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Home Baking

Glazed lemon loaf

By:Nagi
Published:9 Jun '23Updated:17 Aug '23
102 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Glazed lemon loaf is what you make when you’re after something not too sweet that’s fuss-free to make. Lovely bright lemon flavour with buttery undertones, it’s a quick bread which means no yeast and easy to make. Excellent shelf life of 5 days!

Glazed lemon loaf ready to be served

Glazed lemon loaf

Quick breads are a great option for those times when you have the urge or need to bake, but don’t have the time for more involved recipes. They’re also convenient – easy to transport and easy to serve. Slice like bread and eat on a napkin!

As for today’s lemon glazed loaf, it’s here after I responded to a question on Facebook for how to convert my simple Lemon Yogurt Cake into a loaf. “Use the recipe as is but I’d switch half the oil with melted butter to get buttery flavour into it, because it’ll be taller than the cake so there’s less frosting-to-cake ratio so you’ll want the cake to have more flavour. I’d probably dial up the lemon flavour for the same reason. And it will take longer to bake – just keep testing with a skewer!”

By the time I got to the end of the response, the “just do this” suddenly seemed a little less simple. So I decided to create and properly test it, write it up and publish it! 😂

Glaze on Glazed lemon loaf

Ingredients in Glazed Lemon Loaf

Here’s what you need to make this. Note: Lemon extract is recommended for really good lemon flavour, but you can get away with doubling the zest instead!

  • Yogurt – A “secret ingredient” in baking to make batters that bake up into lovely moist cakes, muffins etc. Any plain, unsweetened yogurt is fine here. I typically use Greek Yogurt. Substitute with sour cream (full fat).

  • Flour – Just plain / all purpose flour. Self-rising flour can be used in place of flour and baking powder, however, the loaf won’t be quite as soft or rise as well. Baking powder + flour is just more effective. 🙂

    Gluten-free – I have not tried myself but reader Julie reported great success using gluten free flour! See her comment on this recipe dated 12 June 2023.

  • Baking powder – This makes this loaf rise.

  • Butter AND oil – Butter adds lovely buttery flavour into baked goods while oil makes the crumb moist. In this particular loaf, I wanted the best of both worlds so we’re using both.

    In most recipes, I use one or the other – or I use butter plus another technique to keep the crumb moist (like the more involved technique for the reader-favourite plush Vanilla Cake).

    Oil types – Vegetable or canola oil, or any other plain flavoured oil (such as sunflower, grapeseed oil) can be used. For the butter, use unsalted.

  • Fresh lemon – Fresh please! We need the zest and juice. Zest is where all the lemon flavour is! Juice provides mostly tang, not much lemon flavour.

  • Lemon extract (natural) – To make the lemon flavour in this un-missable. It really does enhance the lemon flavour in a way that you can’t achieve using just fresh lemons. But if you’ve got a stack of fresh lemons, feel free to skip this and double up on zest instead.

  • Vanilla – For flavour. I use vanilla extract here which is real vanilla flavour. Vanilla essence is artificial so the flavour is not as good. I typically only use pricier vanilla bean paste or vanilla beans for more refined dessert recipes, such as Creme Brûlée and Flan Pâtissier (the world’s greatest Custard Tart!)

  • Sugar – Just 1 cup which makes this loaf on the less-sweet side.

  • Eggs – At room temperature, so they incorporate easily into the batter. I use large eggs which are ~55g / 2 oz each, an industry standard so the eggs will be labelled “large eggs” on the carton. More on eggs for baking here.

  • Salt – Just a touch, to bring out the flavours. This is good general practice for all (well, most!) sweet baking recipes.


Lemon glaze

For the glaze, you just need soft icing sugar / powdered sugar and lemon juice. Australia – be sure to use soft icing sugar, not pure icing sugar which will set into a hard icing, like royal icing.

Lemon glaze ingredients


How to make this lemon loaf

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Mix wet into dry. Bake! How easy it that!

How to make Glazed Lemon Loaf Bread
  1. Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

  2. Whisk the wet ingredients in a separate bowl until combined.

  3. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients then whisk just until combined and lump free. Don’t keep whisking as this will cause your cake to come out hard!

  4. Pour / scrape the batter into a lined pan. (Note – when I say “lined pan”, I use a single sheet of baking / parchment paper to line the long sides and base. I don’t bother with the short side – no sticking problems if you grease it).

How to make Glazed Lemon Loaf Bread
  1. Bake 45 minutes uncovered, then loosely cover with foil and bake for a further 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

  2. Rest 10 minutes – Let it rest in the pan for 10 minutes (all cakes are very fragile when fresh out of the oven) before transferring it onto a cooling rack.

  3. Cool – Use the paper overhang to lift it out onto a cooling rack, then cool completely for 3+ hours before glazing!

  4. Glaze – To make the glaze, just mix the icing sugar (powdered sugar) and lemon juice together. Then spoon / spread it onto the surface, coaxing drips down the side.

Making Glazed lemon loaf
Baked Glazed lemon loaf

⚠️ GLAZE THICKNESS CAUTIONARY NOTE!

I find glazes will go from seemingly too thick to way too thin with just even the barest smidge of extra liquid. So take care and be patient when mixing the glaze! I only use 3 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice for 1 cup of icing sugar. At first it will seem like there’s nowhere near enough liquid, but be patient, keep mixing! It will turn into a thick glaze that will drape over your lemon loaf rather than spreading into a thin, transparent (unsatisfying) glaze.

Glazing a lemon loaf
Slices of Glazed lemon loaf

The no-glaze option

“Everybody” loves the glaze but actually, there’s a good case for a no-glaze version too. No glaze means you can toast it like bread – literally, in a toaster. Then slather with butter and for a really great finishing touch, drizzle with honey.

Toasted Glazed lemon loaf with butter and honey

You can just imagine the flavour combo here, right?? Not-too-sweet lemony cake soaked with lightly salted melted butter and sweet honey. It’s so good I almost published this recipe without the glaze!!

Whichever way you go, glaze or no glaze, you can’t go wrong with this lemon loaf. It’s also one of those recipes that’s quite forgiving, so it’s a good one for those new to baking or if you have little helpers keen to get involved.

Glazed lemon loaf on cutting board

Stays fresh 5 days

And finally – this lemon loaf has an excellent shelf life. Regular readers know that I am notorious for extending the shelf life of baked goods! It used to drive me mad that people would just accept that homemade muffins would go stale overnight, and that cakes are best made on the day of serving as they lose freshness within 24 hours. Who has the time to bake fresh on the day, not to mention the disappointment of not being able to enjoy cakes for days afterwards? The reader-favourite Vanilla Cake and Cupcakes are probably the most famous examples around here – they stay fresh for 4 to 5 days which is unheard of!

As for this lemon loaf – it’s perfect for 3 days, still great 5 days later. Keep it in the fridge if it’s warm where you are, but if not, the pantry is fine.

Enjoy! – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Glazed lemon loaf ready to be served

Glazed lemon loaf

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Cooling: 3 hours hrs
Total: 4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
Baked, Cake, quick bread
Western
4.93 from 27 votes
Servings8 – 10
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Just a lovely lemon loaf with really great lemon flavour that's fuss-free to make, easy to transport and serve. Oil and yogurt keeps the crumb moist while butter adds lovely flavour. It stays fresh for 5 days!
Everybody loves the lemon glaze but it's also terrific without because you can toast it, slather with butter then drizzle with honey. SO GOOD!

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

  • 2 cups plain flour / all-purpose flour (Note 1 for GF)
  • 4 tsp baking powder (make sure yours is alive!)
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Wet ingredients (Note 2 – room temp):

  • 1 cup plain yogurt , at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs (~55g/2oz each), at room temperature
  • 75g / 5 tbsp unsalted butter , melted and cooled
  • 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil (or other neutral flavoured oil)
  • 2 tbsp lemon zest (~2 large lemons)
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 1/4 cups caster sugar / superfine sugar (sub normal/granulated sugar)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract – sub 1 tbsp extra zest (Note 3)

Glaze (optional):

  • 1 cup soft icing sugar/powdered sugar , sifted
  • 3 – 3 1/2 tsp+ lemon juice

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Grease then line a 21 x 11 x 7 cm (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75") with baking / parchment paper. (Note 4)
  • Batter – Whisk Dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk Wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour Wet ingredients into the Dry ingredients. Whisk just until lump free. Pour into the prepared loaf pan then smooth the surface.
  • Bake 45 minutes uncovered. Loosely cover with foil then bake a further 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
  • Cool & glaze – Stand 10 min in pan then turn out onto a cooling rack. Fully cool before glazing (~3 hours). Use a spoon to spread and coax lovely glaze drips down the side! Cut thick slices and serve.
  • Glaze – Whisk ingredients until combined and smooth, a thick smooth frosting that will drip thickly, not be transparent. Start with 3 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, and add 1/2 tsp extra, as needed. (Note 5 on thickness)

Recipe Notes:

Adapted from two beloved reader favourites – Lemon Yogurt Cake and Blueberry Lemon Loaf – but with better lemon flavour plus buttery flavour added (see in post for why!).
1. Self raising flour can be used instead of flour + baking powder but the cake won’t rise as well (self raising flour isn’t as good as combining flour + baking powder).
Gluten-free – I have not tried myself but reader Julie reported great success using gluten free flour! Just sub the flour, same quantity, nothing else. See her comment on this recipe dated 12 June 2023.
2. Room temp – It’s best to have fridge-cold ingredients de-chilled so they incorporate more easily into the batter and ensures you the melted butter doesn’t solidify into lumps. Eggs can be submerged in hot water for a few minutes, yogurt can be microwaved for 15 seconds then stirred.
3. Lemon extract (natural) – This really drives home the lemon flavour. You just can’t get the same amount of lemon flavour in this cake just using fresh lemons, sadly! If you go crazy with lemon juice, it just makes it sour. Zest is where the lemon flavour is, but there’s a limit to effectiveness. For best flavour, just a little natural lemon extract.
4. Pan & lining – I just line long side and base with a single sheet. The loaf doesn’t stick to the short ends. If your pan is larger, then your loaf will just not be as tall as pictured. Cook time will be around the same, but perhaps check 5 minutes earlier.
5. Glaze – You want it as thick as possible so it’s not a really thin glaze, but a consistency so it will drip slowly down the side of the loaf and not be see through. It will go from too thick to too thin with the tiniest bit of extra liquid so start with 3 teaspoons and add 1/2 teaspoon extra lemon juice at a time until you achieve the right consistency (test down side of bowl).
Leftovers will keep for 5 days in an airtight container. I keep it in the fridge if it’s warm weather but always serve at room temperature for best flavour!
Nutrition per slice assuming 10 slices, including glaze.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 367cal (18%)Carbohydrates: 57g (19%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 14g (22%)Saturated Fat: 5g (31%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 52mg (17%)Sodium: 56mg (2%)Potassium: 253mg (7%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 33g (37%)Vitamin A: 260IU (5%)Vitamin C: 2mg (2%)Calcium: 111mg (11%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Keywords: Blueberry loaf bread, lemon bread, lemon loaf, No yeast bread, quick bread
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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Dunno why I look so happy when Dozer looks so tortured, waiting to taste that bit of lemon cake!

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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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102 Comments

  1. Rose says

    December 4, 2023 at 5:11 am

    5 stars
    Oh Nagi, I have baked this cake for so many time and it never failed.
    My family always enjoys it, and the crowd are very happy with this lovely cake. Well done, Nagi.

    Reply
  2. Indy says

    December 1, 2023 at 9:27 am

    5 stars
    This is soooo delicious and easy! I have nicknamed it my ‘lovely lemon loaf’ because, well, it’s just so lovely. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool before glazing 🤤

    Reply
  3. Mel says

    September 4, 2023 at 1:30 pm

    5 stars
    Oh my goodness, Nagi! This cake is incredible!! I followed the steps perfectly until it got to the part about cooling the cake for 3 hours. Let’s just say I plan on icing the half that’s left in 3 hours 😂 The other half has been devoured by hubby and I. We drizzled the icing over a slice of the still-warm cake and it was 10/10 🙏 🤤

    Reply
  4. Li Harding says

    September 2, 2023 at 9:36 pm

    I just used blood oranges instead of Lemons, and wow, what a divine cake!!!

    Reply
  5. Alicia Perez says

    September 1, 2023 at 4:12 am

    I made your Apple Crumble gluten free. As with all your recipes, it came out superb. The apple crumble literally disappeared. My daughter was delighted. She has Celiac and I am learning to cook and bake for her.

    Reply
  6. Patti says

    August 20, 2023 at 10:45 pm

    Made this many times. Today I had only 1/2 cup yogurt, sub’d 1/2 sour cream. Scrumptious. Glaze 3/4, leave 1/4 for toast and honey!

    Reply
  7. Preetha says

    August 6, 2023 at 6:32 pm

    5 stars
    Just made it this weekend and it was excellent. Didn’t have lemon extract so I substituted it with the extra lemon zest and the flavour was perfect for me. My glaze ended up having more lemon juice than the recipe, as I added more to get the consistency I wanted. Overall, it tasted great and the family enjoyed it. Although I felt like the cook time was a little long, it was totally worth it !

    Reply
  8. Bec says

    August 2, 2023 at 4:07 pm

    This is so super yummy. Everything about it is perfection. I did use Greek yoghurt instead of plain yoghurt and it was delicious. Next time I might put some lemon syrup over the cake while it is still warm and then glaze it for extra lemon goodness.

    Reply
  9. Rod says

    August 1, 2023 at 11:39 am

    Have made this glazed lemon loaf a few times. My parents happened to drop around once and my mum took smelt it. She was instantly transported. Said it reminded her of her grandmother’s cooking. Huge accolade right there.

    Reply
  10. Julie says

    July 24, 2023 at 3:39 pm

    5 stars
    Friends gave us a big bag of lemons off their tree, so as a thank you I made this & took it over for morning tea. What a delicious, moist cake!! Everyone went back for seconds and I liked it so much, I came home and made a second one for us 😂😂. The icing was perfect too – thank you Nagi for another five ⭐️ recipe!

    Reply
  11. Rox Berry says

    July 11, 2023 at 8:52 am

    Such a simple cake to make but one that yields a beautifully solid cake with a balanced and not overpowering icing glaze. I think the texture improves by day 2 – 3. Not real crumbly, a bit on the dense side. Beautiful. Definitely a keeper (and sharer) recipe. Thanks Nagi.

    Reply
  12. Dianne says

    July 5, 2023 at 3:04 pm

    5 stars
    I made this for the craft ladies morning tea. Simply one of the best cakes I have ever made. They all rated it highly too. Thanks for such a delicious recipe😎

    Reply
  13. Chloe says

    July 5, 2023 at 3:20 am

    So good. Thanks Nagi!

    Reply
  14. Jenny says

    July 3, 2023 at 10:01 pm

    5 stars
    Saw another very similar recipe in a weekend paper.
    The suggestion was mix the zest in with sugar to release the lemon oils.
    I did this and my second loaf was another level of taste.
    Definitely doesn’t need lemon essence.

    Reply
    • tammy d pruett says

      July 14, 2023 at 3:57 pm

      5 stars
      When assembling my ingredients, I added the zest to the sugar as well. I’m also reducing the cooking time to 35 minutes before topping with foil. My oven seems to bake quicker than suggested. I’ll follow up with the outcome on reducing the cooking time.

      Reply
  15. Lilly says

    June 27, 2023 at 6:39 am

    Please help! I made this three times now and each time it’s crumbly and falls apart when cut. What am I doing wrong?

    Reply
    • Wendy says

      September 2, 2023 at 12:55 pm

      So sorry. Perhaps reducing the amount of flour. For whatever reason, I have difficulty with the amounts of flour listed in Nagi’s recipes. I always measure by weight but yet my items are too dry and even my dough is thicker than Nagi’s (from her videos). I do make special attention of using the metric measurement so I’m not using US cup measurements and messing up the recipe. So, the only thing I can guess is that it’s the flour and the hydration level of the flour before I even use it. I did have luck with the yeasted recipes when I changed brands of bread flour. Lastly, I did look up some other lemon loaf recipes with similar ratios of ingredients and some used 1 1/2 cups flour, so maybe start there and see if the batter has the same body/moistness as Nagi’s video. Good luck my friend.

      Reply
      • Lilly says

        September 3, 2023 at 12:26 am

        Hi Wendy, I never thought to reduce the amount of flour! Thank you! I will try that and watch the video as I do 🙂

        Reply
    • Jessica says

      August 27, 2023 at 2:34 pm

      Hey Lilly, I’m not sure myself but if you join and post this in the Recipe Tin Eats Appreciation Facebook group, someone will be sure to know and help with the answer 🙂

      Reply
      • Lilly says

        September 3, 2023 at 12:23 am

        Thank you Jessica, I joined!

        Reply
  16. Susan says

    June 27, 2023 at 2:48 am

    5 stars
    Followed the recipe exactly. This one is definitely a winner. Thanks for this recipe, a keeper to be sure!

    Reply
  17. Cindy Brownrigg says

    June 25, 2023 at 12:50 pm

    5 stars
    I made this recipe and it’s delicious! I made mine GF just used rounded cup measures with Well & Good self raising flour (instead of plain flour).

    Reply
  18. Sue says

    June 24, 2023 at 6:48 pm

    Loved it cake is great icing is lovely and lemony and keeps well.

    Reply
  19. Toni says

    June 24, 2023 at 5:57 pm

    Pretty easy to put together. I made a double batch because I assumed one wouldn’t be enough (hope I’m correct).
    I’ve just taken out of the oven, 160c non fan forced, at the 45 minute mark and it seems pretty much done. Skewer comes out clean.
    Will update if significantly delays from expectations.

    Reply
  20. Siedah says

    June 24, 2023 at 3:56 pm

    Made the mistake of using self raising flour…. STILL delicious. Texture is Extra fluffy. Will definitely make again with plain hehe

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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