Starbucks lemon loaf has always been a favorite of mine. But in this economy…sheeeeesh…I needed to figure out how to make it at home! So here is a moist, tender, tangy, sweet loaf that’ll make you think of summertime all year round. I think if you can put something in a loaf you should! Who doesn’t love their favorite desserts in a perfect slice? Especially during citrus season when you can get perfectly ripe lemons to make this gorgeous yellow loaf. Not to mention the icing on top. It’s equally sweet and zesty and the perfect touch on top of the lemon loaf.

The key to this super moist lemon loaf is using a combination of melted butter, sour cream, and milk. Those ingredients make the loaf dense, but not too dense and keeps it from coming out dry. Sometimes I find the taste of powdered sugar to be overpowering in an icing so I like to use both juice and a little lemon zest here to balance out the super sweet sugar with the sour, tangy, lemon. When baking this loaf it’s important to watch it so that it doesn’t overcook and become brick like. You’ll want to pull it out of the oven right when it starts to turn golden and a knife inserted comes out mostly, but not totally, clean. It’ll continue baking out of the oven so you want to pull it out while it’s still slightly under done. Let it cool completely before icing it so the icing doesn’t melt. I store it in either an air tight container or wrapped in plastic in the fridge so it doesn’t dry out. I prefer the fridge because I think this treat tastes extra tasty when it’s cold. This lemon loaf is one of my all time favorite treats and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Iced Lemon Loaf

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 35-40 minutes | Total Time: 55-60 minutes

Ingredients

1 Cup Granulated Sugar
Zest Of 2 Large Lemons
2.5tbsp Of Lemon Juice
1 Stick Butter Melted
2 Eggs Room Temperature
1.5tsp Vanilla
1/4 Sour Cream
1/4 Whole Milk
1 1/2 Cup Flour
2tsp Baking Powder
1 Pinch Kosher Salt

Icing

2 Cup Powdered Sugar Sifted
1.5tbsp Lemon Juice
1tsp Lemon Zest
1tbsp Melted Butter
2tbsp Milk
1tsp Vanilla
1 Pinch Salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan with cooking spray or butter.
In a small mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine sugar and lemon zest. Rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers to release the oil from the zest.
Add the melted butter to the sugar and stir well then add in vanilla and eggs one at a time sirring well in between each.
Add in milk, sour cream, and lemon juice. Stir well and make sure to remove any lumps from the sour cream.
Add in flour mixture and stir until smooth. Don't over mix or the loaf will come out tough.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until loaf just turns golden and a knife inserted comes out mostly, but not completely, clean. If making mini loaves reduce cook time to 23-25 minutes.
To prepare the icing combine sifted powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest, melted butter, milk, vanilla, and salt. Icing should be a thick but pourable consistency. If it is too thick continue adding milk by the teaspoon until it reaches desired consistency.
Allow loaf to cool completely before icing.
Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

Lemons- Use large fresh lemons. Prior to zesting and cutting roll the lemons firmly on the counter to release the juice.
Mixing- I like to mix the lemon loaf batter by hand with a rubber spatula to avoid over mixing, but you can also use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer. You may need to briefly use a whisk to remove lumps that may occur from the sour cream.
Icing- I don’t like my icing too sweet so I add both lemon zest and juice, but if you like it more sweet and less lemony feel free to reduce the amount of lemon added.
Baking- It’s important to keep on eye on the loaf so that it doesn’t over bake and end up like a lemon brick. It’s also important to wait until the loaf is completely cool before icing so that the icing doesn’t melt.

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