Lemon Loaf Recipe from Hummingbird Bakery
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Lemon Loaf from a London Bakery

A rich and moist lemon bread cake recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery in London.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time1 hr 35 mins
Total Time1 hr 50 mins
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 1 large loaf

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups + 2 TB sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • Grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
  • 2 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 stick + 5 TB unsalted butter, melted

Lemon Syrup:

  • freshly squeezed juice and grated zest of one lemon
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix sugar, zest, and eggs in electric mixer until well mixed. Sift into separate bowl, the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl combine milk and vanilla extract.
  • Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat well. Then add 1/3 of the milk mixture. Repeat this two more times until well mixed. Turn mixer up to high speed and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Turn mixer to low and add melted butter. Mix until well incorporated. 
  • Pour into 9x5 inch loaf pan that has been greased and dusted with flour. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes. Loaf should be golden brown and bounce back to the touch. Let cool slightly in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Pour lemon syrup on top when the loaf is still hot.

Lemon Syrup:

  • Bring lemon juice, sugar, zest, and 1/2 cup of water to a boil a sauce pan. Boil until it has been reduced by half or until it has a thin syrup consistency. When hot loaf comes out of the oven, put it on a wire rack in the sink and pour syrup over the top. Excess syrup will run over the edges and into the sink.

Notes

**this makes a lot of batter but don't be tempted to split the batter into two loaves bc it will change the density of the bread as well as the cook times. Also, if you want more of the syrup to soak in the bread, you can use a toothpick to poke holes in the top of the loaf. Let cool completely before serving.