A beautiful Lemon Loaf made from scratch. Filled to the brim with fresh lemons, juicy raspberries and topped with a drippy glaze, it’s the perfect cake for morning or afternoon tea.
Lovely Lemon Loaf 💕
Soft and tender lemon bread studded with fresh raspberries and drizzled with a three-ingredient sweet lemon glaze. It’s the perfect snack cake for any day of the week.
It’s an easy one bowl recipe that comes together in a flash, but will be a hit with any lemon lover 🍋
Why you will love this Lemon Loaf
- It’s super easy to make
- You don’t need any weird ingredients
- It’s perfect for brunch, dessert or a sweet snack
- It tastes amazing!
I’m currently obsessed with making quick breads, which, let’s face it, is just a big, thick cake amiright? 💕
I love a big slice of Blueberry Bread or Passionfruit Loaf Cake or to indulgent in a warm piece of Chocolate Banana Bread smeared with butter.
But my latest obsession is Lemon Loaf. Soft, tender, melt-in-your-mouth lemon bread made using fresh lemons and raspberries. Just like my Lemon Slice recipe, this bake is dressed with a tangy lemon glaze.
This Lemon Loaf is made with oil. I tried both butter and oil, but found that butter made for a very dense and heavy cake. On the other hand, oil helps create a super light and tender cake that is truly moreish.
I also use caster sugar to sweeten the cake, a little vanilla, fresh lemon juice and a little lemon zest for a burst of flavour. I also add a handful of fresh raspberries, because lemon and raspberry are a match made in heaven.
The finishing touch is a drizzle of sweet lemon glaze. Just 3 ingredients, but this glaze makes for the perfect pairing. A little sweet, tangy frosting, for a truly lovely loaf.
If you have a few lemons sitting in your fruit bowl, you probably have most of the other ingredients sitting in your pantry right now. So this can be the answer to your -oh-boy-I-need-something-sweet-stat- cravings. Tell me I’m not the only one.
Tips for making Lemon Loaf
- This is a simple mix and stir recipe – no electric mixer required.
- Use a neutral oil for this recipe. I usually use vegetable oil, but I’ve also used a light olive oil or you could use grape seed oil.
- I recommend using fresh lemon juice as suggested in the recipe for maximum flavour.
- You don’t have to add fresh raspberries, the loaf is lovely without them. But I love pairing lemon and raspberry together.
- Try not to over bake this cake. Every oven is different, so start checking the loaf from about 40 minutes onwards. Insert a butter knife or skewer into the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean, you know the cake is ready.
- If the cake starts to go brown on the top and edges but is still not cooked in the centre, place a piece of aluminium foil on top in the last 10 minutes of cooking to help prevent the top from overcooking.
- The glaze is simply three ingredients – icing sugar, lemon juice and milk. To make it a little thinner, add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice, or if you would like it thicker, add another tablespoon or two of sugar.
More bread recipes to try:
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Let’s Bake
Easy Lemon Loaf
Soft and tender lemon loaf drizzled with a sweet sugar glaze.
Ingredients
Lemon bread
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil*
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Zest of one lemon
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) full fat greek yoghurt
- 125 grams (1 cup) fresh raspberries
Lemon glaze
- 60 grams (1/2 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon full fat or whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add oil, sugar, vanilla, eggs, lemon juice and zest. Whisk briefly to combine.
- Add flour, baking powder and yogurt. Gently mix with a wooden spoon until combined – but be careful not to over mix. Lightly stir through fresh raspberries.
- Add batter to prepared tin. Bake loaf for approximately 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If you find the top of your loaf is browning too much, simply add a piece of aluminium foil over the top towards the end of cooking.
- To make the glaze, stir together sugar, lemon juice and milk. If the glaze is too thick, add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake and serve.
Notes
Vegetable oil: Any neutral oil like a mild olive oil or grapeseed oil should work here.
Joanna says
Absolutely lovely!!!!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So pleased you enjoyed it Joanna!
Shelley p says
Another amazing recipe beautifully moist & tasty. Got another 2 in the oven for family😋
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
I love hearing that Shelley!
Brenda says
Haven’t tried this recipe yet but it looks amazing! Do you think cutting down the amount of sugar by half for the cake will alter the taste of it drastically? 1 cup of sugar seems like a lot so I’m wondering if I can get away with using just half a cup instead.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Brenda, sugar not only adds sweetness but also moisture, flavour and colour. You should be able to reduce it to 3/4 cup without altering the texture too much. I hope you enjoy it!
Bec says
Really great loaf cake – great texture and flavour. I used frozen raspberries and it took about 60 minutes to bake.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Bec!
Iris says
Loved the lemon loaf! It’s very moist and I’m wondering how to store it before serving it. I also may give some away as a gift. Any ideas? I’m wondering if it should be refrigerated because of the yogurt used in making it.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad to hear that Iris! I prefer to keep this cake in an airtight container at room temperature, as refrigerating can dry cakes out.
Sally says
Love this recipe, made it twice now and making another one tomorrow. It freezes beautifully too.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Sally!
Krystine says
Absolutely delicious, and simple to make. Thank you
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Brilliant! Thank you for saying!
Christine says
Absolutely love this cake, my two favorite things, lemon and raspberry and it’s so easy to make.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Christine!