Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf with Oil

In love with the sweet breads at your favorite coffee store? Seen this dessert on TikTok and want to bake it yourself? Make our copycat Starbucks lemon loaf with oil in the oven this weekend for breakfast with a creamy glaze.

Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf

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. The last time that I was there, I had free Starbucks stars so I tried their new lemon loaf.

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.

Lemon Loaf Ingredients

• 1.5 c all purpose four
• 1 c sugar
• Baking powder will help it rise
• A pinch of salt
• You want 1 lemon zest
• 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

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!  Why spend that much money per slice when I can easily create an entire loaf at home to enjoy? Plus I can add as much lemon glaze and zest as I want to treat my tastebuds. 

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! 

How do you know when cake in a loaf pan is done?

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.

If the toothpick that you insert comes out MOSTLY clean with some moist crumbs attached, (not dry) it’s time to remove from the oven as that’s the indicator that it’s done baking. However, if the toothpick still has batter on it, you need to leave it in the oven to cook longer. I would check every 2 minutes or so with the same toothpick method from that point on. 

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 Starbucks Lemon Drizzle Cake 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a 9×5″ loaf pan with non stick spray.
3. In a bowl whisk together all purpose flour and baking soda.
4. Then add sugar, salt and lemon zest and stir. Beat the oil, eggs, milk and lemon juice together in another bowl until combined.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients into this bowl mixing until incorporated well.
6. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean with some crumbs on it.
7. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes before carefully removing it and on to a wire rack to cool. Put a piece of parchment paper on to a cookie sheet and set wire rack on to this.
8. Make glaze by whisking together glaze ingredients. Then pour on to loaf allowing the excess to drip away to bottom.
9. Could add some almond slivers to wet icing if desired.

You can just opt to dust it with powder sugar if you’d rather. You can also take out some of the sweetness and not having any toppings at all. 

If you want to know how to half a recipe to make less, read this post. Tip: Spray your pan with non stick spray to clean a pot.

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