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Easy Lemon Loaf

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This Easy Lemon Loaf is perfectly tangy and bursting with fresh lemon flavour!

When we first moved to Calgary as newlyweds, we lucked out and met some great neighbours who quickly became good friends for the short time they lived here.  Over 10 years later we still keep in touch, and are crossing our fingers to be neighbours again one day!  Anyway, I remember one day my friend brought over a newly baked and warm lemon loaf that was so delicious that I had to have the recipe!  Of course I did.  The cake was light, sweet and perfectly lemony.

Now I make this lemon loaf every year in January or February, which coincides with when my in-laws would bring back a box of citrus fruit for us from Arizona.  With so many fresh lemons to use, this loaf recipe is a perfect way to enjoy a mid winter pick me up.

Lemon Loaf Recipe

I actually prefer this loaf after it has sat for a day, and the fresh lemon/sugar mix has had a chance to soak into the bread.  It just gets more flavourful and moist the longer you let it rest…but no longer than a day because there’s a fine line between when a loaf is moist, then all of a sudden it’s dry.  So moral of the story, let it sit overnight and enjoy it the next day.  This loaf really is good so you’ll probably finish it in one sitting anyway.

Lemon Loaf Recipe

This time of year a lemon loaf is a nice little ray of much needed sunshine.  Enjoy it with a cup of tea and your family or friends!

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Easy Lemon Loaf

Sliced Lemon Loaf
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★★★★★

5 from 64 reviews

This Easy Lemon Loaf is perfectly tangy and bursting with fresh lemon flavour!

  • Author: Jo-Anna Rooney
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf 1x
  • Category: Loaf
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Bread

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 medium sized lemon zested (just the lemon zest)
  • 1 medium sized lemon juiced (just the lemon juice)
  • 1/4 cup sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Prepare a 1.5L loaf pan (8 by 4.5 inches) by lining it with parchment paper. Set aside.
  3. With a mixer cream together the butter and sugar.
  4. Add in the eggs, 1 at a time.
  5. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
  6. Add 1/2 of the flour mix to the butter mix.
  7. Then add 1/2 of the milk.
  8. Add the remaining flour mix.
  9. Mix in the remaining milk and lemon zest.
  10. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  11. In the mean time, combine the juice from 1 lemon with 1/4 cup sugar.
  12. When the cake is done baking, take it out of the oven, and pierce holes in it with a knife – make sure to get to the bottom of the loaf so the lemon juice mixture can get right down into the cake. Pour lemon juice/sugar mix over warm cake.
  13. Let sit. This cake is even better the next day.
  14. Enjoy!

Notes

1 medium lemon = approximately 2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp lemon zest

Keywords: lemon cake, lemon loaf

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 ——-Lemon Loaf Recipe

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Have a delicious day!

Hi I'm Jo-Anna Rooney, the creator, director, baker, maker and home decorator here at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs! I'm sharing a simple home life through fresh and easy recipes and uncomplicated home tips and home decor.

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77 Comments

      1. 5 stars
        Hi there – ready to pour this into pan but what size loaf pan – thank you! Not sure if you are on your computer

        ★★★★★

  2. This lemon loaf is amazing. I baked the recipe into 3 mini loaves and added some fresh raspberries. They were devoured.
    Making this recipe again very soon.

  4. Hello Jo-Anna

    I made this Lemon Loaf, just delicious!!

    The only thing I did that was different was lining the pan with wax paper, I didn’t get a smooth outer surface. Should I have buttered the pan first instead?

    Thank you,
    Lynda

    1. WOW amazing and so simple, I reduced the sugar and put honey in addition so it would maintain its sweetness! It turned out very well and I topped it with a lemon glaze after it cooled. I will definitely be making this again, next time I will even replace the sugar with just honey. Such a great recipe I reccomend it to anyone!

      ★★★★★

    1. Hi Gayle,
      Thank you for reaching out. Maybe my blog isn’t the right fit for you? I don’t publish recipes with any avoidance of any particular ingredients (such as sugar or allergens). There are many blogs available that share recipes with no sugar, so perhaps those are better suited for what you are looking for.

      Regards,
      Jo-Anna

      1. My loaf stuck to the paper so definitely not a smooth outer surface for me either. Maybe I’ll spray the paper next time

  7. Hi,
    This is baking right now. I’m unclear about when I take the loaf out of the pan–before or after glazing?

  8. P.S I didn’t mean “glazing” exactly I mean before or after pouring the sugar and lemon combo on the cake. Thanks

    1. Sorry I missed your question! I prefer to remove my loaf after I have added the glaze, only because adding the glaze can be quite messy. And the pan helps the loaf soak the glaze into the cake.

  9. Thanks for replying! I did pour the lemon-sugar combo over the loaf in the pan. It worked well but I had a problem removing the bread from the pan –it was so moist it broke in half–not a problem, I’ll just serve it in slices tomorrow.
    It’s a lovely bread.

  10. 5 stars
    Loved this!! I’ve made it twice now! So simple and so delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe ?

    ★★★★★

  14. 5 stars
    The very best amazing lemon loaf, and easy to make. Love this recipe. Thank you so much.

    ★★★★★

  16. I misplaced my favourite recipe and gave your recipe a try. It was delicious!
    Subsequently found my recipe (from a dear Calgary friend also) and it’s the same! 😂
    No wonder liked it so much. ❤️

  17. 5 stars
    I just made this, and it is perfection. Thank you so much!!!

    I didn’t have a mixer, so I mixed everything by hand, and I didn’t have waxed paper so I buttered the loaf pan, and I didn’t have a zester, so I used a cheese grater on the lemon peel, and despite my improv, I am bubbling with joy about the outcome! It’s so good <3

    ★★★★★

  19. 5 stars
    For freezing this loaf, do you recommend adding the glaze before I freeze it? Or will come out weird when it unfreezes?

    ★★★★★

  20. 5 stars
    This is the best lemon loaf I have ever had. I followed the recipe exact but at the end of cooking (60 mins) I only put half the glaze on. This is so moist and I am having with tea as I write this.

    ★★★★★

  21. 5 stars
    I have never searched for a recipe that I loved enough to rate! This is the most wonderful lemon bread I have ever tasted! Definitely make it again and again!

    ★★★★★

  22. 5 stars
    Thank you for the recipe, it is exactly the best lemon bread I’ve ever made!
    I followed your very clear & helpful instructions, the result was delicious. I like that it really does taste of lemons & it’s not overly sweet.

    ★★★★★

  23. 5 stars
    We’ve made this now 3 times and it comes out perfect each time. It’s a new favourite recipe! Thanks for sharing

    ★★★★★

    1. Hi Maryanne! Theoretically you can substitute butter for oil at a 1:1 ratio. BUT I have never done so for this recipe, so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out.

  25. By far one of the best recipes! I have made this so many times for my family. The best part about this recipe is less eggs!

    ★★★★★

  26. Hi! Can you please provide how much 1 lemon zested ((just the lemon zest)) and 1 lemon juiced ((just the lemon juice)) in measurements we need to use? Lemons come in all shapes and sizes. Thank you!

  28. This was delicious!!! I made it into mini loaves in my brownie pan and baked them for about 20-22 minutes. I’ll be making this one again!!

    ★★★★★

  29. Great recipe,I used an eye dropper to really get the glaze down inside the loaf.

    ★★★★★

  30. The best recipe ever..!!!!! i have made it like 5 times now and everybody loves it. Bursting w lemon flavor

    ★★★★★

  31. Just made this lemon cake and I haven’t added the icing yet as I’m not sure, is it white sugar and lemon juice in kind of a thickened paste or powdered sugar and lemon juice? I have come to find that powdered sugar with lemon has a soapy taste due to the cornstarch in powdered sugar, so I’m not putting that on this yummy cake!
    I made a small ramekin so I could taste the cake as I’m giving the loaf to a friend as a housewarming gift. It is quite good! I used 1:1 gluten-free flour instead of white flour and also added some vanilla to the batter, about a 1/4 teaspoon.

    ★★★★★

  32. Made this yesterday and it was so simple and so delicious!! I used almond milk and made a quick lemon glaze instead of poking the cake and saturating with the lemon juice and sugar. Yum!

    ★★★★★

  34. I do love this recipe but find the end result quite skimpy. Next time I will double the recipe as the 9×5 loaf pan was too big for the amount of batter that went into it.

  36. The wax paper didn’t cooperate, so my loaf turned out a bit deformed. I’ll probably use butter to grease next time.
    The lemon was also a little weak, so I doubled the glaze and that did the trick.
    Overall, pretty good.

    ★★★★

  37. Just made with my 10 yr old granddaughter cause she was craving a Lemon Cake. It was delicious and turned out perfectly. I did mess up and added 2 TBL of lemon juice to the cake. I like things lemony so I’ll do the same thing next time but remove 2 TBL of the milk to balance the liquid. Either way this recipe turned out perfect and is delightful. Thank you from Milwaukee.

    ★★★★★

  38. This was really easy to make and absolutely delicious. Will absolutely be making again! I especially loved the syrup on top.

    ★★★★★

  40. I made it today your recipe is delicious. The cake is soft, moist, very light and airy. The drizzle after it bakes gives the cake a mix of zest between each bite! Thank you for this!

  41. I’ve made this twice now. It is absolutely delicious!! A slice of this is such a wonderful afternoon treat! Thank you for sharing your recipe!! ♥️

    ★★★★★

  43. I just want to say I love this lemon loaf recipe. I was given a bunch of lemons and had no idea what to do with them, my daughter said make lemon bread. So I did, and boy was it a huge hit. I have made it three time in 8 days. Everyone loves it.

    ★★★★★

  44. Wow— so inclined to leave a review because this turned out so freakin amazing! I had another recipe I have been using that was good but required sour cream. I did not have sour cream, so try to find one online did not have it. I cannot believe how good this one turned out. This will definitely be my standby lemon loaf recipe. I added lemon juice to the batter which I did not see as part of the recipe. So good!!

    ★★★★★

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