Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf

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A few weeks ago my blogger friend Dorothy from Shockingly Delicious sent me a bunch of lemons picked fresh from her home in California.   Since I live in Maryland we never get any fresh citrus fruit.  By the time it makes it here it’s been on a truck for who knows how long so this was a real treat. 

Opening up the box we could smell the fresh scent of lemon and it was amazing.  My husband and I were thrilled to have lemons that actually smelled like lemons.   Plus, these were the biggest lemons I’ve ever seen!  We immediately cut one to put in our tea and we weren’t disappointed.   It was fragrant and added a ton of flavor to our beverages.

While we easily could have used all of them in our drinks I wanted to bake something with the lemons because they were just that good.   I found a recipe for this Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf and I was sold!  The funny thing is, of all the things I’ve had at Starbucks I’ve never had their Lemon Loaf.  I’m just not a big fan of baked goods at corporate places because they never compare to homemade.

I whipped up this loaf in no time.  While the recipe called for using several lemons, I only needed one of the gigantic lemons I received.  I was able to zest it and get 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice out of that one lemon and it smelled so yummy.   I poured it into the cake and the whole house smelled like citrus as it baked.

To give the loaf even more bright lemon flavor I dressed it up with an easy powdered sugar glaze flavored with the fresh lemon juice.  It was pretty tart compared to the sweet lemon loaf which made it just about perfect!  I grabbed myself a cup of coffee and enjoyed the fragrant lemon loaf out on my back porch.

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Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf

Yield: 12 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

A delicious quick bread made with fresh lemon juice and zest and a lemon glaze on top!

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Ingredients

For the lemon loaf:

• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• zest of 1 large lemon or 2 medium lemons
• 4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 c. milk

For the glaze:

• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl cream together the butter and sugar.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla to the bowl and mix until light and fluffy.
5. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice and mix well.
6. Add the lemon and butter mixture to the flour mixture and stir. Add in the milk and stir until well combined.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
8. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges and remove from the pan. Cool completely.
10. To make the glaze whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk together. Pour over top of the cooled lemon loaf. Allow glaze to harden 15 minutes.
11. Slice into pieces and serve.