Soft and Moist Lemon Loaf
It's almost April. And it's already spring. I'm so confused. Wasn't it just New Year's???
To bid farewell to the cold and dreary winter and hail in the sure to be warm and bright and birds-chirping-sun-shining-flowers-blooming spring, how about a dessert that's cheery and bright and springy?
Like a lemon loaf.
Lemon loaves are cheery and bright. Because lemon loaves are yellow. Cuz they have lots of lemons in them. And lemons are yellow. Which makes the loaf yellow. And yellow equals cheery and bright. So a lemon loaf, which is yellow because it contains lemons, and is consequently cheery and bright, is really the perfect spring dessert.
Especially this lemon loaf. This soft and moist lemon loaf. This Starbucks copycat lemon loaf. This perfect lemon loaf.
I love lemon desserts. The many recipes on the blog containing lemon in them will corroborate this fact. Here's some of the evidence: this lemon meringue pie, these lemon poppy seed cookies, these lemon poppy seed baked donuts, and this lemon cheesecake. To name a few.
And now I present this lemon loaf to add to my considerable lemon dessert list. I'd put this loaf somewhere near the top of the list. Because lemon loaves don't get much better than this.
Or easier. Lemon loaves don't get much easier than this one. Or quicker.
You have a bowl? You have a spatula? You have an arm? You have flour, sugar, sour cream/yogurt, lemons, and some other basic ingredients? You have a loaf pan? You have an oven? Great, you have a lemon loaf.
And you probably don't even need the loaf pan. I never tried it, but I'm sure this lemon loaf recipe would work well in a 9" round pan too.
I've tried out many lemon loaves before this one. But once I tried out this recipe, I stopped trying out any more.
This lemon loaf is soft. And moist. And tender. And light. But packed with lemon flavor. And drizzled with a simple lemon glaze.
Let's get back to the lemon flavor. I don't kid around when it comes to my lemon flavor. If I'm making a lemon loaf, you best believe it's going to taste like a lemon loaf. And not a vanilla loaf with a hint of lemon flavor.
This lemon loaf is bursting with fresh lemon taste. I put every type of lemon flavor in there. Lemon juice? Check. Lemon zest? Check. Lemon extract? Check.
As for the lemon glaze, don't skip it. It really enhances the loaf. The loaf's appearance, that is. But also the loaf's taste.
You can choose to lightly trickle the loaf with the glaze, go generous on the drizzles, or douse the whole top with it. I approve of all three.
I chose the second option. And once I was done taking the photos of the loaf, I proceeded with the last option. Because I had extra lemon glaze. And I didn't know what to do with it. And because I don't mind my entire lemon loaf covered in lemon glaze. It doesn't bother me one bit.
Cut yourself a generous slice.
Pour yourself a cup of coffee.
Lift a forkful (or a handful, if you're skipping the plate and fork part) of the lemon loaf into your mouth.
Sink your teeth into the soft and tender and moist cake.
Savor the fresh lemon flavor, the bright and cheery yellow color.
It's spring, after all. And this lemon loaf tastes like spring.
soft and moist lemon loaf
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
Yield: 9x5-inch loaf cake
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
Zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
1 tablespoon lemon extract
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Lemon Glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Water, if needed for thinning
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the first seven ingredients, through lemon extract.
Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt and then add to wet mixture, stirring until combined. It's okay if batter is a bit lumpy.
Pour batter into loaf pan and bang against counter a few times to remove air bubbles. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted has a few moist crumbs. If top of loaf starts getting too brown during baking, cover top loosely with foil and continue baking.
Let cake cool completely before drizzling glaze over. Glaze: whisk all ingredients together till smooth.
On a completely unrelated note, story of my life:
photo from dump a day dot com
