Go Back
+ servings
Slices of cake on a wooden cutting board.
Print Recipe
5 from 43 votes

Lemon Loaf Cake With Icing

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!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Servings: 12
Author: Bea & Marco

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs , room temperature
  • ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice

Lemon Syrup

  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice

Lemon Icing

  • 1 cup powdered sugar , sifted
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

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

  1. Use the spoon and level method if using cup measurements. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale as it's more precise.
  2. Use a portable oven thermometer to get the accurate oven temperature. I use it every time I bake.

Nutrition

Calories: 282.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 46.4g | Protein: 4.1g | Fat: 9.4g | Saturated Fat: 5.5g | Cholesterol: 62.8mg | Sodium: 190.8mg | Potassium: 58.4mg | Fiber: 0.6g | Sugar: 33g | Calcium: 62.8mg | Iron: 1.1mg