This gorgeous lemon loaf cake is loaded with bright and zingy lemon flavour and it’s so easy to make. The texture is amazingly soft, fluffy and it stays moist for days!
The batter comes together in literally 10 minutes, then you just need to be patient while it bakes. With that lemon aroma wafting around your kitchen, you’ll be ready for a cuppa and a slice of lemon cake soon after.
If you want to go the extra mile, add a good drizzle of lemon syrup while the cake is still warm. It’s even better than the Starbucks lemon loaf cake. Even without the lemon syrup though, this cake stays beautifully tender and so delicious for days!
Gluten free friends, you love this flourless lemon cake.
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Ingredients notes
The ingredients list for this lemon loaf cake recipe is short and sweet. Just the right combination of everything gives this cake a glorious texture.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Plain flour, aka all-purpose flour.
- White granulated sugar is fine here, though I tend to always use caster sugar (superfine sugar).
- Unsalted butter and oil combine to give this cake flavour and moisture.
- Buttermilk adds a slight tang but also keeps the cake tender. You can swap this for sour cream, let down with just a little regular milk.
- Baking powder is used for lift.
- Eggs – I always use large eggs in baking.
- Lemons, 3-4 of them, give loads of lemon flavor. Don’t skip the zest in the batter, it’s vital. And don’t use bottled lemon juice – it just does not have the flavour of fresh lemon juice.
- Icing sugar, aka powdered sugar, is used in the 2 ingredient lemon icing.
- Vanilla extract adds a certain balance and warmth to the flavour of the cake.
How to make lemon loaf cake
It’s dangerously easy to make this cake in that you’ll want to just make it over and over again for all the lemon lovers in your life.
- The batter comes together quickly in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer (you can use a stand mixer if you like but it’s not necessary).
- The icing is simply mixing lemon juice into icing sugar and it’s ready.
- And if you do choose to do the lemon syrup, that’s only 2 ingredients as well and can be made ahead of time.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Make the lemon sugar
Zest your lemons until you have 2 ½ tablespoons of lemon zest. A microplane does a great job of zesting citrus fruits without getting the white pith, and makes light work of the job too. Blend that zest and the sugar together in a mixing bowl until it’s fragrant and looks like wet sand.
2. Turn it into lemon cake batter
Add butter and oil and mix on high until it’s very light and creamy.
Beat the eggs into the butter and sugar mixture.
Alternate adding in the flour mixture and the remaining wet ingredients until you have a smooth batter. Don’t overmix it.
Transfer the lemon loaf cake batter to a lined loaf pan and bake for 48-55 minutes. If you choose to add the lemon syrup (I generally don’t worry but it can make it extra moist and lemony), brush that on while the cake is still warm.
3. The lemon icing
Don’t skip the lemon icing. While the cake is lemony on it’s own, it’s taken to new heights with that lemon glaze. It also adds an important sweetness to the cake. Once the cake has cooled, mix together the icing sugar with just enough lemon juice to make the icing run thickly onto the cake and slowly dribble down the sides – not so thin that it just runs straight off the top.
Tips and tricks
- Weigh the flour: This is so important if you want the cake to turn out perfect and not be dry. Just a little too much flour can make a cake dry. If you don’t own one, grab yourself a kitchen scale – they last a lifetime.
- Don’t use bottled lemon juice – it does not have the flavour of fresh lemons.
- Don’t skip the lemon zest – it’s vital to the intense lemon flavour in this cake.
- Don’t overmix the cake batter as this can lead to a dry cake too.
- Don’t skip the lemon glaze – it adds essential sweetness and tang. And don’t add the glaze/icing until the cake is at least at room temperature.
- Don’t make the icing too runny: You want it to be sugar cookie icing consistency where it settles into itself in about 10 seconds. If it’s too runny it will just run straight off your cake.
- Fun flavour variation: Swap the lemon juice and lemon zest for the juice and zest of limes or oranges!
Storage
This lemon loaf cake keeps beautifully in a good airtight container for 4-5 days. You can freeze the cake as well, either whole or in slices.
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Ingredients
- 260 g plain flour (all purp flour) (2 cups / ~9oz)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup white granulated sugar (200g / 7oz)
- 2 ½ tablespoons lemon zest , not packed (3-4 medium lemons), (notes 1)
- 85 g unsalted butter softened (⅓ cup / 3oz)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (60ml)
- 3 large eggs room temp
- ½ cup buttermilk (125ml)
- ¼ cup lemon juice (60ml)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 2 tablespoons lemon syrup , optional, (notes 1&2)
THE ICING
- 1 ½ cups icing sugar (195g / ~7oz)
- 1 ½-2 tablespoons lemon juice (notes 1)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Medium mixing bowl
- 23×12.5cm / 9×5 inch loaf pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F. Grease and line a 23×12.5cm / 9×5 inch loaf pan (top measurement) with baking paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and sea salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer (paddle attachment) blend the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until it looks like wet sand.
- Add the butter and oil and beat until lightened and creamy.
- Add the eggs and beat on low-medium until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add ⅓ of the flour mixture and use a spatula to mix gently until just combined.
- In a small jug, combine the buttermilk, lemon juice and vanilla then pour half of the mixture into the cake batter. Stir until just mixed in.
- Now, add the remaining dry ingredients and wet ingredients in 3 parts – flour, buttermilk, flour – mixing very gently each time until just combined.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 48-55 minutes until a toothpick comes out with just a crumb or two attached.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then use the baking paper to gently lift the cake out and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Optional: If you want to add the lemon syrup, while the cake is still warm, poke just a few holes over the top with a toothpick, then brush over 2 tablespoons of lemon simple syrup.
- Once the cake has cooled, combine the icing sugar and half the lemon juice, then add more lemon juice a little at a time until you have an icing that settles into itself in about 10 seconds. This consistency will ensure it doesn’t just run off the cake but gives a nice thick coating on top that gradually settles and drips down the sides.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Lemon syrup: You can make a half or even quarter batch of the lemon syrup to have enough for this recipe but if you make a full batch, it keeps well in the fridge and is great for cocktails and cakes or thicken it up to pour over pancakes and desserts.
- For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- All ovens vary – test for doneness 5-6 minutes before the recipe suggests.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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4 Comments on “Lemon Loaf Cake”
Can this be baked in an eight by eight cake tin?
Yes it could but as I haven’t tested it, I couldn’t say exactly how long for. It will be thinner, so check it around the 20 minute mark and judge from there.
Made this today. Turned out really good. Soft & delicious
So happy you love it, Misriya. Thanks so much for dropping back to leave a review.