Starbucks Lemon Loaf

I love lemon desserts, but I have to admit, I had never had Starbucks Lemon Loaf. So the first thing I did before I baked this cake was to go to Starbucks and get a slice of that famous lemon loaf of theirs! It was very good. And this recipe is better.

This lemon loaf is very moist, and has a wonderfully sweet lemon tang. It keeps beautifully. The day I made it, we enjoyed a few slices, then I put it in a cake keeper on the counter. We went out of town for a few days. When we got back, I remembered the lemon loaf, and thought it would probably be old and dry. Nope, it was as good as the day I made it, possibly even better.

Starbucks Lemon Loaf  Print Recipe

For the cake:
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon extract
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup canola oil
zest of one lemon

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk (I was out of milk, so I used half and half)
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (I used 325 degrees). Grease and flour a 9 X 5 loaf pan (I used glass Pyrex).
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
3. In a mixer bowl, combine eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the lemon extract and lemon juice (the lemon extract and lemon juice can curdle the eggs, so we want the mixer running to combine quickly).
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until smooth. You can do this by hand. Stir the oil and zest into the batter until completely mixed.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached (about 45 min at 350 degrees; about 57 minutes at 325 degrees). Remove from oven onto a wire cooling rack. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes while you prepare the glaze (whisk glaze ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth and well-combined). Pour glaze over warm cake and let cool completely in pan. Store tightly covered. Keeps well for several days.

Cooks notes: On some of the recipe sites, there were mentions of the loaf falling. Mine did not. I don't know what might make it fall. Just be warned that it may have a bit of a reputation to fall. The original recipe said to bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I baked mine at 325 degrees for 56 minutes in a glass pan. I thought a little lower temp might prevent the loaf from rising too quickly and then falling. Who knows. But mine was fine.

This recipe has been everywhere. As far as I can tell, the original recipe comes from Recipecircus.com.

Starbucks Lemon Loaf may have been taken to some of these fun parties!

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