My seventeen-year-old son Mitchell is fun to bake with because he has great reactions when he tastes something he likes and he
looooves this lemon loaf. We’ve tried a few different versions of this in the
last few years but have finally settled on this recipe that’s packed with
flavour and “better than Starbucks.” Mitchell’s twin sister Taylor and I are
partial to desserts with chocolate – much like my Leonard grandfather aka Pop. But I understand that some Leonard family members – and both Mitchell and my
husband Mike – tend to prefer fruit-flavoured desserts. Mike even says this is
“moister” than Starbucks (if moist-er is even a word). This is a fairly dense
cake, like a pound cake, and I find that with all this flavour, just one piece
is very satisfying.
So here you go, the recipe.
Lemon Loaf
Preheat oven to 350°F
Ingredients
1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter (unsalted)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
zest of one lemon (1-2 tbsp)
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
⅓ cup buttermilk
Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature,
especially eggs and butter.
 |
| old-fashioned glass reamer for citrus fruit |
Baking Tip:
Zesting citrus fruit:
Wash and thoroughly
dry the outside of the fruit, removing any wax – or anything else.
Zest BEFORE you juice
a lemon. When zesting citrus, remove just the thin coloured skin and leave
behind the white pith that’s underneath the zest – it’s bitter. To produce zest use the very fine grater of a box grater, a microplane/rasp, or a zester. I found that a handheld zester requires alot of pressure and doesn't yield much. Using two lemons I can get about 2
tbsp lemon zest using my box grater, and all the lemon juice I need for the loaf, the glaze and the icing. I could probably get more zest if I had a microplaner. (hint, hint Santa)
 |
| box grater, microplane, and zester for garnish strips or zest |
 |
| line loaf pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper |
Instructions:
Prepare loaf pan by lining with aluminum foil or parchment paper
and greasing lightly. Whisk (or sift) dry ingredients into a small bowl and set
aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter 2-3 minutes. Gradually add sugar and
beat for another 2-3 minutes until lightly coloured and fluffy.
On low speed add
eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the
sides as needed. On medium-high speed beat in the vanilla and lemon extracts, lemon juice and lemon zest. Batter will curdle
– it’s supposed to.
 |
| creamed butter and sugar, curdled batter with buttermilk |
On low speed add the flour mixture alternating with
buttermilk (start and finish with flour). Don’t over mix. Scrape into the loaf
pan and level batter. Bake 50-60 minutes until tester comes out clean. To
prevent over-browning you can tent aluminum foil over the loaf pan for the last
20-30 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Lift the
loaf using the aluminum foil or parchment paper and place on a cooling rack. Let
cool completely before serving.
 |
| lemon loaf with glaze |
For even more lemony
flavour:
This loaf is moist and flavourful as it is but for more
flavour you can do a lemon glaze or lemon icing. If you choose to not do a glaze you can boost the lemon
extract in the loaf to 1-2 tablespoons. The first time I made this we left the
loaf on the aluminum foil and poured the glaze over the loaf. Of course it ran
down the sides of the loaf and the syrup pooled on the aluminum foil, resulting
in all the flavour ending up at the bottom of the loaf. Then we discovered that
you should poke holes in the loaf and let the loaf get infused with the syrup. We also tried a glaze with icing sugar. Now we do both a syrup to infuse the
loaf and a thicker icing for the top
of the loaf to make it feel more like a dessert cake rather than a tea loaf.
Lemon Glaze (Syrup)
Ingredients:
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup sugar
Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and sugar, stirring
until sugar dissolves. (If it’s not dissolving you can put it in a small sauce
pan and cook it on low until sugar dissolves.) Place loaf on cooling rack with a cookie sheet or aluminum foil underneath to catch the drips. While loaf is still warm pour glaze
over top of loaf. To infuse the loaf with the syrup use a skewer or toothpick
to poke holes in the top of the cake (and the sides for even more flavour). Brush
or spoon glaze repeatedly over top (and sides) of loaf.
 |
| lemon loaf with a glaze made with icing sugar |
Lemon Glaze (Icing)
Ingredients:
1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp milk or cream
Instructions:
Mix lemon juice with icing sugar (I do this by hand in a
small bowl). Be sure to remove any lumps. Add 1-2 tbsp of milk or cream. For
thicker icing that doesn’t run add more icing sugar – lots of it. After loaf
has completely cooled, pour or spread icing over the top of the lemon loaf.
 |
| lemon loaf infused with lemon glaze and topped with icing |
