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Home » Pound Cake

Easy Lemon Loaf Cake Recipe

Modified: Jul 21, 2021 · Published: Oct 5, 2009 by Anna · This post may contain affiliate links · 19 Comments

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I couldn’t resist! Here it is, the Lemon Loaf Cake from Baking with Julia. This is a high rising lemon loaf cake made with cake flour plus a mixture of melted butter and heavy cream. It's a little more time consuming than the Duncan Hines Lemon Pound Cake, but still pretty simple and convenient since it doesn't require an electric mixer. You will have to zest a few lemons, though, so break out the Microplane.

Lemon Loaf Cake

I altered one step. Instead of adding the lemon zest to the batter, I mixed it in with the sugar and crushed it around a bit so that the sugar became lemony and fragrant. I’m not sure if it really made a difference or if the lemons released any more essential oils than they would have otherwise, but it was sort of fun making the sugar all lemony.

Lemon Loaf Cake

And the end result was a very good cake. It’s as tight crumbed and dense as a good creamed pound cake and a hundred times simpler. I’m leaving it un-iced and will serve it with whipped cream and berries, as usual.

lemon loaf cut

Update: Here's a more recent photo with some icing drizzled over it.

lemon loaf

This Lemon Loaf Cake is still one of my favorites!

Recipe

Lemon Loaf Cake

High rising lemon loaf cake made with melted butter and cream.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 50 minutes mins
Cooling Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Ingredients
 

  • 1 ⅓ cups sugar (250 grams)
  • Grated zest of 3 large lemons
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature (200 grams)
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¾ cups cake flour (196 grams)
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ cup heavy cream at room temperature
  • 5 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature (80 grams)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
  • In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. With your fingers or back of a spoon, rub the lemon zest with the sugar to release its oils.
  • To the sugar, add the eggs and salt and whisk just a minute, until foamy and smoothly blended; the mixture should not thicken.
  • Spoon the flour and baking powder into a sifter and sift about a third of the dry ingredients over the foamy egg mixture. Whisk the flour into the eggs, mixing lightly. Sift the flour over the eggs in two more additions and whisk only until everything is incorporated. Whisk the heavy cream into the mixture. Fold in the melted butter.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan - it will level itself - and bake for 50 to 60 minutes (mine took 60), or until the center of the cake crowns and cracks and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake to a cooling rack to rest for 10 minutes before unmolding. Cool to room temperature right side up on a rack.
  • When cool, wrap tightly with foil or plastic wrap. Cake should keep for 3 or 4 days.

Notes

Adapted from Baking With Julia
Keyword Lemon Cake, loaf pan
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
  • (Almost) Baking With Julia
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Comments

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  1. Chris Mower says

    October 19, 2009 at 11:03 am

    I made this yesterday and really really enjoyed it (both the making and the eating). I also made a lemon glaze to go on top of it and found that with the glaze, it's a great blend of bitter and sweet and it's way tasty. Yum yum.

  2. Gloria says

    October 12, 2009 at 9:06 pm

    Sorry to be writing so much, but this loaf tasted much better today! The icing actually was good on it. I guess it is true that pound "loaves" taste better the next day!!! I followed the directions with the exception of.....(drum roll...and big surprise...) I used salted butter plus added a pinch of salt.

  3. Gloria says

    October 11, 2009 at 4:44 pm

    Ok. I just tried a piece of the lemon pound cake with the lemon icing. I have to say I think the way you serve it with whipping cream would be better. The icing did not ruin the pound cake because the cake is dense and the icing is thin, but the pound cake stands fine on its own. I found myself wanting to taste just the pound cake or just the icing, but not both together. My coworkers are in for a treat tomorrow! Thanks for the posting.

  4. Gloria says

    October 11, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    Just couldn't wait for this pound cake to cool off so I sliced a piece off of the end after only being out of the oven for 10 minutes. I can taste the lemon, butter, and eggs. I could probably eat the whole loaf in one sitting! I can't wait for it to cool off so I can drizzle it with your lemon icing. This works out perfect because I have 3 skinless lemons to juice -I rarely have fresh lemon juice around.

  5. Gloria says

    October 08, 2009 at 10:01 pm

    Once I make this loaf the regular way, I may try Splenda so my mom can try it. I used it with my banana bread recipe tonight and other than baking a little quicker and not being as sweet, it came out pretty good. I did add raisins (soaked in hot apple juice for 10 min) to add some natural sweetness (and take away from the Splenda aftertaste). Not sure what I could throw into this lemon loaf to make it more naturally sweet...

  6. Carrie Z says

    October 08, 2009 at 7:24 am

    I love lemon, so I'll have to try this. And I think you're right about the lemon crushing technique!

  7. LilSis says

    October 06, 2009 at 11:43 pm

    Now I know I have to try this! It looks amazing. I love a cake/bread without icing. I'm still taking baby steps towards becoming a better baker but I usually have pretty good luck when using loaf pans.

  8. Chris Mower says

    October 06, 2009 at 2:43 pm

    I'm going to give this a try. I love lemon breads. I'll probably add a tbsp of poppy seeds to the batter because I love lemon and poppy seed together. How on earth am I going to find time to make all these good-looking breads and stuff you keep posting???

    @Gloria, I make a lot of sugar free stuff just for the heck of it, and I think I've got a sugar free lemon bread that's pretty darn tasty as far as sugar-free sweet breads are concerned. (It actually uses Splenda--not sure if you're anti-Splenda or not). I'll take a look and see if I can find it.

  9. Dolce says

    October 06, 2009 at 9:59 am

    I am sure it would make for a great morning treat.

  10. gloria says

    October 06, 2009 at 9:52 am

    I'm planning on making this lemon loaf on the weekend so I have something wonderful to look forward to!! My husband just bought our first microplane so can't wait to ask HIM to use it! Off the subject, but right now my black bananas are shouting louder...need to find a good sugar free recipe for banana bread for my diabetic mom...

  11. sri says

    October 06, 2009 at 6:45 am

    Love the texture of the cake !!!

    Hope you are feeling better, Anna .

  12. clumbsycookie says

    October 06, 2009 at 3:22 am

    I also love getting my hands on some sugar with citrus peel. I love the smell on my hands, plus it acts as an exfoliantion, ahahah!

  13. Emily says

    October 06, 2009 at 12:33 am

    This looks SO good!!

    I hope you're feeling better. 🙁 That makes me sad.

  14. Katrina says

    October 06, 2009 at 12:03 am

    A lot of Dorie's recipes in Baking From My Home to Yours have the zest mixed in with the sugar (with your fingers--it's fun and does smell heavenly). Something lemony does sound good after I just made some really chocolaty goodies today!

  15. Amanda says

    October 05, 2009 at 8:03 pm

    Looks fabulous. I've made several pound cakes, just love them. 🙂 I have one for Elvis Presley's Whipping Cream Pound Cake and it's the best one I have made so far! Second place goes to the Orange Poppy Seed Pound Cake mmmmm!

    I like mixing the zest with the sugar too, I think it smells so good!

  16. Anna says

    October 05, 2009 at 6:14 pm

    Gloria, let me know what you think. I didn't ice it, but I think the icing from the pumpkin molasses loaf recipe might be good here.

    Sue, you read it right. That's the beauty of it.

  17. Sue says

    October 05, 2009 at 5:55 pm

    After re-reading the recipe I'm wondering if I'm reading it correctly. Did you make this entirely with a spoon and a whisk?

  18. Sue says

    October 05, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    Sounds great!! I love lemon and don't bake with it nearly enough!!

  19. gloria says

    October 05, 2009 at 5:47 pm

    Bestill my heart!! This looks fantastic...can't wait to try it!

Peanut Butter Fudge Jumbles recipe baked in a 9-inch square Pampered Chef stoneware pan.

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