Lemon Yogurt Loaf

Back when I worked at Starbucks the Lemon Loaf used to be my favourite treat. I have many fond memories of stories shared and friendship made over a slice of lemon loaf.

The other day it was my friend Talia’s birthday and I thought to make a Lemon Loaf to celebrate her birthday. Unfortunately, she moved to the other end of the Country so I had to eat her slice too 😉.

This Lemon Loaf is moist and lemony, just like the delicious loaf we remember from our Starbucks days but lighter in both texture and calories. Yogurt (or sour cream) is used to give the cake its moist crumble and reduce the amount of fat in the loaf. I am never one to shy away from fat or baked goods, but if I can improve on something and have it taste great or even better than the original, I’ll definitely make that swap.

I

f you’re looking to make this gluten-free I would substitute the unbleached flour for a gluten-free baking blend - Bob’s Red Mill has a great option.

If you don’t have time to infuse the butter and olive oil with the lemon peel, you could always skip that step. I like to do it before I start gathering and preparing my ingredients, then it feels less like an extra step.

Store this loaf in an airtight container so that it doesn’t dry out, if it lasts more than two days move it to the fridge.

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup butter

¼ cup olive oil

Peel of 1 lemon

¾ Greek Yogurt (or Sour Cream) - I prefer to use full-fat when baking

⅔ cup sugar

1 tbsp honey

Zest of Lemon

Juice of half a lemon

3 eggs

½ tsp vanilla

1 ½ cup unbleached flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

Glaze:

½ cup icing sugar

1 tbsp honey

Juice of half a lemon

METHOD

In a small pot over low heat, combine butter, olive oil and lemon peel. Once butter has melted, remove from heat and let sit to allow the lemon peel to infuse the butter and oil.

Preheat oven to 350F

Grease and line a loaf small loaf pan.

In a small bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a medium bowl measure out the sugar and to that add the lemon zest.

Using your hands massage the zest into the sugar, so that it's evenly distributed.

Add the eggs, honey, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth and combined.

Strain the butter/olive oil mixture and whisk into the egg mixture. If the butter/oil is still quite warm be sure to add it in slowly and whisk quickly (as to not scramble the eggs).

Once combined add the yogurt and lemon juice.

Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, until just combined.

Pour the mix into the pan and transfer to the oven, bake on the lower rack.

Bake for 55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the cake is a nice golden colour.

Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

Let sit for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

While the loaf is cooling mix together the glaze ingredients.

Using a toothpick poke multiple holes throughout the top of the cake.

Pour the glaze on top of the cake and using the back of a spoon smooth it over. The glaze will slowly steep into the cake, leaving a lightly glazed top.

Allow the cake to cool a little more and then slice and enjoy!

finished lemon yogurt loaf