Description
A moist, tender loaf cake made with butter, sour cream, and plenty of fresh lemon zest and juice, finished with a sweet-tart lemon glaze.
Ingredients
For the loaf: 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (188 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the glaze: 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving some paper hanging over the sides.
2. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the lemon zest, sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla until combined. The batter may look slightly curdled, which is normal.
4. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together, then stir them into the batter just until no dry streaks remain.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
6. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Tent with foil if the top browns too quickly.
7. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift the loaf out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
8. Whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest until smooth and pourable. Drizzle over the cooled loaf and let it set.
Notes
Original Poulef recipe built from the common glazed lemon loaf formula shared by several published recipes (butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, lemon zest and juice, flour, baking powder, salt, powdered sugar glaze, about 350°F). I did not find a recipe titled Front Porch Lemon Loaf, so all amounts, the 9×5 pan, the 50 to 60 minute bake time and the 10-slice yield are estimates. Test the loaf and check it early.
Rub the zest into the sugar for extra lemon flavor.
Nutrition is an approximate estimate per slice (10 slices, with glaze).
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 314
- Sugar: 33g
- Sodium: 129mg
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 66mg