This moist lemon loaf cake is the absolute best! It's super quick and easy to make, bursting with lemon flavour and it's soft and fluffy too.
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
- microplane
- Medium mixing bowl
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- 23x12.5cm / 9x5 inch loaf pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F. Grease and line a 23x12.5cm / 9x5 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.
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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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Nutrition information is approximate only and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use and any changes you make may cause variations.
