Lemon Loaf Cake with Olive Oil & Tart Lemon Glaze

This simple lemon loaf cake is exceptionally moist, tender, and flavorful thanks to olive oil, lemon oil, and a generous blanket of tart lemon glaze.

"Just made the famous Lemon Loaf Cake. Sooooo good. The cake has a lightness I didn’t expect. Next time I will order some lemon oil. I used lemon extract, but I could use more lemon flavor in the cake. Great recipe!!!!!!!!"

-Connie

Iced Lemon Olive Oil Loaf Cake

In my version of a perfect world, we would always have a freshly baked cake on hand when someone stopped by unexpectedly or on those afternoons when I'm feeling sluggish and craving something sweet. Nothing fancy. Something like this Lemon Loaf Cake, or perhaps a pound cake, or berry snack cake.

This, of course, rarely happens. But, the idea is honestly not that far out of reach.

Loaf cakes are one of those simple things that you can sometimes make on a whim, quickly, for no other reason than to satisfy a craving for cake.

It takes only about 20 minutes to mix up the batter for this lemon loaf cake. It's sweet, but not overly so. Bright and lemony. Tender and perfectly sliceable. Appropriate to to eat with your fingers or with a plate and fork. 

Not only does the cake come together quickly, it will stay fresh and delicious for days. It's simpler to make (though perhaps not quite as pretty) as Lemon Ricotta Cakes or Mini Lime Pound Cakes, but no less delicious.

Why I love to bake with olive oil

Olive Oil's fruity flavor is a perfect match for a wide variety of cakes, cookies, and other desserts. But, I particularly like it with anything lemon.

Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Mascarpone Cream is one of my all-time favorite desserts and I've yet to serve it to anyone who didn't feel the same. Unlike neutral tasting oils like canola or vegetable oil, olive oil adds a subtle depth of flavor in cakes that makes them more interesting.

In addition, oil based cakes tend to bake up loftier, have a more even crumb, and stay fresh for much longer than butter based recipes. Since oil is lighter than butter, the texture of oil-based cakes is lighter as well.

And, because oil is comprised of 100% fat (American butter is 80% fat, 5% milk solids and 15% water), the texture of oil-based cakes are noticeably more soft and tender. 

The most important thing to know about using oil in cakes is that must be added slowly.

By nature, fat and liquid are unmixable. This presents a problem when making cake batter because nearly every kind of cake includes some kind of liquid and some kind of fat.

The solution is to create an emulsion – a situation in which tiny droplets of a liquid are dispersed in a fat. Certain substances, like egg yolks, act as emulsifiers. This means that when agitated, they help fat and liquid come together and stay together.

Just like in this recipe for Hummingbird Cupcakes, this cake uses eggs to bind oil and sugar together into a smooth, even batter.

• Beat eggs and sugar tighter until they are light and fluffy.
• Then, pour the oil into the batter very slowly, in a thin steady stream, while the mixer continues to beat.

This creates an emulsion, with the eggs and sugar uniformly dispersed within the fat molecules.

Since sugar isn’t dissolvable in oil, dissolving it in the eggs before adding the oil creates an even distribution between elements that don’t normally like to mix. The method ensures that plenty of air is incorporated into the cake batter and gives the baked cake a super soft, tender crumb.

What is Lemon Oil?

Lemon oil is a great addition to your pantry, but be aware that there are two very different, kinds of lemon oil.

One is olive oil that's been infused with lemon either by including lemon with the olives when they are cold pressed, or by gently heating olive oil with lemon peel to infuse it with lemon flavor. This kind of lemon oil is fantastic in salad dressing, pasta dishes, or simply drizzled over grilled meat or veggies. But, it's not the kind of lemon oil you want to use in baking.

The kind of lemon oil you want to use in baking is a very strong essence of lemon made by cold pressing lemon rinds. Lemon oil is super concentrated. The brand I like is Boyajian Pure Lemon Oil, which uses 225 lemons in every 3.4 ounce bottle.

For the most part I think lemon oil has a much better flavor than lemon extract. Also, because lemon oil is so concentrated, you only need to use a little bit to achieve a strong lemon flavor. In general, ⅛ teaspoon lemon oil is equal to 1 teaspoon lemon extract, or 1 teaspoon of lemon zest. 

The concentrated, clean flavor of lemon oil is perfect for things like this lemon loaf cake. It would be quite impossible to include enough fresh lemon juice to the batter to properly infuse it with lemon flavor without adding too much liquid.

Another way to impart lemon cake with lemon flavor is to add lemon zest. And, this recipe does, in fact, include a tablespoon of lemon zest. However, if we were going to rely entirely on lemon zest for lemon flavor, we'd need 3 or 4 times that amount of zest, which would then start to compromise the cake's texture.

So, to achieve a tender, fluffy cake with strong lemon flavor, lemon oil is the best option. 

How to Store this Lemon Loaf Cake

As I mentioned earlier, cakes made with oil stay fresh much longer than cakes made with butter. So, this cake will keep well at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 days. Stored tightly wrapped the refrigerator, it will keep for up to 5 days.

You can also freeze this cake as a whole or in slices for up to 3 months. To freeze the whole loaf, wrap it in a couple layers of plastic wrap then in a layer or two of aluminum foil. To freeze individual slices, wrap each slice in plastic wrap then stack the slices inside a freezer zip top bag. 

Defrost the cake, or individual slices of cake, in the refrigerator overnight. Or simply set it out, still wrapped, on the countertop for a few hours. 

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.

Happy baking!