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, Passionfruit Loaf Cake, or Lemon Pound 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.
Francisca says
Thanks Jessica, for sharing your recipe, it is delicious and easy to make.
Regards, from Chile
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Christine says
Love this cake, have made it a few times now and always goes down well.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Christine!
Joanne says
Can i substitute greek yogurt with VANILLA greek yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes!
Neethu says
How different is this from the lemon poppy seed loaf?
Jessica Holmes says
It’s fairly similar!
Michelle says
I love how easy it is to whip up this cake and yet it tastes delicious. Sweet, moist and lemony – what more could you want? And the icing is well… the icing on the cake, (bad) pun intended. Didn’t have any raspberries on hand so used frozen blueberries instead.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Michelle! Thank you for your kind review.
Suzanne says
Hi there! Can I substitute sour cream for the yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes you can!
Cate says
Can I use frozen raspberries?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! Just add them frozen not thawed.
Sarah P says
This loaf is always a winner! Easy to prepare & get in the oven- I make sure I have frozen berries on hand to whip this up! Omg the smell of lemon baking is so good.My go-to loaf when having people of for morning tea! Highly recommend ❤️
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Sarah! Thank you for the lovely feedback!
Alex says
Help! All my raspberries sink to the bottom! What am I doing wrong?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Alex, mix-in’s like fruit or chocolate chips can sometimes sink in baked goods. I haven’t had this problem with this cake, but next time, you could try gently stirring in half the raspberries and then sprinkling the other half on top.
Ilka says
Help! What am i doing wrong? I have tried this recioe twice and it is so soft it breaks and falls apart!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, did you change any ingredients or leave out the egg? The bread will be soft when it’s warm but will firm up slightly as it cools.
Tash says
Best lemon loaf. I’ve made three times in a week and handed them out as gifts because they are delicious. Made with raspberries and plain and they are both GREAT. I don’t think you need the glaze and I do lesson the sugar to about 3/4c, but that’s just personal taste. Super moist and soft and DELICIOUS. Very glad I found this recipe. Thank you 🙏
Jessica Holmes says
Aww so glad you enjoyed it Tash! Thank you for your kind review!
Ruth says
Delicious. Very easy to make.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Ruth!
Varsha says
This looks beautiful. Would you have a replacement suggestion for eggs?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Varsha, I haven’t tested this recipe with any egg replacements – sorry!
Modesty says
Hello Varsha. Flax seed mixed with water is a substitute for egg. Not sure measurement but it says on the back of flax see bag.
Hannah says
Hey Raspberries are out of season in NZ at the moment – can I use frozen raspberries instead ?
Thanks 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Hannah, yes you can! Or you can leave them out – still delicious!
Natalie says
I love lemon cakes! Looks so delicious and perfect for weekend brunch ♥
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks Natalie!