Do you enjoy copycat recipes? I love to try and recreate some of my favorite foods from restaurants that I enjoy. Starbuck’s is a favorite of many for their delicious coffees, but their food is also pretty tasty.
The recipe for a copycat lemon loaf is fresh and super tasty and a pretty good approximation of the original recipe on which it is fashioned.
My husband’s favorite desserts feature lemons. He is not overly fond of super sweet recipes, so the tangy tartness of a lemon really appeals to him in a sweet treat.
If you enjoy using lemons too, be cure to check out my Gluten free lemon slice recipe. It’s amazing!
Treat Yourself to a Lemon Loaf – Copycat style.
I also love the taste of fresh lemons in desserts. They are bright and tart and bring a lovely taste to any home made dessert particularly if you also use the zest which has lots of flavor in it.
Good copycat recipes are hard to find but this one for my lemon loaf will make you think you are dining at Starbucks instead of at your kitchen table.
The mixture will seem thin to you when you put it in the loaf pan. Don’t worry, it will turn out fine. This was mine half way through cooking. I always turn my foods half way through to make sure they brown evenly. (old oven!) This recipe gave me a chance to try out my new silicone oven mitts. I adore them. I reached right in and grabbed that pan and there was not a hint of heat through them!
The loaf will rise during cooking. You can either glaze it with the raised top, or do what I did, and slice off just a bit of the raised area and flip it over to make a flat top for glazing. Either way is fine though.
The lemon loaf is easy to make. Be sure to add the glaze when it is still a little warm to give it the desired look.
This really is a very tasty cake. It is rich and fresh with a great lemon taste but not too sweet. My whole family loved it!
I received the oven mitts pictured above from SimPrium for an honest review of the product. I found that they fit well, were not too bulky to use and really protected my hands from the heat in my oven.
If you love lemon desserts, these lemon cheesecakes with an animal cracker crust is another great recipe to try.
Copycat Recipe: Lemon Loaf

This delicious lemon loaf is a good approximation of the Starbucks dessert on which it is fasioned.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 3 eggs, at room temp (I use free range eggs)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup oil
- zest of 1 lemon
- Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp skim milk
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 282Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 145mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 3g
Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.
selene
Friday 30th of March 2018
i made it and it came out perfect :) thank you so much
Carol
Thursday 5th of April 2018
Glad to hear it Selene! Carol
Jo
Wednesday 17th of January 2018
I made this cake today, exactly as written. I didn't suffer any issues with the cake falling, it came out perfectly. The recipe called for oil but didn't specify a particular type of oil, so I used coconut oil. I don't know if this had any bearing on the end result, but I honestly can't complain about this recipe.
Cheryl
Monday 19th of December 2016
Glad to read this.i have made this 3 times the last 2 times it has fallen!!!! Grr!!! Not pretty for a gift!!!
JKV
Monday 28th of December 2015
I've made this twice as directed and haven't had a fallen loaf yet. I baked them for about 45 minutes (the directions have two different times.)
Paul
Saturday 21st of November 2015
I've made other "copy cat recipes" for the Starbucks Lemon Loaf, and the loaf always falls after coming out of the oven. After reading Tara's review to reduce the soda and baking powder to 1/4 teaspoon each, I made this recipe and it came out perfect! It did not fall a bit. The bottom and sides were a bit crusty but I think that was due to using a glass baking dish, which I will change next time. Lemon loafs are good all year long, and always a great addition to holiday baking! For some reason it would not let me rate the recipe, but I give it 5 stars.
Carol
Saturday 21st of November 2015
Thanks Paul Glad it worked out for you.