Lemon Glazed Loaf Cake Recipe

May 22, 2023

Have you ever seen a loaf or pound cake with a nice symmetrical crack down the top and wondered how to achieve that affect? Recipe developer Eric Ngo is sharing the secret with us in this recipe for a light, lovely, summer-perfect lemon loaf perfect for fans of the one sold by Starbucks. His "special technique," he says, involves "adding the butter in the middle of the cake batter to have the cake open in the middle." As you will see in the photos below, a thin strip of butter is placed atop the batter in the pan, and when the cake comes out of the oven — voilà! The loaf will have a picture-perfect crack.

You can either bake this recipe as a standard loaf cake complete with crack or opt for a variant version. As Ngo tells us, "I did two formats," the other one consisting of individual-sized mini-cakes baked in a silicon cube mold. These little cube cakes are super cute and would make the perfect addition to any afternoon tea party.

This lemon cake could actually be considered a lemon/lime cake, as it uses the zest and juice of both fruits. Additional ingredients used in the cake include eggs, granulated sugar, heavy cream, salt, baking powder, flour, and butter, while for the glaze you'll need powdered sugar.

Start by preheating the oven to 400 F, then zest and juice the citrus fruit. Keep the lemon and lime juice separate for now as you'll be dividing the lemon juice. Reserve a small strip (or several strips) of the butter, enough to extend about 8 inches.

Cream the remaining butter with the sugar and zest, then beat in the eggs until you have a smooth mixture. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until your batter is nice and smooth. Pour the batter into a standard-sized loaf pan (Ngo notes that the one he uses is 9x5 ½ inches) that you've lined with parchment paper. If you use the cube-shaped silicon molds he suggests as an alternate, there's no need for the paper.

Arrange the butter strip(s) right down the center of the batter to mark the spot where the crack will go, then bake the cake for 15 minutes (or 10 minutes for the cube molds). Lower the temperature to 350 F, then bake the cake (either size) for another 30 minutes. Let the cake sit and cool for 15 minutes.

Mix ½ of the lemon juice with the powdered sugar to make a glaze for the cake. Once the cake has cooled, brush it with the remaining lemon juice and the lime juice, then drizzle it with the glaze. If you've made the mini cube cakes, you can dip each one into the glaze instead of drizzling.

Ngo also suggests, "If you want to settle the glaze on the cake and have a slight crispy texture to it after glazing, you can put it back in the oven at 400 F for 2 minutes." You might want to use some additional lemon and/or lime zest or perhaps some candied lemon peel to garnish the cake, as well. If you store it in an airtight container, it should last for about 5 days.