This lemon loaf cake is soft, velvety, super moist and is bursting with lemon flavour. Best part is, it’s super easy to make! A soft lemon loaf is coated with a lemon syrup and topped with a thick lemon glaze – YUM!
How to Make Lemon Loaf
This lemon loaf has three elements, which are all super easy to make (I promise!). You start off with your lemon loaf, then lemon syrup which you brush all over your lemon loaf once it’s done (don’t skip it – it really takes the loaf to the next level!). Finally, you finish off with a wonderful lemon glaze.
A lemon loaf is basically a cake in loaf form, but a little more sturdy. For a wonderful soft layer cake, check out my soft lemon cake and lemon cupcakes.
Lemon Loaf
For the lemon loaf, you want to start off by preheating your oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 1 on recipe card at the end of the blog post if you don’t have a fan function) and line an 8.5×4.5inch loaf tin (I like to lightly grease the tin before lining it so that the baking paper sticks better).
If your loaf tin is slightly smaller than mine, then you may have a little too much batter. If you do, then you can use any left over batter to make some muffins 🙂
Next in a bowl sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside for now.
Next, in a small bowl combine warm milk and lemon juice. Mix until well combined and then set aside for now. It will start to curdle, which is normal.
In a large bowl cream together the butter, vegetable oil, sugar and lemon zest for 2 minutes until it’s light and fluffy.
Next add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between each addition.
Next add in half of the milk/lemon juice mixture from earlier and mix until well combined. Once combined, take any remaining batter off of your mixer attachment/s and set aside as the rest of the mixing will be done by hand.
Next add in half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the remaining milk/lemon juice mixture, and fold that in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 2).
Pour the batter into the loaf tin, evenly spread it out and then bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer or butter knife comes out clean.
Once baked, allow it to cool for 15 minutes in the loaf tin, and in the meantime prepare the lemon syrup.
Lemon Syrup
In a small saucepan combine sugar and lemon juice. Heat over a medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once done take it off the heat.
After 15 minutes, take the lemon loaf out of the loaf tin and place it on a tray. Cover the entire cake in the lemon syrup, including the bottom. Be gentle when moving the lemon loaf as it will still be warm at this stage and you don’t want it to break. See video demonstration below for how I cover my loaf in the syrup to prevent it from breaking.
Once coated in the syrup, let the lemon loaf completely cool. Once cooled make the lemon glaze.
Lemon Glaze
In a small bowl combine the icing sugar and lemon juice. Mix until well combined and you have a thick glaze consistency (see note 3 on recipe card below for different consistencies).
Once the lemon loaf has cooled, spread the lemon glaze over the top and top with more lemon zest (optional – the lemon zest is for decoration purposes).
And that is it! Enjoy 🙂
Easy Moist Lemon Loaf
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Lemon Loaf
- 1¾ cups (210 g) all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp (14 g) cornstarch - also known as cornflour in some countries
- 1½ tsps baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- ½ cup (120 g) warm milk - full fat milk
- 3 tbsp (42 g) lemon juice - freshly squeezed
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 2 tbsp (26 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- 1 cup (200 g) white granulated sugar
- 1½ tbsp lemon zest - about the zest of 1 and 1/2 medium sized lemons
- 3 large eggs - room temperature, size 7
Lemon Syrup
- ¼ cup (50 g) white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) lemon juice - freshly squeezed
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup (125 g) icing sugar - also known as powdered or confectioners sugar
- 1½ tbsp (21 g) lemon juice - freshly squeezed
- 1 tbsp lemon zest for decorating the top - OPTIONAL
Instructions
Lemon Loaf
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 1 if you don't have a fan function) and line an 8.5x4.5inch loaf tin (I like to lightly grease the tin before lining it so that the baking paper sticks better).
- In a bowl sift together your flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside for now.
- In a small bowl combine the warm milk and lemon juice. Mix until well combined and then set aside for now. It will start to curdle, which is normal.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter, vegetable oil, sugar and lemon zest for 2 minutes until it's light and fluffy.
- Next add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between each addition.
- Next add in half of the milk/lemon juice mixture from earlier and mix until well combined. Once combined, take any remaining batter off of your mixer attachment/s and set aside as the rest of the mixing will be done by hand.
- Next add in half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the remaining milk/lemon juice mixture, and fold that in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 2).
- Pour the batter into the loaf tin, evenly spread it out and then bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer or butter knife comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow it to cool for 15 minutes in the loaf tin, and in the meantime prepare the lemon syrup.
Lemon Syrup
- In a small saucepan combine the sugar and lemon juice. Heat over a medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once done take it off the heat.
- After 15 minutes, take the lemon loaf out of the loaf tin and place it on a tray. Cover the entire cake in the lemon syrup, including the bottom. Be gentle when moving the lemon loaf as it will still be warm at this stage and you don't want it to break. See video demonstration for how I cover my loaf in the syrup to prevent it from breaking. It may seem like a lot of syrup but be sure to use it all up!
- Once coated in the syrup, let the lemon loaf completely cool. Once cooled make the lemon glaze.
Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl combine the icing sugar and lemon juice. Mix until well combined and you have a thick glaze consistency (see note 3 for different consistencies).
- Once the lemon loaf has cooled, spread the lemon glaze over the top and top with more lemon zest (optional - the lemon zest is for decoration purposes).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
179 Comments
Made this 5x already and not planning to stop anytime soon. Everyone has loved it. Thank you for a great recipe.
Aww yay! So glad you’re loving the recipe Nikki 😀 really appreciate the wonderful feedback 🙂
Maryam, pistachio cake Steffi here again.
Omg this was so so good. I made it for church for the first time without trying beforehand. I was questioning the wisdom of using ALL the lemon syrup, but “in Maryam, we trust”. Also, a large crowd is the best guinea pigs right? HAHAH. We had so much other food available for breakfast, but this lemon loaf ran out within 30 mins. People were giving me the thumbs up for this.
Thank you so much! This was very lovely and made so many people smile.
Steffi, it’s always so wonderful reading your comments! 😀
I’m so so happy to hear everyone loved the lemon loaf – sounds like you did an incredible job with it! Haha your unwavering trust in me makes me feel so special!
As always, really appreciate the wonderful feedback 🙂
Could i add dedicated coconut to this recipe if so when and how much
Hi Diane! I haven’t tried that myself, but I don’t see why not! 🙂 I would fold the coconut in at the end with a spatula, and maybe about 1/2 a cup or so. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Thank you so much for the recipe. I just made it and it tastes incredible!! 😍
Yay! So glad you loved the lemon loaf Julie 😀
Hi MK, thank you for sharing your recipes. I’m excited to try it! How far ahead can we make this cake? Would it last 2 days? Is it best to store it in the fridge or counter? Can we make elements of the recipe ahead of time and bake/assemble on the day? Thank you again, so glad I found your website!
Hi Emma! 🙂 Yes the loaf will last for up to a week or so, but for best make ahead results, I would recommend making the loaf the day before hand, storing at room temp in an airtight container and then making the glaze the day of. Only pop into the fridge (while in an airtight contianer) after a few days if there are any leftovers 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Absolutely delicious! The texture is perfect and the taste is amazing. Really looking forward to making mini versions for a fancy afternoon tea.
Aww yay! So so happy to hear you loved the lemon loaf 😀 its one of my fav recipes 🙂
MK Give thanks for sharing your recipe. I combined the lemon blueberry cake recipe with the lemon loaf, creating a lemon blueberry loaf cake. It was a delicious, melt-in-your mouth, lick my lips, serve me more, can’t stop eating kinda taste. Thank you so much! I have made it several times since and shared with coworkers.
Haha that sounds deeeelicious Irene!! So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe and the addition of blueberries sounds so good 😀
Really appreciate the feedback 🙂
Hello mk can I replace the milk/lemon juice with buttermilk?
Tks ms Trinidad and Tobago .❤️
Hi Gyatree! 🙂 For this recipe, the lemon juice is super important for that rich lemon flavor, so I would recommend keeping it in 🙂
Hope that helps and much love from NZ to Trinidad and Tobago 😀
Hi how can I make a more opaque lemon drizzle ?
Hi MK, about to make this and I wanted to ask, can I add blueberries this and if I can, how much can I add please?
Hi Shorna! 🙂 I haven’t tried adding blueberries to this recipe myself, so I’m not too sure if it will affect the rise of the loaf, though my gut feeling is that it will work fine. Just coat the berries in flour to prevent them from sinking. In terms of quantity, about 1 cup of blueberries should work well 🙂
Would love to hear how you went if you decided to try it out 😀
Hi MK, thank you for replying; I did add the blueberry (1 cup). It was divine. Thank you for also recommending using the flour to prevent sinking. The entire loaf was gone in one sitting. With my friends asking why I only made one :). Thank you for always sharing your delicious recipes. I will be trying the tre leches cake next!!! I have a very stressful job and baking for family and friends is my happy place. Thank you 🙂
Aww yay! So so happy to hear it all turned out wonderfully Shorna 😀
You’re so welcome, I am so happy I am able to bring a bit of joy into peoples lives. Comments like yours make it all worth it 😀