High Altitude Lemon Loaf Cake (Iced Lemon Bread)
Fluffy and perfectly lemony lemon loaf cake, topped with sweet and tart lemon icing.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- 9x5 Inch Bread Loaf Pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp fresh lemon zest (from 2 small lemons)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 small lemons)
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Icing
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 ½ - 3 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 small lemon)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F, and line a standard-sized loaf pan (9x5 inches) with a piece of parchment paper so that the paper hangs over two sides. This makes it easy to lift the cake out of the pan. Position the oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Zest the lemons over the sugar, then use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until moist and fragrant.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and lemon sugar for 5 minutes on medium speed, scraping the bowl down several times.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating each for 10 seconds before adding the next.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Take the lemons that you zested, cut them in half, and juice them. You'll need 1/4 cup of juice. Whisk the lemon juice together with the sour cream and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the lemon juice mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Mix just until mostly combined, then use a spatula to fold in any remaining bits of flour. The batter will be thick.
- Spread the batter into the loaf pan. Bake on the center oven rack for about 55-65 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes, then lift the cake out by grabbing onto the overhang of parchment paper. Set on a cooling rack to cool to room temperature before pouring on the icing and serving.
Icing
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until the icing is a smooth, thick drizzling consistency.
- Pour the icing over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. The icing will set in about 15-20 minutes.
Video
Notes
Store the leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
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