Poppin’ Lemon Loaf

This bakery style lemon poppyseed loaf is full of citrus flavor, zesty, and sure to impress anyone you serve to. Lemon zest in the glaze gives the loaf a beautiful presentation and citrus flavor.

While the rest of the country was baking banana bread and feeding their sourdough starter (you know exactly when I’m talking about), I spent countless afternoons perfecting THIS recipe instead. A nostalgic, not too sweet, very moist, addicting lemon poppyseed loaf. Perfectly balanced between sweet, sour, and refreshing, and the moist almost sticky consistency, this lemon loaf is POPPIN’.

Look no further, this is the only lemon poppyseed recipe you need in your life. SERIOUSLY. Bring this to your friends or family and their faces will glow upon the first bite. Trust. I dare you to attempt saving leftovers. I also love that you can make this any time of year, any time of day. A true crowd pleaser. I’ve served this at a winter brunch, summer picnic, I’ve brought it on a friends weekend trip. It keeps perfectly moist and flavorful for 3-5 days when wrapped, if you can make it that long 😉

Ingredients

• Lemon zest: There is lemon zest in the cake and in the frosting. You can’t really skip on this one for a few reasons. First, most of the lemon flavor actually comes from the zest! Second, the specks of lemon zest in the final product add beautiful coloring along with the poppyseeds.  Third, adding zest to the glaze adds color, texture, and a great flavor!
• Sour cream: This is the secret ingredient that bring the dense and moist consistency you need, and brings that nostalgic bakery taste as well. You can sub greek yogurt in a pinch.
• Butter: room temperature will make all the difference, especially if using a hand whisk. Take the butter out the day before, or at the beginning of the day. You can use my trick to get butter to room temperature if you forget (we all have)
• Glaze: Not a necessary element but its necessary.

Let’s cook!

Loaf Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour (225g)
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (113g)
• ¾ cup granulated white sugar (150g)
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup whole milk or buttermilk, room temperature (115ml)
• 2.5 medium ripe lemons – zest and juice, room temperature (the other half lemon will be used in the glaze)
• ¼  cup sour cream (70g)
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt

Glaze Ingredients:

• ¾ cup powdered confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Zest of half a lemon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5 baking pan with nonstick spray or butter
2. In a small bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda. Whisk and set aside.
3. Whisk the room-temperature butter and sugar together in a stand mixer on low speed or using a hand whisk for about 2-3 minutes until full incorporated.
4. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar and mix until combined. 
5. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, poppy seeds, and vanilla extract into the batter and mix together until fully incorporated.
6. Next, add half of the dry mix and half of the milk to the mixture and use a spatula until incorporated (this helps avoiding over-mixing). Add the rest of the dry mix and the milk and mix.
7. Fold in the sour cream until fully incorporated
8. Spoon the  batter into the center of your greased baking tin and bake for 45-50 minutes. Let the loaf cool for about 5-10 minutes before taking out of the pan.
9. Glaze: While the loaf is cooling, whisk the confectioners sugar with the saved lemon juice + zest. If you want the glaze thinner, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until your desired consistency. Let the loaf cool a bit and then spread the glaze over!
10. Enjoy!