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.
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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Table of Contents
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, and the cake should spring back when lightly pressed.
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.
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
Ingredients
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
- ¾ cup milk
For the Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
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
Nutrition
Love,
Very tasty, and moist, I love the lemon flavor, thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
Delicious! Definitely double this recipe if you plan on sharing. I followed the original recipe and didn’t add any baking soda. It depoofed a bit but didn’t shrink, a minute or two longer in the oven would have worked – next time! I did add a tablespoon of poppyseeds when I stirred in the lemon juice and zest. This recipe is a keeper!
It’s fantastic
How would you suggest doubling the recipe to make two at once
You could do a 13 x9 or just 2 loaf pans. Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I was super excited about this recipe. I’m only a year into baking with sourdough but I love it so much. I travel around in Pinterest to find unusual was of using discard. I am in love with this cake. I wish I’d have had lemon zest buti did not. Next and that a definitely yes I will make again. Years ago we recieved a subscription someone had gotten us at Christmas. It was a lemon cake covered in dark chocolate frosting. This texture of cake reminds me of it. I’m definitely going to make a chocolate glaze to pour over next round.
Thanks lovin sourdough
Holy crap this was amazing everyone loved it. I didn’t have a real lemon so I used bottled lemon juice and organic lemon extract instead and it worked fabulously. I also used active starter instead of discard just for fun and it came out so light and fluffy. Definitely making this one again thank you for sharing your recipe!!
Thanks Louise!! I am so happy the bottled juice worked well because squeezing lemons is a pain!
I just made this and went to rate it because it came out so perfectly. I noticed I already left a comment last year though lol 😂 but apparently I made the same adjustments and it came out just as perfectly as last time. This time though I did use cake flour instead of AP and it worked very nicely too. Thanks again again!
Not sure what happen? I measured everything by weight and followed the recipe to the tee. It came out dense and not much flavor. Because of all the other comments were outstanding, I thought great, I’ll give it a try. For me, I would not make it again. Maybe you will have better luck, if you want to try making it.
Can you premake the batter and leave it in the fridge overnight to bake first thing in the morning?
Hmm i’ve never tried it! I wonder if it would bubble over with the starter and baking powder going crazy! let me know if you try it!
did you ever try that Lindsay – I was wondering the same thing
I’ve made this cake twice. The second time I used orange zest & juice. Both cakes came out perfect. Thank for sharing your recipe, it’s a keeper in my personal cookbook.
I made this a while ago and it was a huge hit. I’d like to make it again. Do you think it can be made into a bundt cake?
I have been meaning to make this for months and finally did! It was delicious and I’m bummed I waited so long to make it. It’s moist and dense and not overly sweet. I’m going to make it again next week and double it to put one in the freezer!
Delicious! I substituted buttermilk for the milk and doubled the lemon juice & zest. I did not add baking soda. A perfect, dense pound cake. I will definitely make this recipe again. Thanks!
Exelente receta
I’ve made this twice and it’s come out perfect each time. I use coconut sugar and I use a very sweet EVOO that you can bake with. I also added the tsp. of baking soda as suggested. I’m diabetic the use of coconut sugar and Anna Flour make this a nice treat that barely messes with my levels. But only one slice a day!
Just made this today. I prefer muffins, so I baked 16 muffins at 25-30 minutes. They turned out great, really delicious! Thanks for the recipe to use up sourdough discard!
Thanks for this recipe. Mine is still in the oven but is behaving strangely. Can you share what size loaf pan you used? I think that may be my issue.
I use 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 by 2 1/2. It will often bake fast and split on top. If that is what’s happening, it’s normal!
I made this yesterday & it turned out great! I used honey instead of sugar, coconut oil, and added cinnamon + nutmeg. I mixed it all together & still turned out very well. The crumb was fairly dense, similar to pound cake, but that’s probably because I didn’t use granulated sugar / baking soda. I might also try cake flour next time for a more fluffy texture.
Hello, would you recommend to use AP flour or cake flour for this recipe? Thank you
I always use all purpose but i think cake flour might make it even softer. let me know if you try it!
I added cranberries to mine and it was awesome … thank you for the recipe
love this idea so much. will have to try it this fall. glad you liked it 🙂
thanks for writing this! I was searching the comments to see if anyone had added blueberries. Did you coat your cranberries with flour before adding them?
I want to add blueberries too but not sure what to do. Let me know if you try it this way!
Great recipe!! The only changes I would make next time is more lemon juice and zest in the cake. I couldn’t pick up on the lemon flavor. The glaze was perfection. Mine did fall (right before my eyes), but it wasn’t that big of a deal to me. Turns out my baking powder was expired. I’m having so much fun with my sourdough starter. Thanks for the great recipe!!
Made this today and it is excellent. So glad I found this recipe!
i’m so glad you found it too linda! 💕