemon glaze is also insanely tasty, so drizzle and enjoy! This lemon loaf is one of my all-time favorite recipes and a No Fail recipe. If you are a lemon lover like me, then this Lemon Bundt cake with lemon glaze wil be your absolute go to. Zesty and tasty is all we hope and love, try this orange cake or orange Poppy seed cake. Sometimes you might want to skip the zest, then this coconut cake or rum cake will give you the Caribbean kick.
Why You'll Love this Lemon Loaf Cake
Perfect Balance of Sweet and Tangy: This lemon loaf has the ideal combination of refreshing citrus flavor and a touch of sweetness, making it irresistible to anyone who loves a zesty treat like the orange cake or orange poppy seed cake.
Moist and Tender: Thanks to the use of sour cream or yogurt, this loaf stays moist and soft, with each bite melting in your mouth just like the carrot cake and pumpkin cake.
Easy to Make: With simple ingredients and minimal steps, this recipe is perfect for both beginners and seasoned bakers. You’ll have a delicious loaf ready in no time!
Versatile: Whether you serve it for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert, this lemon loaf is versatile enough to complement any occasion and goes well with pineapple juice or carrot juice.
Lemon Glaze: The tangy lemon glaze adds an extra burst of citrus flavor, making it the perfect finishing touch.
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour: Make sure flour is well measured because it's one of the biggest culprits of cake problems.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These are the most critical leavening agents for shaping the cake.
- Butter should be melted or well softened at room temperature to mix with other ingredients easily. If cold butter is used, it will not produce a smooth or well-textured cake.
- Lemon zest: The oils from the zest combine with the sugar, creating a perfect lemon flavor.
- Half and Half Cream or Heavy Cream: Locks in moisture in the cake. Can substitute it with Sour cream.
- Eggs must be at room temperature to combine easily with butter and other wet ingredients.
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Adds flavor and taste.
- Salt: Neutralizes the sweetness and taste of the cake.
Check the recipe card for detailed measurements.
Recipe Tips
Use Room Temperature Ingredients: For a smooth, evenly mixed batter, ensure your eggs, butter, and any dairy (like yogurt or sour cream) are at room temperature. This helps create a light, fluffy loaf.
Carefully Zest the Lemon: avoid the bitter white pith when zesting your lemon. Use a microplane or fine grater for finely grated zest to ensure a smooth texture in the loaf.
Don't Overmix the Batter: Mix your wet and dry ingredients until combined. Overmixing can cause the loaf to be dense and tough instead of light and airy.
Check for Doneness: Ovens vary, so start checking your lemon loaf at around 50 minutes with a toothpick. It should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached, but not wet batter.
Let It Cool Before Glazing: Allow the loaf to cool completely before adding the lemon glaze. This prevents the glaze from melting into the cake, ensuring a shiny, perfect finish.
For Extra Lemon Flavor: If you love a burst of lemon, add a bit of lemon extract to the batter or mix some lemon zest into the glaze.
Use Fresh Lemon Juice: Use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor. Bottled lemon juice may have a different taste and can be less tangy.
Avoid Overbaking: Keep an eye on the loaf as it bakes to avoid dryness. If you notice the top getting too brown, cover it with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking.
Substitutions and Variations
Substitutions:
- Flour: Use gluten-free or almond flour for dietary needs.
- Sugar: Swap with coconut sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
- Butter: Use coconut oil or olive oil for dairy-free options.
- Eggs: Replace with flax/chia eggs or applesauce for vegan options.
- Dairy: Use non-dairy yogurt or make your buttermilk substitute.
- Glaze: Try a berry or orange glaze for a twist.
Variations:
- Lemon Poppy Seed: Add 1-2 tablespoon poppy seeds.
- Blueberry Lemon: Fold in 1 cup of blueberries with a bit of flour.
- Lemon Coconut: Add shredded coconut.
- Lemon Zucchini: Add 1 cup grated zucchini for moisture.
- Lemon Carrot: Incorporate ½ cup grated carrots.
Top Tip
Don’t Overmix the Batter! Overmixing can lead to a dense, tough loaf. Mix the wet and dry ingredients until just combined, and stop as soon as there are no visible streaks of flour. This ensures your lemon loaf will come light, fluffy, and perfectly textured.
Lemon Loaf Cake FAQs
Yes, you can! This lemon loaf actually tastes better the next day as the flavors have more time to meld. Store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate it for up to a week.
Yes, lemon loaf freezes well! Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then cover it with foil, or place it in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for a few hours before serving.
Absolutely! You can substitute lemon with citrus fruits like oranges, limes, or grapefruits. Just be sure to adjust the glaze to match the fruit you're using.
This can happen if the loaf is overbaked or the batter was not mixed thoroughly enough. Be sure to check the loaf’s doneness at the 50-minute mark, and mix the ingredients only until they are combined to avoid overworking the batter.
Yes, you can! If you prefer a less sweet loaf, you can skip the glaze or substitute it with a dusting of powdered sugar. The loaf will still be delicious without it.
A cake is lighter and fluffier, while a pound cake is dense, moist, and richer, using a pound of butter, sugar, and flour.
More Dessert Recipes to Try
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these lemon cake or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Easy and Moist Lemon Loaf Cake
Equipment
- Baking loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1½ cup All Purpose Flour
- 3 Large Eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Melted Butter
- 1 cup Half and Half Cream or sour cream, or heavy cream
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- Zest from 1 Whole Lemon
- 1½ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
For the Glaze
- 1 cup Powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon MIlk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5" baking pan and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add the eggs, sugar, cream, melted butter, and lemon juice, and mix using a hand whisk or electric whisk till well combined.
- Add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and lemon zest. Mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and tap on the working surface gently to release some air bubbles.
- Bake for 55 minutes, till the center is fully set or a toothpick inserted comes out clean or crumb free.
- Remove from oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan. Let it finish cooling on a wire rack.
- For the glaze. In a bowl or cup, mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk till well combines. Pour all over the cake while the cake is still warm.
- Let the glaze set or harden, then cut the cake and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Bilikis
Thans for the recipe ma
Lex
Any idea why mine overflowed all over the bottom of my oven? Followed directions word for word. Any help or ideas would be appreciated so that this doesn't happen again.
I think your baking pan was too small.
Shirley Rosser
Made it four times. First two were over beaten & not the best. Last two were smashing. Added blueberries. Tummy!
Marion Fehr
I tweaked a few things on this recipe and added 1/2 c of lemon juice. I also rubbed the lemon zest into the sugar and after it came out of the oven I poked holes in to loaf and made a runny icing using icing sugar and fresh lemon juice. My husband loves it as do my neighbours. Thank you for a easy recipe. MF
Danielle
The cake is very good and moist but it does not taste like lemon at all and have put all the zest from my big lemon. A bit desapointing
Sorry about that but too much juice will not be good
Karen
What a lovely lemon loaf.Good flavor and moist.This recipe is a keeper.
Bilikis
This looks so delicious.Thanks for the recipe ma
Devin
Hello, I am excited to make your lemon poundcake recipe. However, I watched your video and can you tell me what the two long white things were that you placed directly into the batter after pouring the batter into the pan? I’ve read your directions twice and I don’t see what those are or why they are used. I am excited to make this recipe, but I don’t want to mess it up. I am a good baker however I have tried a couple of recipes off of Pinterest that have been complete fails. I’m always sure to make sure that all of my ingredients are fresh And then I’m using the proper ingredients at the proper temperature and the proper prepared pans. I’m on a fixed income so I don’t like wasting money having to throw out cakes. Can you please just tell me what those two white things were that looks like fingers that you placed Directly on top of the batter
Hi, it just slices of butter for it to have a beautiful crack at the top. Its' optional and has nothing to do with the recipe. Just for aesthetics.
It is butter for it to have a beautiful crack at the top