Sweet Things Remembered

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Inspired by one of my Starbucks favorites, this lemon loaf is rich and moist, and topped with a thick layer of tangy lemon icing. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and citrus flavors.

My second year of college, I needed to find a job. I was living on campus, and I didn’t have a car, so I needed something that was either on campus, or at least within walking distance from my dorm. I wound up applying to work for the dining services, but I specifically requested to work at the Starbucks that was located in the student union. On the application, they had a list with check boxes for applicants to indicate their dining location preferences, and I remember circling “Starbucks” several times and putting a huge star next to it. Thinking about that now, I am cringing at 20 year old me. I got the job, though, so I guess I did something right. Or, maybe they were just desperate. Either way, I wound up working at that Starbucks for three semesters, and for the most part enjoyed my experience. It was a very stressful job at times, like when we would regularly have a line of at least 50 students (I promise I am not exaggerating that!), but I enjoyed a lot of the people. Here are a couple of stand out memories:

• My third semester there, I worked the opening shift Monday-Friday. I didn’t like that part because I am not a morning person, but I did like that I got to know so many of the regulars. At that time, I primarily took people’s orders and wrote them on the cups while my co-worker rang them up on the register. After a while, I knew so many people’s names and orders. When I would confirm with them to make sure I had it right, some would light up when they realized I remembered them. I loved that.
• One time, my co-worker who worked the register told me that one of the regular guys had asked for my phone number. She told him that he would have to ask me himself. He did and I was super awkward about it. When he was in the line, my co-worker pointed him out, and my stomach was instantly in knots. When he got to the front, he asked if I could come out from behind the counter for a minute and talk to him. At the same time he was asking if he could talk to me, someone dropped their drink by the condiments counter. In my nervousness, I immediately cut him off and said, “I have to go mop that up.” I was trying to dodge the conversation, but he followed me and proceeded to ask for my phone number, all while I was mopping the floor. As politely as I could, I declined, but I felt so bad.

Overall, I enjoyed my time at Starbucks, and while I worked there I wound up trying a lot of the drinks and pastries. Their lemon loaf has always been a favorite of mine, so I decided to recreate it for the blog. I hope you enjoy this delicious dessert, maybe with a cup of coffee. Just don’t spill it, unless, of course, you’re trying to give some poor, awkward girl a convenient distraction.

Ingredients

For the Loaf:

• Butter
• Vegetable Oil
• Granulated Sugar
• Lemon Zest
• Eggs
• Vanilla Extract
• Lemon Extract
• All-Purpose Flour
• Baking Powder
• Salt
• Full Fat Sour Cream

For the Icing:

• Powdered Sugar
• Lemon Juice

Equipment

• 9×5 loaf pan – this recipe makes 2 loaves, so you’ll want to make sure to have two or halve the recipe if you only have one. You could also make it as a bundt instead, but you may need to adjust baking time.
• Mixer or mixing bowl and spoon
• Measuring tools
• Zester – You need this to get the zest off of the lemon. I have always hated zesting lemons, and have skipped it in cooking recipes. Do not skip it for this. You need that zest for the lemon flavor.

How to Make Lemon Loaf

• Step 1: Preheat oven to 325° and prepare two 9×5 loaf pans.
  • You can grease and flour the pans really well, or grease and line the long sides and bottom with a strip of parchment, leaving a couple inches hanging over each long side as handles for pulling it out. I just greased the pans with crisco and floured them.
• Step 2: In a bowl, add 2⅔ cups of granulated sugar and the zest of 3 lemons. Using your fingers, rub the zest and the sugar together to help extract more of the oils.
  • I wound up using the zest of two lemons when I made mine because the lemons I had were huge (see the ingredients picture). If your lemons are medium size, use three.
• Step 3: With a mixer, cream together 1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, 6 tbsp vegetable oil, and the sugar and zest mixture until light and fluffy. It should take 5-7 minutes on a low to medium speed.
• Step 4: Add 6 eggs one at a time, beating well after each, 2 tsp vanilla extract, and 4 tsp lemon extract.
• Step 5: In a separate bowl, mix 3 cups of all-purpose flour, ¾ tsp baking powder, and ¾ tsp salt.
• Step 6: With the mixer still going on low, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time, alternating with 1 cup of sour cream. You should end with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
  • I do about a third of the flour mixture, half the sour cream, a third of the flour mixture, the other half of the sour cream, and then the last of the flour mixture.
• Step 7: Pour the batter into prepared pans and smooth it out, gently tap the pans to remove any air bubbles, and bake 65-75 minutes. The loaves should pass the toothpick test.
• Step 8: Let the loaves cool in the pans for 20-25 minutes, and then remove them to cool the rest of the way on a wire rack.
• Step 9: Once the loaves are cool, make the glaze. In a small bowl, mix together 1½ cups sifted powdered sugar and 3 tbsp lemon juice. Once it is fully mixed, you can add more lemon juice a little at a time to get your desired consistency. It should be thick and spreadable if you want it more like Starbucks.
• Step 10: When the loaves are completely cooled, spread the icing evenly on each of them, and then serve. Enjoy!

Questions You May Have

Iced Lemon Loaf (Starbucks Copycat)

Recipe by rebekahdearmondDifficulty: Easy

Servings

24

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Baking time

1

hour 

Ingredients

• For the Loaf:

• 1½ cups butter

• 6 tbsp vegetable oil

• 2⅔ cups granulated sugar

• Zest from 3 lemons (2 if large)

• 6 eggs

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 4 tsp lemon extract

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• ¾ tsp baking powder

• ¾ tsp salt

• 1 cup full fat sour cream

• For the Icing:

• 1½ cups powdered sugar, sifted

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325° and prepare two 9×5 loaf pans.
• In a bowl, add 2⅔ cups of granulated sugar and the zest of 3 lemons. Using your fingers, rub the zest and the sugar together to help extract more of the oils.
• With a mixer, cream together 1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, 6 tbsp vegetable oil, and the sugar and zest mixture until light and fluffy. It should take 5-7 minutes on a low to medium speed.
• Add 6 eggs one at a time, beating well after each, 2 tsp vanilla extract, and 4 tsp lemon extract.
• In a separate bowl, mix 3 cups of all-purpose flour, ¾ tsp baking powder, and ¾ tsp salt.
• With the mixer still going on low, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time, alternating with 1 cup of sour cream. You should end with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
  _{I do about a third of the flour mixture, half the sour cream, a third of the flour mixture, the other half of the sour cream, and then the last of the flour mixture.}
• Pour the batter into prepared pans and smooth it out, gently tap the pans to remove any air bubbles, and bake 65-75 minutes. The loaves should pass the toothpick test.
• Let the loaves cool in the pans for 20-25 minutes, and then remove them to cool the rest of the way on a wire rack.
• Once the loaves are cool, make the glaze. In a small bowl, mix together 1½ cups sifted powdered sugar and 3 tbsp lemon juice. Once it is fully mixed, you can add more lemon juice a little at a time to get your desired consistency. It should be thick and spreadable if you want it more like Starbucks.
• When the loaves are completely cooled, spread the icing evenly on each of them, and then serve. Enjoy!