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.
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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
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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
Nutrition
Did You Make This?
I would love it if you would leave a review!Love,
Are you able to bake this in a round pan and make it as a cake?
it’s not super sweet, more of a loaf/ quick bread. I have a true sourdough lemon CAKE recipe here (I realize the title of this one is a little confusing!)
I tried this recipe for the first time today and it’s definitely a keeper. I’m an experienced baker, and I increased the sugar to 1 cup because my discard was more on the tangier side. I also added a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda because I wanted a bit more rise. The loaf came out beautifully, moist, not too dense and just the perfect amount of sweetness. Keep in mind the state of your discard, because it’ll affect the outcome & taste of your loaf.
thank you Tammy! wonderful tips and I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
This got rave reviews! Saved the recipe and will make again and again! Thank you 🙂
hi HJ! so glad to hear it!
I’m so glad I found this recipe. it was easy to make and delicious! my husband really liked it. I can’t wait to try some of your other recipe for sourdough.
Hey Olga, thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed the recipe, and I hope you love the sourdough ones too.
Hi Katie,
This is my favorite discard recipe for the past year and a half since I began making sourdough bread. Have you ever added blueberries to it? Thanks in advance.
Hey Lynn, thank you so much! I’m so happy you love this recipe. I haven’t tried adding blueberries, but I think it would be delicious! You might want to toss them in a little flour first so they don’t sink. Let me know if you try it, I’d love to hear how it turns out! Happy baking!
This cake was fine. It wasn’t very lemony and wasn’t very sweet. I hoped the glaze would redeem it but it just didn’t do it for me. I am going to try it again since it has so many rave reviews – maybe it’s user error!
Hey Laura, thanks for giving it a try! If you’d like more lemon flavor, you could add extra zest or a little more juice. A bit more sugar in the glaze might help with sweetness too. I hope it turns out better for you next time, let me know how it goes!
This sounds delicious! I was wondering what type of flour you use( bread, all
Purpose, cake) ? Thank you!
Thank you! I use all-purpose flour for this recipe. It gives the cake a nice texture without being too dense. Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try!
Just made mine today and it turned out great! Easy enough to make and enjoyed by all
Hey Patty, I’m so glad it turned out well and that everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for trying the recipe and sharing your kind words! Happy baking!
This is such a easy recipe. I love it. So lemoney! I’m a beginner sour dough bread maker, so I appreciate the easy to follow instructions!
Hey Michele, thank you so much! I’m so happy you loved the cake and found the instructions easy to follow. Sourdough baking can feel tricky at first, but little recipes like this make it fun! Wishing you lots of success (and delicious bakes) on your sourdough journey!
Delicious! Very lemony, not too sweet. Made four small loaves instead of one big one. Will be trying with other citrus flavors as suggested!
Hey Molly, thank you! I’m so glad you liked it. Making small loaves is such a great idea! Let me know how it turns out with other citrus flavors, I’d love to hear!
Could I make in a Bundt cake pan?
Hey Angela, yes, you can use a Bundt pan! Just make sure to grease it well, and check for doneness around 40-45 minutes since baking times might vary. Hope it turns out amazing!
We love this recipe. Today I did it in a castle shaped heavy Bundt cake pan that we normally use for pound cake. It came out beautifully. I used lemon, lime, and orange zest and half lemon and half yellow lime juice. It is my grandson’s favorite!
Hey Denise, that sounds incredible! I love the idea of using a castle pan and mixing the citrus flavors. So glad it’s your grandson’s favorite—thank you for sharing!
This was amazing!! This is the only sourdough discard lemon loaf recipe that I need! thank you for this!!
Hey Ava! You’re so welcome. Glad you found it for winter baking 🙂
While this recipe sounds delicious, it’s not remotely a “sour dough” recipe. I’m getting very sick of searching for authentic old fashioned slow rise desserts, only to find a bunch of gimmicks seeking to throw a little DISCARD in to cash in on the sour dough craze. Very disappointing.
Andrea this is a fairly ridiculous comment. This is a discard recipe intended for people to use, rather than waste, their sourdough discard. search for long-fermented cakes if that’s what you want. You can also long ferment this one. Either way, it’s a recipe, chill out.
this is my 12 year old son’s favorite dessert!!
Hey Jenny,
That’s amazing! There’s something about the tangy lemon flavor mixed with the sourdough that makes it so unique and delicious. I’m happy that it’s become a favorite in your family! 😊
Can you make the glaze in bulk for multiple loaves throughout the week?
hey sal,
Yes, you can make the glaze in bulk! Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge, and when you’re ready to use it again, give it a quick stir. If it thickens too much, you can add a tiny bit of water or lemon juice to get it back to the right consistency. 🙂
Easy and delicious!
I just made this and it is currently cooling. I can’t wait to taste it. My question is, how do you store the loaf after it is baked? Should it be refrigerated or just left on the counter?
hi teresa, I store it covered at room temperature if I’m fishing it within 1-2 days. any longer than that, I slice it and wrap up the slices individually, then freeze 😉
One of the best lemon cakes I’ve had and definitely the best discard recipe. My family LOVED it and they are hit and miss on discard recipes in general.
hey thanks Nate! 🙂
I was so excited to try and did it. It is extremely easy to do – thumbs up but the cake sunk quite badly gradually after out of the oven, so I am very disappointed as I can see that it is all going to the bottom.
Please, would love to hear how else it can be improved, during the initial mixing of the egg? an active starter maybe – I am not a fan of baking soda and find that cake tends to sink even more.
hi aries, the most likely reason is that your cake is slightly underbaked. I prefer it without the baking soda too, so you are not alone there. you can definitely try a slightly active starter as well.