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,
I’ve made this twice. I added only 1/4 tsp baking soda the second time using the doubled recipe.. Very very good.
Do you recommend using all purpose? Or can you use bread flour?
bread flour is fine, i’ve used it in a pinch!
So pleased with this easy recipe! Turned out perfect and so yum! I used more fresh lemon juice also because I’m a lemon lover. I also probably used 3/4 cup active starter. Yum!
This recipe is fantastic! I used rhe butter instead of oil, but I just creamed it with the sugar and didn’t bother melting it. I also used 4tbsps of lemon juice because I’m a lemon freak. I’ve added blueberries, raspberries, and my niece just made it with huckleberries — all were delicious! Thank you!
Hi,
Is it possible to add a slider with Metric measurements to your recipes?
hi Grace! I’m working on this now! It will take me a week or so 🙂
Loved this cake. I used gluten free better batter for the flour and added some psyllium husk. Family had no idea it was gluten free!!! Thank you
Absolutely delicious cake! I made this for my sweet daughter in laws birthday and she loved it. I added fresh violets on top.
2 questions:
1. If I make + freeze, when I take it out to defrost and add glaze, should I warm it up in the oven for a few minutes so the glaze can soak in an harden?
2. If I use 1/2 oil + 1/2 butter, do I cream the butter + sugar for a few minutes before adding the other ingredients?
Hi Maria! 🙂 Yes I Would warm it up slightly, wrapepd inf oil so i t doesn’t dry out. I’d recommend melted butter instead! I’m so glad you liked it and the violets sound beautiful!
Delicious!!!!
Does the milk get mixed in with the rest of the wet ingredients?
My family cannot get enough of this lemon cake. I follow the recipe every time, and it turns out beautiful every time I make it! It is so easy to make too, which is another plus! Great way to use your discard!
Delightful lightly flavored cake that definitely needs the glaze on top for flavor. I probably would have preferred to use a cake pan instead of loaf pan. I’ll try that next time and have fresh fruit on the side.
Excellent and easy!
Could I add blueberries?
hey amy, yes!! I also have this recipe which you might like: https://heartscontentfarmhouse.com/sourdough-blueberry-quick-bread/
SO good! One pan was not enough!
Thank you for this recipe! I made it exactly as described but accidentally put a cup of milk so naturally I had to triple the recipe. I’m glad I did make that mistake because it is now a family favorite dessert!
Bread came out Beautiful and cooked for 50 min and added 10 more minutes and 10 more minutes! Cooked in a glass loaf pan.
wonderful, debora! thank you for letting me know!
This loaf was amazing!!! I followed the instructions and it turned out perfect. Thank you, I now have something other than crackers to make with my discard😊
Followed the directions to a T and it was mega runny and spilled out of the loaf pans onto the bottom of the oven. I’m an experienced baker, and this was definitely a bust.
My sourdough discard was on the thicker side, so that wasn’t the problem. Disappointing.
Hey there! Could I bake this in a
Bundt pan?
Yes! 🙂 you’d want to increase the amounts a bit, maybe 1.5. there’s a slider on the recipe you can use to change the serving size
Looks amazing! Is there anyway to long ferment the batter before baking?
Hi Hanna! I’ve never done it only because I worry about the lemon turning bitter. Maybe if you mixed it without the lemon, t hen added that right before baking?