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This is a quick and easy lemon quick bread that is moist and intensely flavorful. This lemon loaf is perfect for breakfast, brunch, a snack, or as a dessert.
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I love having a fresh lemon loaf in the oven when family or friends visit. The way it makes my house smell, the feelings of welcoming comfort it provides, and the decadent, moist bite of deliciousness that bursts in their mouths with fresh lemon goodness. What could welcome them more than that?
If you read my blog, you know that I love anything made with lemon, both sweet and savory.
One of my obsessions was the lemon loaf at Starbucks. It is ridiculously good. Moist, lemony, and just sweet enough. It was my normal routine to order a venti coffee and a slice of their wonderful lemon loaf.
Then I did the math and instantly knew that I had to make this treat at home. $70 plus a month on breakfast is ridiculous!
My adventure into the perfect lemon loaf was long and interesting. Some recipes that I tried just did not have enough lemon flavor or was too dependent on lemon flavoring.
Another recipe that I tried had a heavy, pound cake-like consistency, that while delicious, was too heavy for a morning treat.
After many trial and errors, I came up with this recipe that I think is a perfectly lovely, lemony, moist treat.
Using cake flour instead of all purpose flour makes this loaf super tender, with a fine crumb. The cake flour also helps the loaf rise beautifully.
Using full fat lemon greek yogurt adds a beautiful tanginess to the loaf and another layer of lemon flavor. The fat in the Greek yogurt helps to keep the loaf moist.
I wanted to hit every taste bud in my mouth with lemon flavor in every bite. TO achieve this, I used freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon extract in the batter. Then just to kick up that lemon flavor a bit, I poured a lemon simple syrup over the hot loaf before glazing it with a creamy lemon glaze. Layer upon layer of lemony deliciousness.
Finally, using vanilla seems to enhance the lemon flavor and balances our the acidic nature of the fresh lemon juice and zest. It rounds out and balances the sweet and acidic notes in a delicious, creamy, sweet way. You could leave it out, but why would you?
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SUPER MOIST LEMON LOAF
Description
A moist and delicious lemon loaf recipe that is an easy quick bread recipe full of intense lemon flavor.
Ingredients
For The Loaf:
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup full fat lemon flavored Greek Yogurt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For The Lemon Syrup:
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
For the Lemon Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon and vanilla extracts until smooth and creamy.
- Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, stir together the juice of 1 lemon and the powdered sugar.
- After 10 minutes, carefully invert the loaf onto a cooling rack.
- Brush the lemon simple syrup onto the warm loaf. Repeat until the syrup is gone.
- Allow the loaf to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice and heavy cream until smooth. Pour over the cooled loaf.
- Allow the glaze to dry for at least one hour before cutting into slices.
Notes
This lemon loaf freezes beautifully.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Serves 8
Wanting a few more dessert recipes? GIve these recipes a try:
- Millie’s Old Fashioned Lemon Bars
- Individual Cream Cheese Pound Cakes
- Creamy Matcha Lychee Ice Cream
