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.
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.
Sourdough Sundays Newsletter
Every Sunday evening I’ll send you a sourdough recipe to make that week, straight from my kitchen to your inbox.
And as a thank you for signing up, I’ll send you this e-book with beautiful printable recipes right away. Simple!
You will not be added to any other email lists or my daily newsletter. But if you’re already on my newsletter, you’re welcome to join and receive both.
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
Save This Recipe
I’ll send you a link so you can find it later.
You'll join my email list which you will love. And if you don't, unsubscribe in one click. ❤️
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
Did You Make This?
I would love it if you would leave a review!Love,
Is it sourdough starter or sourdough discard? Or are they the same
they are basically the same, discard just means it’s not bubbly/ active. i use discard for this. the baking powder is what makes it rise 🙂
This was an excellent and tasty treat. Made mini loaves. Will be making these often.
It was excellent. It rose beautifully and was a hit with my husband and sister. I especially loved that it had fewer ingredients than other recipes. Win win in my book.
thanks barbie, so glad you liked it! it’s an easy one isn’t it? 🙂
Made this lemon sourdough discard loaf cake. Ate it. Loved it.
It was beautiful too! I weighed my sourdough discard because it was still a little bubbly. 113g. Baked for 70 min No other changes
Thanks so much for this keeper recipe!❤️
An 8″x4″ loaf pan? Or a 9″x5″ loaf pan? Could you possibly add the answer to the recipe instructions? Many thanks
I use 8×4. But 9×5 will work and just be done faster.
What a wonderful recipe! Thank you for making this so easy to follow.
best lemon cake ever! I sell this at our local Farmer’s Market and my customers go crazy for it!
Where do I get sourdough starter?
hi barbara you can get some from etsy or make your own: https://heartscontentfarmhouse.com/sourdough-starter-recipe/ 🙂
So moist and easy to do. Everyone loved it, so this recipe is now on regular rotation in our house. I added some poppyseeds and it is practically impossible to keep it around for long.
thanks roxanne! i love the poppyseed idea 🙂
This is great glazed and plain. I had a slice before glazing and it was great. I made it the night before serving so I put it in the fridge once glazed and it was amazing!
My husband doesn’t like lemon flavored things and he loved this!
Super easy recipe and yummy!
Hi, can this be left on the counter for a few days or should it be refrigerated after making? Or does it have to be frozen if leftovers?
hi liz coutner is fine for 2 days or so :), even 3
I made this before Bible study this morning and the ladies really liked it. I made it with freshly milled flour and it was delicious. Thanks!
I doubled the recipe and made a pound cake for a family get together. There wasn’t a crumb left at the end of the day!! Such a moist, flavorful cake. I personally would add a little more sugar to the batter next time, and a little less lemon zest in the glaze, as it made it a little too bitter, but overall, this is such a perfect, easy recipe!
Easy, yummy recipe to follow!
This has become my favorite discard recipe. Absolutely delicious! Everyone loves it!
This recipe was delicious. I did add extra zest and juice in both the batter and glaze. I will definitely make this again. I doubled it and made two loaves.
For some reason it won’t let me click 5 stars but this recipe is amazing!!! I made it for a group I’m a part of and it was a huge hit!
Beautiful, delicious, quick, simple. Perfect for my Sunday School class snack with coffee.
My husband enjoyed it as well.
I have made this twice now and it is perfect. My husband loves it for breakfast. I’m at high altitude so i add ~roughly an extra 1/4c of flour, which may or may not be necessary, but find it works really nicely for me. I have a feeling this will be a monthly request to make from the husband…:)
I’ve made twice and it’s gone within a day! Perfect desert serve that’s not too sweet. I added more lemon juice for extra flavor but an easy quick recipe