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!!
This recipe is the absolute best! My entire family loved it and made me promise to make it again and again. It’s refreshing and not too sweet. Thank you so much for all the hard work because it’s even better than Starbucks.
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! And thanks for appreciating my efforts and glad you think it’s better than Starbucks :)
I just finished with making your Lemon Loaf. It baked beautifully however while cooling it reduced to have the size. It is very heavy and nothing like Starbucks lemon cake. What could have gone wrong? I do a lot of baking and never have any problems with other pound cake recipes.
Generally when things fall or sink upon cooling, it means that the internal temp wasn’t quite hot enough and it wasn’t fully cooked through in the middle. I’d try baking longer.
As well as making sure your baking powder is brand new and totally fresh.
Have this baking in the oven as I write this message!! Your site is full of amazingly delicious treats, esp your pineapple upside down cake!! Yum. Thanks for some awesome eats. Happy new year!!
Thanks for sharing! I adapted it slightly by baking in a Bundt pan for just 25 minutes. Delish with hot tea!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you as a Bundt!
I love Starbucks’ lemon pound cake and tried different recipes, including yours. So far haven’t found anything as good as Starbucks’ though. Yours is not bad, but not as good as Starbucks: lemon flavor is not as profound and cake is not as moist as Starbucks’.
Perhaps you overbaked it slightly if it’s not moist because I find the cake to be very moist; moister than Starbucks but not as greasy as theirs. The lemon flavor can be increased by use of more lemon extract, more lemon in the glaze, more zest, etc. Thanks for trying the recipe.
Hi Averie,
I am a new subscriber to your recipes and can’t wait to try them! Want to make your Lemon Loaf! Just want to check on your cup, tablespoon and teaspoon measurements! I live in Australia and I know that measurements can differ between countries. In Australia 1 cup is 250ml, 1 tablespoon is 20ml and 1 teaspoon is 5ml. I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to baking and I usually weigh all of my ingredients by the gram or by millage, that way I can achieve the same results every time I bake something! Hope you can help! Have a great day!
My recipes don’t call for perfectionism in measuring. I write recipes for the very average home cook who doesn’t necessarily always measure very accurately, and so there’s a decent amount of wiggle room on things I’ve found by way of reader comments over the years. I don’t weigh ingredients and instead use tablespoons and teaspoons. In the US, 1 teaspoon = 3 tablespoons. So by that math 5 x 3 would be 15 ml, rather than 20 ml. Use your best judgment and enjoy the loaf!
OMG! I just had to let you know that all the work that you put into perfecting this recipe paid off. I tried a different recipe last year for Christmas and they came out flat and waxy. I really wanted to perfect these loaves this year and I ran across your recipe. I made some yesterday and right now I’m wrapping them up for Christmas gifts to hand out later today. I tried of piece of one and I swear it was like biting into a small piece of heaven!!!! I had to go sit down and collect myself for a moment after tasting it. Bless your heart. Thank you for this!!!!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And that it’s a little piece of heaven :)
My bread expanded pretty dramatically out of the middle. What causes this? Baking powder is fresh…
Cracks or splits in the center of quickbreads is common, and many time expected. You could google for the baking chemistry of why this happens with regarding to carbon dioxide being released because of the leaveners in the presence of an acid and learn more about it.
I subbed a half cup of buttermilk for half of the sour cream, and added a tsp of vanilla to the icing and this cake turned out great. I’m giving a loaf to everyone for Christmas this year.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you with the substitutions! And that everyone is getting a loaf for Christmas!
HI can i use a vanilla pudding mix instead of greek yogurt or sour cream?
Probably not; I’ve tried this recipe SO many times and had so many fails until I finally got it right. I would make it exactly as I wrote it unless you’re feeling like experimenting…
Followed instructions to the letter. The result was beautiful, but my lemon extract (2 tbsp.) left a somewheat bitter aftertaste. What brand did you use? I used Watkins, a made-in-the-USA brand. I tasted the batter after adding 1 tbsp. Decided it needed more. I probably should have stopped at 1.5 tbsp. My cake also came out denser, not as fluffy looking as yours. Any thoughts?
I have used a store-brand (generic) that my grocery store sells as well as McCormick. I know some brands are more alcohol-ey and bitter tasting than others.
Density in cakes is usually attributed to over-adding the flour (use a light hand) and making sure your leaveners (i.e. baking soda, baking powder) are always super fresh.
I cannot get the recipe, the site keeps blanking out and coming back into focus, no recipe, just picture of cake coming and going, any way to get the recipe sent to me, thanks Ellen
Well, the pictures and recipe came back when I left message, so was able to pin it, thanks.
Great, thanks!
I followed your clear directions to a “T” and the loaf turned out beautifully. My husband and I both LOVED it. I plan on serving it tonight with some berries along side it. I know I’ll be making it time and again. Thank you for all your trials and for sharing it so that the rest of us can just make it and have it turn out yummy the very first time.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! So glad you’ll be making it again and again!
Recipe is beautiful and sounds very delicious. I do have one questions though. Knowing you didn’t use any fresh lemons is it safe to assume that your lemon zest came from a spice jar? In other words, dry. I ask because I think fresh zest would be much more intense than dried and dried out of a jar would practically use the whole jar to get two tablespoons..
I didn’t use lemon juice but I did use real lemon zest. Not dry, not from a spice jar.
I looked at my extract and the main ingredient is alcohol. So I think you are right. I will check out other extracts and see what I can see on them Ha! I will try again cause I love lemon! Have a great day!!
Glad you think it’s your extract and hope you enjoy the next round and glad you’re trying the recipe again!
Made this yesterday.. me and dd both think it’s better than Starbucks, and the man loved it too. :) Will make this again, and again, and …
– Also I made this in a glass loaf pan, and it turned out great!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And that everyone in your family thinks it’s better than Starbucks and that you’ll make it over and over!