The more lemon you add, the better the cake!
In my opinion that is, so let’s get started….
How It’s Made
First let’s make homemade buttermilk, using 1/2 cup whole milk plus 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, stir together then set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle /beater attachment, beat butter, sugar and 2 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest (from approximately 3 3/4 average lemons) together until light and fluffy.
Beat in two eggs, one at a time making sure not to add the second egg until the first one as fully incorporated into the mix.
Add in lemon juice, it may curdle if that happens don’t panic throw in a spoonful of flour to stabilise. Then alternate adding in flour/baking powder mix and homemade buttermilk. Be careful not to overmix!
Pour into tin-foil (or baking parchment) lined loaf tin. Leave some overhang, this will make it easy for you to transport the loaf out of the tin to a wire rack later on.
Bake on the middle shelf for about 30-40 minutes, mine took a while longer, I’m not sure why but I have a suspicion my oven is not at the temperature it says it’s at. I need to invest in another oven thermometer (lost my old one when we moved house) to find out.
Leave loaf to cool in tin while you make the glaze. To my fellow British readers this loaf cake is a lemon drizzle with a capital L.
I reduced the amount of glaze in the original recipe by 2/3. While I like glaze and my Kids find it their favourite part of any cake I thought 1 1/2 cups icing sugar is just too much, even with 3 tablespoons lemon juice to offset the sweetness.
The sun had just set but instead of leaving it a day for a better photograph I discovered something really good, a fresh warm slice of loaded lemon loaf cake.
Loaded Lemon Loaf Cake
- 1/2 cup minus 1/2 tbs whole milk
- 1/2 tbs lemon juice
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 1/2 tbs lemon juice
- 2 1/2 tbs lemon zest
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose / plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tbs lime blossom honey * optional
- 1tbs lemon juice
- lemon zest *optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F / 180C / 160C FAN / GAS MARK 4. Line a 9×5″ loaf pan with foil or parchment paper, leave some overhang.
- In a medium sized bowl, gently whisk flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, cream butter, zest and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, until combined followed by lemon juice. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk and mix well after each addition. Be sure to not over-mix!
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. Loaf Cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Don’t be alarmed if the sides become quite brown, it doesn’t affect the taste whatsoever.
- Allow bread to cool for 10 minutes in pan before transferring onto a wire rack. During this time, whisk all glaze ingredients together in a small bowl. When on the wire rack, poke holes into the top of warm loaf with a toothpick or other small object. Drizzle the glaze on top of the bread and spread it around into the holes. When the glaze is half set sprinkle zest over loaf. Leave overnight or have a slice fresh and warm!
Notes
- US Cup measurement used, 1 cup = 240ml
- This Loaded Lemon Loaf will stay moist and fresh for up to 5 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
