iced lemon vanilla loaf
Perfectly moist, sweet, tart, and buttery loaf cake with a simple glaze to drizzle and to swipe straight from the bowl with a stray finger.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/3 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt, or sour cream
lemon icing
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan generously with oil or butter.
- In a large bowl, toss the sugar with the lemon zest until the zest is distributed. Then, beat with the butter for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Whip in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until just combined. Measure in the yogurt and whip until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the loaf begins to brown too quickly, tent with foil. Let cool in the pan 5 minutes, then slide a knife around the edges to loosen and invert the loaf onto a wire rack. Flip upright and cool 10 minutes more.
- To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla until a thick but drizzly icing forms. If needed, add more powdered sugar to thicken, or a bit of milk or water to thin. Add thinly sliced strips of lemon zest, as desired. Spoon the icing over the loaf cake. Let set 5 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
*To store: Loaf cake keeps well covered tightly at room temperature for up to 5 days.