This lemon loaf cake with icing is the only lemon cake recipe that you'll need. It's buttery, moist, and bursting with fresh lemon flavor! Our readers agree that this iced lemon loaf tastes way better than the Starbucks lemon loaf!
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Why This Is The Best Lemon Cake Recipe
Because this is a success-guaranteed recipe, even one of our 11 years old readers have made it with huge success! I've tested this recipe many times to make sure you can't go wrong with it.
With this easy lemon loaf cake recipe, you'll have fresh lemon zest and juice in the lemon bread, which is then drizzled with lemon syrup and finally iced with lemon glaze. Bursting with lemon everywhere!
Imagine all the different layers of lemon flavor in one bite! Amazingly delicious!
This is not a copycat of Starbucks lemon loaf because this lemon drizzle cake tastes way better than Starbucks! I promise!
If you're obsessed with lemons, you must make my lemon meringue pie, almond lemon cake, lemon meringue cupcakes, and no-bake lemon cheesecake!
Ingredients For This Cake
Lemon - Use fresh lemon for both the zest and juice. I can't stress enough how fresh ones are a game-changer in highlighting the bright, tangy lemon flavor in this recipe. 3-4 fist-sized lemons should do it.
Baking powder - Although when using acidic ingredients like lemon juice and yogurt call for using baking soda, in this case, a huge no! It'll neutralize and water down the lemon flavor of this lemon loaf cake.
Greek yogurt - Use full fat. This is what's making our lemon pound loaf cake moist and tender. Full-fat sour cream works great also, like when I used it in my lemon almond cake.
*See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Mix dry ingredients. Mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
2. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl whisk butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a handheld whisk for 10 minutes. If using a standing mixer, cream for 4-6 minutes on medium-high speed with a paddle attachment.
3. Mix in eggs and lemon zest. Add the eggs one by one and make sure to mix well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract together with the first egg.
4. Alternate the dry ingredients with yogurt and lemon juice. Mix in half of the dry ingredients, followed by yogurt and lemon juice. Then add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix everything together.
5. Bake. Pour batter into a greased and lined 4.4x10-inch loaf pan (1-pound loaf pan). Bake at 350ºF for 60 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven.
6. Poke. While the lemon loaf cake is still hot, poke some holes all over it with a skewer.
7. Drizzle lemon syrup. Dissolve sugar with lemon juice by gently heating it in the microwave. Drizzle the lemon syrup all over the hot cake, making sure it gets into the holes. Leave the cake to cool completely in the pan.
8. Pour lemon icing. Mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice at a time with powdered sugar using a spatula. The lemon icing needs to be thick but still pourable.
Pour on the cake and spread evenly with the help of the back of a spoon. Leave for the icing to harden before slicing. Enjoy!
Recipe Expert Tips
- Use fresh lemons. For the zest and the juice! Store-bought lemon juice has lost its bright tangy lemon flavor. Trust me, go with fresh lemons, it's a game-changer like in my lemon blueberry cake. Delicious!
- Not expired baking powder. Check for its expiry date. It happened to me so I'm giving you a heads-up! Even if you do everything 100% correctly, your cake will not rise as much and will sink in the middle if the baking powder is expired.
- Don't over-mix. Once adding the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, make sure to never over-mix the batter. This will produce the softest and fluffiest lemon loaf cake ever!
- Gradually add lemon juice for the icing. Don't add the lemon juice all at once. The lemon icing need to be thick but still pourable. Too much lemon juice will make the icing look transparent.
- It tastes better the next day! Yes, it's true! So if you like to do things in advance like me, then make this lemon loaf cake with icing a day before serving it.
Variation Ideas For This Cake
- Omit the icing. The cake alone is already delicious with amazing lemon flavor. The icing is the cherry on top, and although I highly recommend it, it's okay if you want to omit it.
- Use other citruses. Lime, orange, mandarin, or even grapefruit works great for this recipe.
- Make lemon coconut cake. Add a subtle touch of coconut by folding in ¼ to ⅓ cup of desiccated coconut at the end. Oh wow!
- Make lemon poppy seed cake. Add texture by folding in 2-3 tablespoon of poppy seeds at the end.
- Make lemon cupcakes. You'll get around 12-15 cupcakes. Bake for 20 minutes. Use cupcake liners to remove them easily from the pan.
How To Store And Freeze
Store - In an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Freeze - Wrap the cooled cake that has been infused with lemon syrup with a cling film. Freeze in an air-tight container for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the fridge and then bring it to room temperature. Only then make the lemon icing and pour it on top.
Another delightful dessert that freezes great is my layered carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and the tarts in my healthy lemon tarts. They're out of this world delicious and easy to make!
Recipe FAQs
The lemon loaf is like a lemon pound cake that's made from butter, sugar, eggs, all-purpose flour, and my addition, yogurt (makes the cake super tender and moist!). It's then infused with lemon syrup and then poured with lemon icing.
If you follow the instructions and didn't change a thing, then the culprit has to be that your baking powder has expired. It happened to me!
If it's not expired, your oven temperature was too high. Use a portable oven thermometer to get an accurate temperature.
Or you've opened the oven door during baking time. No opening the door before 45 minutes of baking time.
Adding Greek yogurt! You'll get super moist cake without even trying. Sour cream works great too.
Absolutely! Freeze it without the icing. Wrap the lemon loaf cake that has been infused with lemon syrup with cling film in an air-tight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge, bring to room temperature, and then glaze it.
Absolutely! Just make sure to use full-fat sour cream
More Lemon Recipes
If you tried this Lemon Loaf Cake with Icing or any other recipe on our website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the comments below!
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Lemon Loaf Cake With Icing
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Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup (195 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter , softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs , room temperature
- ½ cup (125 g) plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Lemon Syrup
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar , sifted
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF using top and bottom heat, without the fan. Butter and line the loaf pan. You can use a 1-pound loaf pan, a 9x5-inch loaf pan, or a 4.4x10-inch loaf pan (the one that I'm using).
Dry Ingredients
- Mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl using a spoon. Set aside.
Wet Ingredients
- Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, using a handheld whisk for 10 minutes. If using a standing mixer, whisk for 4-6 minutes on medium-high speed using the paddle attachment.
- Whisk in vanilla extract, lemon zest, and 1 egg. Then add the rest of the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition.
- Add half of the dry ingredients on low speed, mixing just to combine from this stage onwards. Whisk in yogurt and lemon juice and then finally, the rest of the flour.
Bake
- Pour batter into the pan and spread it evenly. Bake for 60 minutes on the lower ⅔ rack until it's fully cooked or a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Once cooked, remove it from the oven and immediately prepare the lemon syrup.
Lemon Syrup
- Add sugar and lemon juice into a bowl. Heat gently in microwave until sugar is dissolved.
- Poke holes all over the cake using a skewer. While the cake is still hot, pour the lemon syrup on top and brush evenly. Leave the cake to cool completely in the pan. Once it's cooled, transfer it to a serving plate.
Lemon Icing
- Mix powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a bowl using a spatula. Gradually add more lemon juice until you get a thick icing but still pourable. Too much lemon juice will make the icing transparent.
- Pour the icing on the cake and spread it evenly using a spatula. Let the icing hardens before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use the spoon and level method if using cup measurements. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale as it's more precise.
- Use a portable oven thermometer to get the accurate oven temperature. I use it every time I bake.
Nutrition Facts
The nutrition facts provided are an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Arthurina Rosario says
So it's my first time ever cooking a loaf cake from scratch. I was extremely delicious! I made it for my daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. Everyone loved it! I did make a few adjustments we live in Colorado Springs so I added an extra 1/4 of flour to the recipe because of the elevation. I didn't have any baking powder so I use to tablespoons of 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to substitute and I also use sour cream because I didn't have Greek yogurt. Thank you for the recipe 😀!
Bea & Marco says
Hi, Arthurina! We're happy to hear that your family is loving the cake! We really recommend using baking powder next time you plan to bake this, as baking soda eliminates the tanginess, and if you already love it now, we guarantee that you're going to love it even more! Thank you for leaving your feedback, and sorry for the late reply, as we've recently moved house and are still figuring things out!
Wendy Cairns says
Great recipe which came out perfectly. Very clear instructions. Thank you
Bea & Marco says
Hi Wendy! So happy to know you liked it and found it helpful. Thanks you for your message!
Mae says
I tried so many recipes for this lemon loaf... But this one is the most successful so far... I ended up selling it.. The best seller.
Thank u for sharing this recipe ❤️
Bea & Marco says
We're happy that you loved it, thanks for leaving your feedback, Mae!
Lisa says
This cake has a wonderful fresh lemon flavor. I baked it in a 9x5 pan, weighed the ingredients, checked my baking powder, but it didn’t come out looking like yours. It’s flat. I so want a domed loaf- like a slice of bread. Should I try the reverse creaming method? Could it be that I do not have a paddle for mixer, only the metal whisk? Should I use a smaller pan? I’m not giving up because it’s so tasty.
Bea & Marco says
Hi, Lisa! Sorry to hear that. If you weighed everything and didn't change anything, then it has to be the baking powder. It happened to us when we re-shoot the photos for this recipe. The cake was not domed, and it even sunk in the middle. The baking powder that we used had 2 months still before its expiry date (we bought a container of 1 kg, so we've been using it for quite a while). Check the expiry date again and buy new baking powder in small quantity. Another thing you could check is the temperature (as each oven is different). Use a portable oven thermometer to get the accurate temperature (I've linked it in the recipe card). I've used handheld mixer with no problem, so it's not about not using a paddle attachment. There's no need for reverse creaming method. Hope it helps, and do give it another go. Let me know how it goes!
Lisa says
Thank you for your reply concerning the pan sizes. Just one more question: In one area of your recipe the baking temperature is 320 degrees F for 60 mins. Then you said 350 degrees F for 60 mins. I will be using a 9x5 pan, and I cannot dial up 320 for my old oven. I can - 325 and 350. What do you recommend?
Bea & Marco says
No problem, Lisa! It's 350 F as in the recipe card. I've updated the post, thanks for the heads up. Hope it helps!
Lisa says
I would like to make your recipe but I can’t find your loaf pan 4.4x10. Where can I purchase? Who makes it? Thank you
Bea & Marco says
Hi Lisa! I've updated the links to the loaf pans that you can use in the recipe. Hope it helps!
Antonella says
I wish I could give more stars to this amazing recipe. By far, best lemon cake ever. I've recommended it to my friends and everyone loves it. Thanks for sharing it 🙂
Antonella says
This is, by far, the best lemon cake I've ever tried. Measurements are perfect. And yes, lots of sugar but it's all needed. I tried to skip the icing; and after I tried with the icing, I couldn't go back. The whole thing is amazing. Congratulations on this recipe 😀
Jane says
Your recipe is the best that I have tried so far!
10/10 for sure! Thanks for sharing. God bless!!