Lemon Loaf (Better Than Starbucks)

With a tangy, creamy icing and the bright, citrusy cake, this Lemon Loaf has it all. It just might rival the Starbucks Lemon Loaf.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Not so Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

It took 4, yes 4 attempts to get the flavor and texture just right. I was going for a similar copycat version from that well-known coffee house chain, which meant a few stops to Starbucks to taste test their delightful Lemon Loaf. They do it right, so after some research, which consisted of eating their Lemon Loaf and stalking their website for ingredients, I got to work.

The ingredients that Starbucks listed are pretty basic, so without the preservatives or stabilizers, I thought it would be super easy to mimic…It was not. Besides one version exploding in the oven, don’t ask; the others didn’t feel right texture-wise. I realized that this Lemon Loaf needed a lemon pudding mix. The pudding mix gave the cake such a fluffiness that I kept missing when I made the other versions. To me, this recipe feels super close to the Starbucks version, and you get a whole loaf! The loaf is full of many layers of lemon flavor, and the icing is a thick semi buttercream, semi glaze coating that is so refreshing.

Ingredients in the Lemon Loaf

This Lemon Loaf recipe consists of the cake (loaf) and the frosting; you’ll need:

Cake (Loaf)

Flour– All-purpose
Lemon Pudding– instant Lemon Jell-O pudding and pie filling
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Salt
Butter – I use salted
Sugar
Eggs
Lemon Zest– a whole lemon zested should be just right
Fresh Lemon Juice
Extracts (Vanilla & Lemon Extract) I highly recommend using Nielsen-Massy extracts. They are my go-to extracts whenever I need them.
Sour Cream
Buttermilk – 1/2 cup of buttermilk. If you need to make buttermilk, add 1 ½ teaspoon of vinegar to your 1/2 cup milk and set aside for about 5 minutes.

Lemon Icing

Confectionary Sugar
Fresh Lemon Juice
Butter
Heavy Whipping Cream
Salt

Tools needed for this Recipe

This recipe only requires a few tools! You will need;

How to make your Lemon Loaf Better Than Starbucks

Preheat your oven to 350 F. degrees and line your loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside. Start with combining your dry ingredients, flour, lemon pudding mix, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
In a larger bowl, cream together the room temperature butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest until light a fluffy. Add in your eggs and mix until they are all combined. Finally, add together your fresh lemon juice, lemon extract, and vanilla extract.
If you have buttermilk already, stir that with the sour cream in a small bowl. After that, you can combine the milk and sour cream.
Take the larger bowl with creamed butter and lemon, and add a third of your dry ingredients and mix. Add half your buttermilk and sour cream and mix. Continue adding your dry and wet ingredients to your sugar mixture until all combined.
Pour batter into your prepared loaf pan and place in your preheated oven on the middle rack. I found that around the 20-minute mark, I needed to tent the lemon loaf with foil to slow the browning. At 45 minutes into baking, I started checking by inserting a toothpick into the cake’s center. After checking at 5-minute intervals, I found that my cake set at 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. In the meantime, we can work on the icing.
Using a hand mixer, cream together butter, confectioner sugar, and a pinch of salt. Add in fresh lemon juice and beat again. Drizzle in the heavy cream and mix until well combined. Cover with clear wrap and set aside while your bread continues to cool. Pour icing along the top of the Lemon Loaf and smooth with a silicone spatula. Let the icing set and enjoy with your favorite coffee or tea. I am a coffee lover first, so when I order a delicious slice of the Lemon Loaf from Starbucks, I also order my Caramel Brule Latte. Since we concorded the Lemon Loaf, I decided to give my coffee drink a try.