There’s just something so good about picking up an outrageously delicious latte and equally heavenly cakes. Every time, I wonder how they do it so darn well and find myself asking if I can’t recreate the magic at home? With trials and tribulations, I have found, that yes, yes you can! I present to you: The dupe recipe to the famously good lemon yogurt loaf.
Lemon Yogurt Loaf: Tastes Just Like the Original
Sometimes there’s nothing better than meeting up with friends in a cozy café, chatting all afternoon, and treating yourself to a large cup of coffee and a slice of cake. I have to admit, on such outings, I tend to fall back on old favorites. Like the lemon loaf from that green mermaid guarded store. Despite all the changes to the menu, I find myself always coming back to that bright slice of cake. While there are some cakes that are so chocolatey that you find yourself in chocolate heaven, this cake is so lemony that I felt mentally transported to Italian lemon fields.
But since I didn’t want to regularly spend a small fortune on this delicacy, I tried to recreate the Starbucks lemon loaf at home. This recipe is the result of a lot of tinkering and toying in the restaurant. I found in that experimentation also a lot of reflection on what makes this recipe work so well.
One of the most important components to this cake’s ‘wow’ factor is its moistness, which the Greek yogurt in the recipe helps bring into the fold. But of course, what would the cake be without its lemons? The juice and zest of two lemons will give this loaf its intensely citrusy aroma and flavor. Be sure to use organic lemons when baking, as the zest means that the skin of the lemon, and whatever its come into contact with, will be directly consumed.
But that’s not all to this cake. In addition to the airy-fresh and moist texture, a slightly crispy and equally lemony sugar glaze crowns the cake. It really adds the pièce de résistance to this recipe. I have to admit, the more I think about this cake, the more I admire just how perfectly it works. Just thinking about it makes me want to bake.
Do you feel the same way? Then grab your kitchen utensils, bowl, and ingredients and get started. And if you can’t get enough of this delicious lemon yogurt loaf, but want some variety on your cake plate, do try our strawberry brownie cake, chocolate pudding sheet cake, and of course, our two-ingredient marzipan cake recipes.
Lemon Yogurt Loaf
Equipment
- 1 9×5 inch loaf pan
Ingredients
- butter for greasing the pan
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for the pan
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup sunflower oil
- ⅔ cup Greek yogurt
- 3 organic lemons zest and juice
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan with butter and dust it lightly with flour.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy.
- Add the sunflower oil and Greek yogurt to the egg-sugar mixture. Mix well.
- Stir in the zest and juice of two lemons. Then, add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Insert a wooden skewer or fork into the center of the loaf; once it comes out clean, the pastry is ready.
- Remove the loaf from the oven, let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, for the glaze, mix the powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of zest from the third lemon.
- Pour the glaze evenly over the cooled loaf and sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest. Let the glaze set before slicing and serving.