Lemon Loaf

Lemon Loaf is a delicious citrus treat any time of day and makes a particularly cheerful gift, sort of like sharing a bit of sunshine. The soft, dense cake is topped with two layers of lemony goodness, lemon syrup and lemon glaze, ensuring lots of flavor in every bite! Luckily, this recipe makes enough to keep and to gift!

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Recently, I shared an Instagram Story about my cookbook collection with this photo of the books I keep in my kitchen. (If you aren’t following The Monday Box on Instagram, I hope you’ll pop over and join in the fun.)

Though I do cook plenty of normal meals, my kitchen cookbooks lean heavily toward baking, especially cookies. Lots of inspiration and adaptation comes from those books. However, not every cookbook recipe I try makes it to the blog for several reasons.

Some of the recipes aren’t particularly delicious, in my opinion. There are cookbooks with recipes that almost never fail to produce wonderful goodies, and there are others that are hit and miss.

Even wonderful recipes aren’t necessarily good for care package baking. If a baked good is delicate or has to be eaten right away, it’s not a good choice for shipping.

So, my Instagram Story talked about my favorite baking cookbooks and asked for recommendations for books I should add to my collection. I received a bunch of great suggestions which I bought or borrowed from the library.

My blogging friend Cindy from Salt and Serenity is a baker extraordinaire. When she suggested “Bobbette and Belle, Classic Recipes from the Celebrated Pastry Shop“, I knew it would be a winner.

I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve baked from the book so far, and a big bonus is that several of the recipes are adaptable for shipping and gifting. If you are looking for a cookbook with everything from cookies to fancy cakes, you are sure to enjoy this one. Thanks, Cindy!

This recipe for Lemon Loaf is adapted just slightly from “Bobbette and Belle”. Though not a good choice for long distance or hot weather shipping, these little tea cakes are wonderful gifts for nearby friends and neighbors.

The super lemony loaf has a dense crumb similar to pound cake. Two additional lemony layers, a syrup and a glaze, provide extra flavor and extra moisture that help keep the loaf from drying out.

This is a cake recipe you should bake when you are looking for a luscious citrus treat to enjoy with your tea and when you want to bake a gift that will brighten the day.

Directions

1. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
2. Combine the buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla.
3. Using electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon zest.
5. Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the batter.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. This batter will fill 5- 5 1/2” mini loaf pans or 2- 9” loaf pans Use a spatula to smooth the tops.
7. Bake mini loaves for 30-35 minutes and regular loaves for 45-55 minutes. Loaves are ready when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool the loaves completely before removing from the pan.
9. Make the lemon syrup by combining lemon juice and granulated sugar and stirring until the sugar dissolves.
10. Brush the tops of the loaves, coating completely with the syrup.
11. Let set for 30 minutes or until dry.
12. To make the lemon glaze, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, cream and butter until smooth.
13. Spread the glaze over the tops of the loaves.

Baking tips

• Zest the lemons first, then squeeze the lemons for the required juice. I love using my Microplane to quickly and easily create fine zest that never digs into the bitter white pith.
• For the best tangy lemon flavor, don’t skimp on the 1/3 cup of lemon zest added to the batter. You will need 6-8 lemons (depending on size) which are used for both zest and for juice.
• This recipe can also be used to produce one Bundt cake.

Tips for gifting and shipping

• Do NOT ship Lemon Loaf in hot weather. Moist, sugary cake will mold quickly in the heat.
• The extra step of brushing on the lemon syrup makes these loaves good for cool weather, short distance (up to 5 travel days) care packages. The syrup provides extra moisture to help keep the loaves fresh longer.
• Well wrapped to seal out as much air as possible, these loaves stay fresh for up to 1 week.
• These loaves make lovely gifts whether removed from baking pans or gifted inside baking pans or disposable foil pans.
• For mailing in care packages, wrap each loaf in wax paper followed by plastic wrap. Then place the  wrapped loaves in a freezer weight ziplock bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing the bag.
• For a pretty, in-person gifting presentation, wrap each loaf or pan with a strip of wax paper then a strip of colorful ribbon or wrapping paper. Place the wrapped loaf into a clear cellophane bag and tie closed.

More lemon recipes

Lemon Biscotti
Lemon and Lime Butter Cookie Rosettes
Lemon Shrewsbury Biscuits

Print

Lemon Loaf

Adapted from "Bobbette & Belle, Classic Recipes from the Celebrated Pastry Shop" by Allyson Bobbitt & Sarah Bell

Makes 5 mini loaves

Author Wendy Sondov

Ingredients

LOAVES

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ cup buttermilk room temperature
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs room temperature
• 1/3 cup lemon zest from 6-8 lemons

SYRUP

• 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

GLAZE

• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter melted

Directions

LOAVES

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter and flour 2- 9” loaf pans or 5- 5 ½ ” mini loaf pans.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. In a large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Lower the mixer speed and add the eggs, one at a time. Then mix in the lemon zest.
6. Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the batter.
7. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Fill each mini loaf pan with approximately 1 heaping cup of batter. Batter should be ¾”-1” from the top of each mini loaf pan. Use a spatula to smooth the tops.
8. Bake mini loaves for 30-35 minutes and regular loaves for 45-55 minutes. Loaves are ready when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Place the pans on wire racks to cool completely before removing the loaves.

LEMON SYRUP

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine lemon juice and granulated sugar. Microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir until the sugar is dissolved into the juice.
2. Brush the tops of the loaves, coating the tops completely with the syrup.
3. Let set for 30 minutes or until dry or just slightly tacky to the touch.

LEMON GLAZE

1. Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and butter until smooth.
2. Spread the glaze over the tops of the loaves.
3. Allow the glaze to set completely, about 1 hour, before wrapping or storing.
4. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Individually wrapping each cake in wax paper, then plastic wrap will help retain moisture in the loaves.

Packing Tips

Wrap loaves in wax paper, then in plastic wrap. Place loaves in a freezer weight ziplock bag or plastic storage container. Moist loaves ship best in cool weather.

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Gingerbread Loaf Cake Orange Olive Oil Cake Lemon Biscotti Lemon and Lime Butter Cookie Rosettes