You wont just be “loafing” around after you eat this lemon loaf made with fresh lemon juice and zest. This lemon loaf is super moist using Greek yogurt and a prominent lemon flavor using the zest of a lemon.
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Greek yogurt vs. oil & butter
Replacing oil with a different fat is definitely ok and will produce an equal baked good. Using plain Greek yogurt vs vegetable or canola oil offers more. Greek yogurt’s creaminess adds moisture, tanginess and the acidity of the yogurt helps activate the baking soda.
If you are looking for healthier ingredients to cook and bake with, plain Greek yogurt is a wonderful alternative.
Room temperature ingredients
It’s vital that you use room temperature ingredients when the recipe calls for it. Eggs and yogurt are typially the ingredients that need to be at room temperature when prepaing baked goods. And just when you think that it doesn’t natter, your lemon loaf will become a lemon brick. It wont rise.
How to zest a lemon
The zest of a lemon is so amazing, that it stands alone as a powerful flavoring. I prefer to use lemon zest rather than lemon extract.
The thing is, zesting a lemon isn’t as obvious as one might think. When you shave the zest, you only remove the outer yellow part while leaving behind the pith (the inner white part). The pith is bitter and not very pleasant tasting at all. What we know as the rind consists of the outer yellow skin and the white pith. Also, the rind contains all the beautiful lemon flavor. This is where the oil of the lemon lives.
Ingredients for Lemony Lemon Loaf
Lemons: Lemons are life. Find lemons that are bright yellow and somewhat soft.
Flour: I prefer King Arthur’s unbleached all-purpose flour. King Arthur is a name you can trust for delivering quality ingredients.
Sugar: There are two kinds of sugar that I use for this lemon loaf. For the loaf, I use a white granulated sugar and for the lemon icing, I use confectioners’ sugar, or also known as powdered sugar.
Eggs: I prefer using large brown eggs. Truth is, there isn’t a nutritional difference between the two types of eggs. The only difference is the chicken that lays them. Chickens with white feathers and ear lobes lay white eggs, and chickens with with red feathers and red ear lobes, lay brown eggs. Who knew chickens have ear lobes? Another fun fact is, brown eggs are more expensive because the chickens that lay them are larger than white-feathered chcickens, and require more feed.
Greek yogurt: Plain Greek yogurt is everyting! It’s usually my go-to when a baked good recipe requires butter. As I explain above, plain Greek yogurt is healthier and contains more nutritional value. As long as it’s an acidic fat, it will activate the baking powder for a beautiful rise.
Baking soda: I use Bob’s Red Mill baking soda and powder. For a large bag of quality ingredients, you only pay a few bucks compared to the small containers.
Vanilla: I prefer to use a vanilla or almond extract that is pure. No imitation allowed!
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Lemony Lemon Loaf
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 slices 1x
Description
A moist, super lemony lemon loaf drizzled with lemon icing.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or as much as needed for the consistency you desire
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour a 9×5 loaf pan. Set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar Greek yogurt, and whisk vigorously until smooth.
- Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking to combine.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon or almond extract and whisk until combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt and stir until just combined careful not to overmix. There will be some small lumps and will dissolve during baking.
- Pour the batter into the greased and floured loaf pan.
- Bake for 50 minutes until top is domed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- If necessary, you can cover the top with a foil tent to prevent over browning.
- Allow loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
The lemon icing
- In a medium bowl, add the suagr and lemon juice, mix until smooth. Play around with consistency by adding lemon juice to the sugar a little at a time. I prefer a thicker icing.
- Drizzle the icing over the lemon loaf and serve!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: lemon, loaf, cake, lemon zest, lemon icing
