Starbucks Lemon Loaf Copycat Recipe: Easy + Irresistible

One of my favorite spring desserts growing up may have been lemon pound cake.

Special enough on its own because of its buttery-sweet goodness. But also because I only had it when my relatives gathered at my Aunt B’s house for afternoon coffee out in the Louisiana country.

Turns out she was really on to something since Starbucks also thought lemon cake was coffee’s perfect partner.

Aunt B and Starbucks couldn’t have been more right.

In a survey, Daily Meal asked 567 Starbucks fans what their favorite desserts on the menu were. And out of all their delectable offerings in the case, their Iced Lemon Loaf edged out the rest for the top spot.

This delicious lemon cake is not only perfect with an afternoon cup of coffee, but it’s also a great recipe to give as a gift to friends and neighbors who are lemon lovers 🙋‍♀️.

Now that Starbucks has perfected the lemon cake dessert, home cooks have been duping it all over the internet with their best guesses as to how it’s made.

After researching and combining different copycat recipes from the internet, I found out it’s a really easy recipe to make!

This copycat Starbucks recipe was the most common in ingredients with just some variations in the oil and butter. (I also ran across recipes that use a box cake mix, but haven’t tried any of those.)

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You can find most of these simple ingredients for this lemon bread recipe already in your kitchen:

Lemon Loaf:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (half a large lemon)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (8 oz.)

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• Optional: Lemon zest for garnishing

Make sure and print the recipe card or pin the Pinterest graphic to save for later – both can be found at the bottom of this post.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray, cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat with a hand electric mixer on medium for two minutes.

4. Add the melted butter (cooled to room temperature) and the oil and mix until incorporated.

5. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and lemon extract and stir or mix on medium until combined.

6. Add in the sour cream and mix again until incorporated.

5. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt mixture and stir in these dry ingredients a third at a time with a rubber spatula until just combined (don’t overmix).

6. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in a preheated oven for 55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

7. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan.

8. Prepare the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoons milk until desired consistency is reached, whisking until smooth.

9. Remove the completely cooled lemon loaf from the pan onto a serving plate. Drizzle glaze over the top of the cake, letting it run down the sides.

• For the most tender cake, don’t overmix the batter after adding the dry ingredients trying to get every lump out.
• Check the cake in the last 10-15 minutes of baking to make sure it’s not getting too brown. If it is, tent a piece of foil over it for the remainder of baking.
• Although you can mix the ingredients by hand, beating the eggs and sugar for a full two minutes will incorporate air that makes the cake fluffier.
• If you don’t want the glaze to puddle on the serving plate, place the cake on a wire rack on a cookie sheet before pouring it on.

• Add the signature Starbucks trench down the middle. Run a spatula or butter knife down the center of the batter before baking to create a split.
• Make it more yellow. Reduce the lemon extract and add lemon zest to the batter for fresh lemon flavor and to add more bright color to the bread.
• Zest the peel of the lemon over the top of the glaze.
• Add a couple of thinly sliced lemons to the top to dress it up.

For the most moist lemon cake, store it unrefrigerated in plastic wrap or an airtight container. The fridge will make it last slightly longer, but may dry it out a tad.

On the counter, it should last for up to five days. In the refrigerator it should save for a week.

The cake freezes beautifully for later. Slip the unglazed loaf into a freezer bag and freeze it for up to six months. For a glazed lemon loaf, you may find it easier to freeze it already sliced since the glaze will change texture.

If you don’t have sour cream, you can substitute buttermilk or yogurt, but it may change the flavor slightly.

There are differing opinions on changing from vegetable or canola oil and whether it’s acceptable. Using oil along with the butter makes a moist lemon cake, but changing the oil to something like olive oil is said to change the flavor.

Yes you can, and it’s easy if you use two 9×5 loaf pans. Changing the size of the pan to a larger pan or even smaller mini loaf pans will affect the bake time, so adjust accordingly.

When I decorated the kitchen for spring with cheery lemons it put me in the mood to make a spring-like treat for the dessert cloche, and let’s just say this lemon loaf didn’t last the week!

Need a comfort food dessert, but watching your sugar? Try this almost sugar-free banana pudding recipe.

If you love lemon desserts let me warn you, this one is hard to resist.

And you won’t even have to go back to the Starbucks counter and ask for another pricey slice.

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