Copycat Starbuck's Lemon Loaf

Each year for 4-H there is a Food and Bread Show. When the girls were younger, they signed up to participate on year. They had decorated cupcakes, casseroles, and a variety of dishes. They were excited about participating. Then there was an ice storm the night before the Show and the roads were too icy the following morning. The Show was cancelled.

It has been difficult to get them to want to participate in it again. Until this year. There is online judging which they can do anytime until April 25th. The judge will review all the entries and make awards from those submitted.

One of the recipes that Olivia made for the Quick Bread division was a Copycat Starbuck's Lemon Loaf. The pin on Pinterest led to The Country Cook.

The bread is a dense, moist one with a flavorful glaze made from fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar. Despite the 2 tablespoons of lemon zest and lemon extract, it is not an overpowering lemon-flavored bread. We both felt like there could be even more lemon flavor in the bread to match the frosting.

The cost of making a loaf of this bread is about $7.43 or 62 cents per slice. Compared to purchasing a slice at Starbucks for over $3, this saves a lot of money.

Nutritionally, this recipe has lower calories, fat, carbohydrates, and sodium. It has a higher level of protein because Olivia used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

This recipe is easy to make (minus the hand-zesting of six lemons to get enough lemon zest) and we would definitely make it again.

Ingredients

For the cake:
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp lemon zest (about six lemons)
2 tbsp lemon extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the lemon glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with floured no-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, sour cream, oil and whisk vigorously until smooth and combined. Finally, add the lemon zest, lemon extract, and stir well to combine.

Then, stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and stir until just combined. It’s okay if it’s a bit lumpy. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 50 to 52 minutes. (Note: it took 1 hour and 11 minutes for the bread to bake in our oven.)

Optional: 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. (Note: Olivia needed to do this for the last 21 minutes of baking.)

Allow loaf to cool in pan on top of a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before turning out onto cooling rack to finish cooling before glazing.

For the glaze, in a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and combined. You may need to play with the sugar and lemon juice amounts a bit for desired consistency and flavor. (Note: we used 2 tablespoons lemon juice so the frosting was thick - just like at Starbucks.)

Evenly spread or drizzle glaze over bread before slicing and serving.

Notes

Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Don’t store it in the fridge because it’ll dry out.