Lemon Loaf Recipe

Simple lemon loaf recipe with oil in the oven is like a Starbucks copycat for breakfast with a creamy glaze. In love with the sweet breads at your favorite coffee store? Bake one for yourself.

Starbucks Lemon Loaf recipe

I’ll be the first one to admit that I pretty much love everything on the menu at Starbucks. They just know how to make a recipe and make it delicious.

I knew without a doubt that I had to find out how to make this at home myself. Just like their Starbucks gingerbread loaf, and Starbucks pumpkin scones sometimes this can be seasonal. BUT now I could enjoy it year round with this recipe on hand.

Ingredients

• 1.5 c all purpose four is the base of your dry ingredients
• 1 c sugar, white granulated to make sweet
• Baking powder will help it rise
• A pinch of salt actually enhances the sweetness
• You want 1 lemon zest, but optional for more zing
• A bit of fresh lemon juice is better than bottled
• Vegetable oil won’t alter the flavor of the bread
• Whole milk is best to make it as tender and moist as possible
• 2 eggs should be added at room temperature

Powdered Sugar Lemon Glaze

• 1 c powdered sugar
• 1 lemon zested
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lime juice

The basic concept of baking a sweet bread loaf isn’t hard. It’s finding that perfect combination of the wet ingredients and the flour, baking powder, and other dry ingredients to create that moist and delicious texture. Luckily, with enough practice, I found the desired consistency that made this loaf cake recipe a true success. 

What I love about this simple copycat recipe is that it really does taste like the real deal. I also love that it’s saving me about $4 every time I’m craving a slice because my cravings really add up!  Just like their snowball cookies in the holiday months, we make them all ourselves. 

Tips

All my years of baking have taught me a few basic tips that I’m going to share with you. No matter what you’re making, the majority of these will help you get the best result.

• #1 is to measure flour properly! Aerating will allow it to be fluffy and less dense, just the way you want it.
• If you’re worried about your cake or bread recipes being too dry, a spoonful of sour cream or Greek pressure cooker yogurt can help.
  • The addition of the fat content from either will bring about a moisture content to your recipe that you’ll love. I prefer to use plain greek but I’ve used flavored before and it was fine as well. 
• Make certain that you preheat oven always when baking. This is a step that you don’t need to rush or skip as recipes are written to be created at an optimal temperature. 
• Cooling on a wire rack once removed from the pan will make certain that it doesn’t keep baking in the pan.
  • People tend to think that once it’s taken out of the oven it’s done but it will continue to cook in the pan due to the residual heat. 

Can you use lime juice instead of lemon?

If you happen to not have lemon juice on hand after you’ve already started creating this recipe, you can use lime juice as well. You might notice a bit of a taste difference but overall. Half and half is a nice touch too but honestly either will add the bit of tang and sour you are looking for.

One of the biggest reasons that I’m a fan of this copycat bread recipe is because I love the addition of the lemon zest and lemon juice. For me, the more citrus flavor the better. 

It will still have the same flavor and outcome. Who knows – you might create a lime bread recipe that Starbucks will then want to copy from you! 

One of the biggest things that you want to keep in mind is that you don’t want to overcook this. There are a few things that you can do to prevent this from happening. For me, the best way to ensure that I’m not overbaking recipes or baked goods is to have a toothpick inserted once the timer goes off.

Keep in mind that this lemon loaf recipe is packed full of bold flavors. I’ve also made this pineapple angel food cake without adding on any type of glaze or frosting.

The next time that you’re wanting to create a copycat recipe that you’re certain to love, give this Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf a try. It’s certain to be one of those dessert flavors that keep you coming back for “just one more piece”.  Want another yummy idea? Try our root beer cake, Bisquick muffins or lemon poppyseed cake here too!

How to Make Lemon Loaf

1. Preheat oven and then you want to spray loaf pan with non stick spray.
2. Whisk together all purpose flour and baking soda and then add sugar, salt and lemon zest and stir.
3. Beat the wet ingredients in another bowl until combined, incorporate well.
4. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean with some crumbs on it.
5. Allow to cool in pan for a few minutes before transferring on to a wire rack to cool.
6. Make glaze, then pour on to loaf allowing the excess to drip away to bottom.