The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) — It took years, but I finally recreated it!! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good, and SPOT ON!! You’re going to love this lemon bread recipe!
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Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Recipe
This iced lemon loaf cake recipe has been beyond a long time in the making. I’ve been trying to make this copycat Starbucks lemon loaf on and off for years. I can’t even tell you how much I have obsessed, tried, trialed, and failed at it. Until now.
If you’ve ever had Starbucks’ Lemon Loaf, you know how good it is. Full of lemon flavor, moist, dense, and rich. Anything that good I shouldn’t want to learn how to make at home, but I couldn’t leave well enough alone.
I’ve tried countless internet recipes for lemon bread and some were ‘fine’ but not quite perfect, while others were total fails. And I definitely didn’t want to go the cake mix route.
I even sent one almost-a-possibility-but-not-quite to my mom to have her trial it.
Something as ‘simple’ as a lemon loaf cake eluded me for ages until I rediscovered and slightly adapted my own 2012 recipe for Blueberry Yogurt Cake with Lemon Vanilla Glaze. It’s an easy, no-mixer, one-bowl, whisk-together batter.
This lemon loaf cake is soft, springy, and moist without being heavy or dry, problems which often plague pound cake. Nor is it oily, which sometimes happens with the Starbucks’ version. Plus, you probably have all the ingredients on hand to make it and you can pronounce every ingredient used.
The lemon loaf cake itself is perfectly lemony, and the lemon glaze boosts the lemon flavor even more. Lemon lovers will be in their glory!
And just think of all that money you’ll save by making it at home. That’s almost dangerous.
Ingredients in Lemon Loaf
To make this copycat Starbucks lemon loaf recipe, you’ll need:
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Sour cream
- Canola oil
- Lemon zest
- Lemon extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
And to make the lemon bread glaze, you’ll need:
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Lemon juice
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Lemon Loaf
This Starbucks recipe for lemon loaf couldn’t be easier to make! Here’s a look at how this recipe comes together:
- First, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and sour cream before drizzling in the oil.
- Stir in the lemon zest and extract, followed by the dry ingredients.
- Turn the lemon loaf batter into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan and bake until the top is domed, set, and toothpick inserted in the center crack comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter.
- The copycat Starbucks lemon loaf needs to cool for at least 30 minutes before drizzling with the glaze!
Lemon Loaf FAQs
Yes, this lemon bread freezes incredibly well. It can be frozen up to 6 months.
Just be sure to glaze the bread AFTER it’s been frozen and thawed (the glaze can be frozen, but the texture changes slightly).
Of course, just note that your bake time will vary depending on the size of your pans.
One reader reported success making seven mini loaves and baking them at 350ºF for about 35 minutes, if that helps. However, I can’t speak from personal experience.
Most likely, yes. You’d need to bake two 9×5-inch loaves.
A few readers have also asked if they can double the recipe and bake the batter in a 9×13-inch pan or a metal bundt pan. Both options would likely work, although I can’t say for sure.
I don’t recommend doing so, as that would change the taste of the lemon bread too much. If you want a lemon olive oil dessert, make my Lemon Olive Oil Cake recipe instead.
I’ve had quite a few readers ask about using gluten-free flour in this copycat Starbucks lemon pound cake recipe. I’ve only made the recipe as written, but readers have reported success using either Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour or Cup4Cup gluten-free flour.
I can’t say for sure if using a gluten-free flour will work, but this is what readers have recommended!
No! Do NOT use lemon oil and lemon extract interchangeably because they’re not — oil is much more potent and intense.
No, do NOT use lemon juice in place of lemon extract because it’s not strong enough and the acidity can alter the overall results.
I used 2 tablespoons of lemon extract because no actual lemon juice is used in the loaf and I found 2 tablespoons lemon extract necessary for full-bodied lemon flavor, but you can add it to taste.
What Readers Are Saying
As you can see on the recipe card, this copycat Starbucks recipe for lemon loaf has over 1,500 reviews on it. And if you scroll to the very bottom of this post, you’ll see the 1,000+ comments that readers have left.
To say that this lemon bread recipe has been tried and tested — and loved! — is an understatement!
Here are just a few 5-star reviews that have been left on this lemon loaf cake recipe:
“Delightful! This loaf did not last long in my household – lemony and delicious and a recipe I always come back to.” — Stephanie
“I have been making this recipe for a few years! Always gets the best reviews! I poke holes in it so when I add the glaze it goes into the loaf! This is my go to recipe when I am asked to bring a dessert!” — Joan Kasaris
“Simple, yet delicious! Baked mine for 40 minutes. It’s a dense, flavourful cake and will be my go-to lemon loaf recipe from now on since I have too been looking for the perfect lemon loaf for a long time. Thanks for finding it for me!!!” — Vivi
“Hard to believe a recipe so quick and easy tastes so good. Passed some out to friends and they were amazed at texture and flavor. I followed the reciperight to the end.” — Roger Drenga
“This recipe is incredibly delicious, and this was also my very first time baking a lemon loaf. I’m so happy how it turned out, and everyone in our house loved it. Thank you!” — Danielle
Recipe Video
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The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat)
Ingredients
Lemon Loaf
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream or Greek yogurt
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon extract, to taste (not teaspoons)*
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or as necessary for consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
Make the Loaf:
- To a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, sour cream, and whisk vigorously until smooth and combined.
- Drizzle in the oil while whisking to combine.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon extract, and whisk to combine. Note – I used 2 tablespoons of lemon extract because no actual lemon juice is used in the loaf and I found 2 tablespoons lemon extract necessary for full-bodied lemon flavor, but add to taste.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and stir until just combined, don’t overmix. Some lumps will be present and that’s okay, don’t try to stir them smooth.
- Turn the batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 50 to 52 minutes, or until top is domed, set, and toothpick inserted in the center crack comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter. In the last 10 minutes of baking, tent pan with foil (loosely drape a sheet of foil over pan) to prevent excessive browning on the top and sides of bread before center cooks through.
- Allow loaf to cool in pan on top of a wire rack for at least 30 minutes (I cooled 4 hours) before turning out onto rack to cool completely before glazing.
Make the Lemon Glaze:
- To a small bowl, add the confectioner’s sugar and slowly drizzle in the lemon juice while whisking until smooth and combined. You may need to play with the sugar and lemon juice amounts a bit as necessary for desired consistency and flavor.
- Evenly drizzle glaze over bread before slicing and serving.
- Extra glaze can be spread on the cut surface of the bread like you’d spread butter on toast and it soaks right in making the bread even moister and more lemony. Or you can halve the glaze recipe if you’re not a glaze person.
Video
Notes
- *Don’t use lemon oil and lemon extract interchangeably because they’re not; oil is much more potent and intense. Don’t use lemon juice in place of lemon extract because it’s not strong enough and the acidity can alter the overall results.
- Bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months; I don’t recommend storing it in the fridge because it’ll dry out.
- Recipe adapted from my Blueberry Yogurt Cake with Lemon Vanilla Glaze.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Lemon Desserts:
Lemon Lemonies – Like brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor!
Lightened Up Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake — No BUTTER in this healthier cake with big juicy blueberries and refreshing lemon! It’s a keeper!
Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting – Soft, fluffy, moist, very lemony cupcakes from scratch! Easy one-bowl, no-mixer recipe for cupcakes that taste like they’re from a bakery!
The Best Lemon Bars – Truly the best lemon bars I’ve ever had!
Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze – Almost more berries than cake in this soft, fluffy cake!
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies — Packed with big, bold lemon flavor for all you lemon lovers! They’re soft, chewy and not at all cakey!
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze — An easy buttermilk cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!!
Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies — Big, bold lemon flavor packed into super soft cookies thanks to the cream cheese!! Tangy-sweet perfection! Lemon lovers are going to adore these easy cookies!!
Baked Lemon Donuts with Lemon Glaze — They taste like the Starbucks lemon loaf, but in donut (or mini muffin) form!! Easy, no mixer recipe with a tart-yet-sweet lemon glaze that’s PERFECT! Lemon lovers will adore them!!
My daughter and I made this last night. I had to cook it for waaaaay longer because my toothpick always came out with batter. My oven may not be in the best working order. Also it was super dense. We are both novices with baking so the next time we will try being a little more light handed with the flour as you suggested above. Thank you so much for the great recipe! It was a great way for my daughter and I to spend some time together!
Adding too much flour will make it dense and it could also effect baking time, as will an oven that’s not in the best working order. Glad you were able to try the recipe and spend time with your daughter.
Hi Averie!
Thank you so much for sharing the Lemon Loaf recipe. I did it yesterday evening.
Simply superb!!! Full balance of flavors. Also, I followed your indications to prepare my own lemon extract… That was a glad surprise.
For the Lemon Loaf, since I did not have any sour cream, I simply drained a regular yogurt, and the result was simply to taste… I’ll try it with sour cream some other time. Congratulations for your site and the “food chronicles”! I loved it.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad the drained regular yogurt worked as well as your homemade lemon extract!
Hi, I am making my first wedding cake and one tier is to be lemon cake. Do you think this recipe would be suitable, it will be a 8 inch round cake with 3 layers . Fresh lemon curd will be added to the layers and fondant icing will cover it. I will dowl the cake but do you think it will hold up to this.Â
Being that this will be used as a wedding cake, I highly recommend making the cake as written, tasting it, sampling it with the bride/groom, and then you all can decide if this is a good fit for their needs.
Hi Averie – I was wondering, I would like to make this recipe but in a round pan that has a floral imprint (to go with the theme we are doing for Teacher Appreciation this week). How long and at what temp would you recommend doing for that? This looks great, can’t wait to try! :)
I wouldn’t change the temp. Since all pans and shapes vary, it’s really hard to say how long to bake it, depending on the shape. Bake until it’s done!
Wow, thanks for the lightening fast response. I really appreciate it! I will try both a loaf and the circular pan and let you know how it turns out. Thanks and so glad I found your site. I will be sharing with friends :)
Glad you found my site too and LMK how the recipe turns out – in both pans! Enjoy! Lucky teachers at your school too that you’re baking for them!
Can I double this to make two loaves at once or is it best to make two single batches?
You know I’ve never tried doubling the recipe but I think you’d be safe. Haven’t personally tried though!
Hi thankyou so much for the Lemon Cake recipe – cannot use vegetable or canola oil – can you suggest a sub for it?
Safflower oil, coconut oil, olive oil. Definitely need to use the most neutral-tasting oil you can.
Just made these and so so good! You are right – better than starbucks by a long shot!Â
I didn’t have lemon extract but the zest provided enough lemon flavour for anyone wandering. I used the extra fine part of the grater to ensure maximum lemon flavor :)Â
Thank you!Â
Oh, and mine is very yellow but I noticed that my egg yolks were extra yellow so I’m sure that helped!Â
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! Glad you agree it’s way better than Starbucks! :)
hi, thank you for this amazing recipe!!!!!! but i am just wondering how come my loaf is not as white as yours? is a bit brownish =(Â
Perhaps the color of your flour or other ingredients were darker than mine. I wouldn’t worry about the color as long as it tastes good!
Hello.. Your Lemon cake is amazing recipe,,, good and keep it up..?
Thanks!
Hi Averie:
Thanks again for the recipe…the loaf is getting universal thumbs up.
I’m thinking of experimenting with making this loaf again, but replacing every “lemon” item (i.e. lemon zest, lemon extract, etc.) with the orange equivalent (orange zest, orange extract, etc.) to see if I get a delicious orange loaf.
I’m wondering if you’ve ever done this or…if you already know it’s a bad idea and want to warn me off. :)
-Dan-Â
I have not done it but I have a faint memory of someone in the comments at some point mentioning they have successfully. Let me know if you try and how it goes. It sounds great!
It’s in the oven now…I’ll let you know. :)
LMK the verdict!
Hi Averie:
The verdict is a thumbs up from me. The taste of the orange is much more subtle than that of the lemon loaf. It’s more like a pound cake with just a hint of orange aftertaste. I felt the glaze on the lemon really added to it, but the orange I’ll probably just give some powdered sugar as the delicate flavor is really nice, and I don’t want to change it.
For the record, all I did was substitute orange extract and orange zest (same quantities as original) in place of the lemon from your recipe, and I used sour cream. I love the result. I’m sure there are ways to make this even better…I guess it will be fun to experiment.
Take care.
That’s wonderful that the orange came out well and thanks for LMK you didn’t change the quantities. I know, yes, that orange is a much more subtle flavor than lemon as I have some orange creamsicle cookies I made once that are subtle. https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/11/orange-creamsicle-white-chocolate-chip-softbatch-cookies.html Lemon is one of those BOLD flavors to bake with.
I also have this cherry bread and while the base of the bread is different than the lemon loaf base, it’s a great fruity bread. Maybe you may like this one too. https://www.averiecooks.com/sweet-soft-cherry-bread-with-cherry-almond-glaze/
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! I tend to create my recipes in a way that they’re pretty flexible in terms of swapping veggies in and out based on what you have on hand and glad everything you did came out great!
Thank you very much. I just tried this recipe and love the result. The glaze is thinner than what we see at Starbucks, but has a nice “sharp” lemon taste that work great. I’d like to make this as a 10 inch bundt cake. Would I just double everything to get the correct proportions?
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! The glaze will thicken up and become less ‘sharp’ if you add more powdered sugar. Just add to taste.
In terms of making a bundt, doubling will probably work but I don’t know for sure because I haven’t tried it that way.
Thanks for the recipe. I plan on making this for Easter brunch. I love lemon anything!
When does the canola oil get added. I can’t find that in the directions?
Step 3. It’s right there!
I would like to make this and freeze it to give to a friend who loves lemon loaf. Â Will the glaze be ok or should I not glaze it until I give it to her?
Glaze it right before you plan to give it to her.
Hey, I made this loaf but I had some issues. Mine didn’t rise as beautifully as yours -in fact, it had kind of a sunken top :( which of course isn’t very aesthetically pleasing… and the texture was a little bit strange too (mine wasn’t soft/springy at all! it was wayyy too dense and moist, almost chewy).
I’m pretty sure I measured everything right? I wonder what could have gone wrong… Did I overmix the batter? Was my oven temperature off? Was the center of the bread too moist? I’m planning on making it again (my family still loved it! haha I just wanna get it right this time).
Any of the things you asked me about are possibilities with baking and it’s impossible for me to troubleshoot from afar since I wasn’t there making it with you! I would suggest replacing your baking powder with fresh which will help with the structure and rising issue; make sure your oven is calibrated which can also cause things to look like they’re done and then sink upon cooling if they internal temp isn’t as hot as you think it was. And lastly, take it easy with mixing and don’t over-beat the flour which can turn things very tough and dense. Glad it still tasted great!
Made it yesterday but as I was taking it out of the oven I fumbled and it flipped upside done so it was completely ruined and all over the place :(. But my boyfriend got me the lemons and sour cream that I needed to make another one and I just put the glaze on it and cut myself a slice (or two… Or three). The bread isn’t quite lemony enough for me though so I’ll have to add more extract and zest next time I make it. Otherwise easy, moist, simple inexpensive ingredients, and delicious!
Glad you enjoyed the bread!