Lemon Loaf Cake for breakfast has been my recent indulgence.

Lemon Loaf Cake 2

Although the lemons used came from a tree we have in our yard, there is no requirement to plant your own tree and grow your own lemons for this recipe. Store bought lemons are fine!

My friend, Caroline, recommended this recipe.

If Carrie recommends something, it must have made a big impression on her!

I was excited to give the recipe a try. I had to make only a couple changes because I didn't have the ingredients called for on hand.

And I actually made lemon curd instead of buying it.

FYI super simple, folks. Lemon juice, peel, sugar, butter, eggs, salt. Heat. Stir. Thicken. Done.

But, if you don't want to "embrace the homemade," then absolutely -- feel free to buy lemon curd.

I usually send most of the baked goods I make to work with Jeff to share.

But not this cake!

It's all mine, aside from the two pieces we gave to our friends Ken and Eloisa (they loved it, by the way).

I've been storing the remaining slices in our freezer.

Lemon Loaf Cake 4

So for breakfast (after Jeff goes to work!) I pull out a slice, let it thaw just a bit, cut it into cubes and plop those cake cubes in my mouth one at a time.

Pure joy!

Now that I think about it, I should probably share that last slice with Jeff . . .

ENJOY! - The Recipe Wench

Lemon Loaf Cake

Print recipe

Serves	10
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	40 minutes
Total time	55 minutes
Meal type	Dessert
Slightly adapted from recipe on	Circle B Kitchen

Get your lemon fix with lemon loaf cake. Moist, beautiful and lemony! For a special treat, store slices in the freezer and eat while still cold!

Ingredients

1-½ Cups flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
¼ Teaspoon salt
1 Cup sour cream (full fat)
1 Cup sugar
3 eggs
1 Teaspoon lemon extract
½ Cup vegetable oil
2-3 lemons (you'll be using the juice and peel in the cake, drizzle and frosting)
⅓ Cup simple syrup for drizzling (Very easy to make. See Note for directions.)
½ Cup cream cheese, softened (You can substitute mascarpone if you prefer)
1-¼ Cup lemon curd (This can be purchased at the store or made at home. It's easy -- a link to recipe in Note)

Note

Simple Syrup is "simply" ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup water. Heat over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. I like to heat just a couple minutes longer and then add in an optional tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Easy, right?

Lemon curd is easy to make at home. It takes about 10 minutes plus cooling time. I've prepared a recipe for you: Homemade Lemon Curd.

Enjoy! - The Recipe Wench

Directions

Step 1
If you are making lemon curd instead of purchasing it, then this would be your first step. A link to the recipe is in the Note.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a standard-sized loaf pan. I use baking spray for this. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside. In large bowl, mix sour cream, sugar, eggs, 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice, lemon extract and oil until well combined. Stir in heaping teaspoon of grated lemon zest. Gradually whisk in flour mixture
Step 3
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake 40-50 minutes. If the top starts to brown too quickly, place a sheet of foil loosely over the top until cake is finished cooking. When cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, remove from the oven and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely. (You might have to use a butter knife to release cake from sides of pan.)
Step 4
While the cake is still warm, poke holes all over (I used a bamboo skewer) and drizzle the simple syrup over all. (I like to give an "extra dose" to the corners and sides that may have become a little dry while cooking.)
Step 5
To prepare the frosting, whip cream cheese, lemon curd and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest until creamy. (You can adjust the proportions of cream cheese to lemon curd to make this as lemony or cream-cheesy as you like!)
Step 6
Once cake is completely cool, slice in half horizontally. Spread a little less than half the frosting in the middle. Spread a thin layer over the rest of the cake. This will be the "crumb coat." Place the cake in the freezer for 15 minutes or so to firm up the crumb coat. Now you can use the rest of the frosting on the cake without dragging crumbs everywhere.