Glazed Sourdough Lemon Cake

Somewhere between a dessert and a quick bread, this lemon loaf cake mixes up quickly and gives you a nice moist loaf. But the really good part is the lemony sugar glaze that you pour on top while it’s still warm. So good. Often imitated, never duplicated, it’s one of my most popular recipes and still one of my very favorites.

sourdough lemon cake on wooden board

Some of the best sourdough discard recipes are breakfast recipes, because sourdough bakers typically discard and feed their starter in the morning. And this lemon cake makes the perfect breakfast (or snack! or dessert!) that the whole family will love.

There’s no sour taste, just a bright lemon flavor and plenty of sweetness and tartness from the glaze.

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Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need

I’ve included baking soda as an optional addition because some readers have reported their cake collapsing after baking. This is usually because your cake is underbaked! But if you want a lighter texture (more of a quick bread), you can add baking soda. I prefer this recipe with just baking powder, which gives more of a pound cake texture.

oil, milk, lemons, starter, flour, sugar, on wooden board

For the Cake:

  • ½ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1½ cups flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • ½ cup sourdough starter discard can be used straight from the fridge
  • ¾ cup milk

For the Glaze:

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Optional Addition:

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda add this if you want a lighter cake or if yours has sunk before

You can double this recipe and make two loaves or one larger cake in a 13×9. If you’re looking for a frosted cake for a party, you might prefer this sourdough lemon sheet cake with buttercream frosting.
In the recipe card at the bottom of this post, you can click the 2x button and it will double the ingredients for you.

How to Make

This recipe is easy as can be.

Baking the Cake

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 with the rack in center. 

Prepare your pan with non stick cooking spray. I like to use a loaf pan so it feels acceptable to serve this lemon cake as a breakfast. But a square cake pan works very well too!

Combine the oil, sugar, and eggs, in a bowl with an electric mixer. It will just take a minute.

large mixing bowl with oil, eggs, sugar

In a separate bowl, mix up the dry ingredients, including the baking soda if you’re using it. Add them to the sugar mixture ⅓ at a time. So add ⅓ of the dry ingredients, then stir in the milk. Add another third, stir in the sourdough starter. Add the last third and gently stir.

Finally, mix in the lemon juice and zest by hand. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

finished cake batter in mixing bowl

Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The top will crack. If you’re using a square cake pan, it will be done in 40-50 minutes.

finished cake in loaf pan.
this cake is fully baked and is deep golden brown

Set the cake, still in its pan, onto a cooling rack and let it cool for about 15 minutes. 

Making the Glaze

While the cake is cooling, let’s mix up the glaze. It will all fit in just a small bowl.

Mix up ½ cup of powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest.

thick lemon glaze with zest

Pour it over the slightly cooled cake while it’s still in the pan. After a few more minutes, the glaze will cool and harden. At this point, remove the cake and let it finish cooling on a cooling rack.

wire rack with glazed cake

When completely cool, slice and serve!

You can always double this recipe and freeze one. Make sure it is fully cooled before you freeze it. Make the lemon glaze after it’s defrosted.

another view of cake.

Storage Instructions

Keep this cake at room temperature for up to 3 days – just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container. The glaze actually helps keep it moist, so don’t skip it!

Freezing: This cake freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely, wrap it well, and freeze WITHOUT the glaze. Add the glaze after thawing.

My favorite trick: Glaze and slice the whole cake, then wrap individual slices and freeze them. Perfect for grabbing one slice at a time for lunch boxes or quick snacks. They thaw in about 20 minutes on the counter.

Simple Swaps You Might like

  • Make it blueberry lemon by folding in ¾ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
  • Switch out the lemon for orange or lime (keep the amounts the same)
  • Bake as muffins instead (bake about 20 minutes, makes 1 dozen)

Questions and Troubleshooting

close up of sliced lemon loaf on wooden board.
Why did my cake sink in the middle?

Usually this means it’s slightly underbaked or your leavening agents aren’t fresh. Try adding a teaspoon of baking soda along with the powder for extra insurance.

How can I tell it’s fully baked?

A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, and the cake should spring back when lightly pressed.

Why does my cake look SO brown but the toothpick isn’t clean yet?

This recipe gets deep golden brown before it’s actually done – trust your toothpick over the color. Underbaked cake will sink when you pull it out.

My cake cracked on top…did I mess up?

Nope, that’s totally normal and actually a good sign it’s properly baked. The glaze will settle into those cracks and make it even more delicious.

Printable Recipe

Glazed Sourdough Lemon Cake

A sweet and delicious lemon cake with a crackly yummy glaze. Do not skip the glaze, the cake relies heavily on it!
Print Recipe
close up view of sliced sourdough lemon pound cake
Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:50 minutes
Total Time:1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • ½ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • cups flour
  • teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • ½ cup sourdough starter discard
  • ¾ cup milk

For the Glaze

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

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Instructions

Make the Cake

  • Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the center.  Prepare a loaf pan or 9 x 9 square cake pan with cooking spray.
  • Wet ingredients. Combine the vegetable oil, eggs, and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until well combined.
  • Dry ingredients and milk. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl and add to the sugar mixture 1/3 at a time, alternating with the milk and the sourdough starter.  Mix on low until just combined.  Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest by hand.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  • Bake and cool. Bake for 50-60 minutes (for the loaf pan) or 40-50 minutes (for the square pan) until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Place on a wire rack.  Allow to cool for about 15 minutes in the pan.

Make The Glaze

  • In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice for the glaze.  Pour over the still-warm cake.
  •  After the glaze has soaked in and hardened, remove cake from pan and allow to finish cooling on wire rack.  Slice and serve once cool.

Video

Notes

Having trouble with your cake sinking?  Try adding a teaspoon of baking soda along with the powder.  Cakes can also sink if they are underbaked: this recipe looks very browned before it bakes through.
Can be frozen if allowed to cool completely and then wrapped tightly.  Glaze after it’s defrosted.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 259mg | Potassium: 47mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 64IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg
Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 242kcal
Author: Katie Shaw

Did You Make This?

I would love it if you would leave a review!

Love,

265 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    The taste is to my liking and surprisingly even my husband and son said it was good (they don’t like lemon). My only issue was that it wasn’t a high as the picture. Mine only got to about 2.5 inches high. My top looked like the picture. Any suggestions?

  2. 5 stars
    This is DELICIOUS! I made a loaf yesterday for the first time, and waiting for a second loaf to cool that I made this morning for a friend. Thank you for an easy recipe to use up sourdough discard!

    1. hi carol! thank you so much for telling me you loved the recipe. it’s such a good one for this time of year! have a beautiful day 🙂

  3. 5 stars
    So good! This is my second time making it and we’re still totally obsessed. I tried a different sourdough discard lemon cake recipe, but it just wasn’t as good. This one’s my go-to from now on!

4.61 from 206 votes (100 ratings without comment)

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