This lemon curd loaf cake is soft, tender, and full of bright citrus flavor with ribbons of lemon curd swirled throughout the batter. Lemon zest is rubbed into the sugar to release fragrant oils, creating a deeper lemon flavor before the cake even hits the oven. The result is a slightly dense, moist loaf that balances sweet cake with pockets of tangy lemon curd and a simple lemon glaze on top. Perfect for afternoon tea, brunch, or whenever you're craving something fresh and citrusy.
Lately, lemons have been ruling my house. And you know what I don't hate it. I love lemon on just about anything, squeeze it on top of some soup, with salmon, in my tea, in a cake...you get it.
My mom has a lemon tree so I am lucky enough to have fresh lemons pretty much whenever I want. Last week I made my tart lemon curd recipe, the recipe makes a fair bit so I had leftovers, what to make I thought? So many ideas- Eton mess, lemon curd biscuits, cheesecake with lemon curd, lemon layer cake with lemon curd filling, then I decided on a lemon loaf cake that would be swirled with lemon curd.
I based the recipe loosely off of my wildly popular lemon and raspberry loaf cake. I love that in this lemon curd loaf cake you can see the swirls of the lemon curd. This was the perfect treat, my whole family loved it. I hope yours does too!
The texture of this lemon cake is thick, soft, and dense, this is not a light and airy cake, but that's what I love about it!
Featured Review
"Thank you to Elizabeth for sharing this most delicious recipe with her fans! I have given the recipe 5 stars for a few reasons; recipe is clear and easy to follow, ingredients are not unusual or difficult to find, if they are not readily on hand at home, the flavour of the fresh lemon (zest, juice and curd) ingredients make this loaf absolutely beautiful to indulge in with a lovely cuppa tea. Thank you, Elizabeth!"
Lori
The Ingredients That Make This Loaf Shine
- Lemon zest: Rubbing the zest into the sugar releases lemon oils, giving the cake a stronger natural citrus aroma. Trust me I have baked 100s of lemon recipes and researched and tested rubbing sugar and lemon together and it makes a big difference.
- Butter + vegetable oil: Butter adds flavor while oil keeps the crumb extra moist.
- Greek yogurt or sour cream: Adds tenderness and moisture to the loaf while keeping the crumb soft.
- Lemon curd: Swirled into the batter to create pockets of tangy citrus throughout the cake.
- Lemon glaze: A simple mixture of powdered sugar, lemon juice, zest, and cream drizzled over the cooled loaf for extra brightness.
Bake It 'Til You Make It!
First things first, you need lemon curd, you can make your own but keep in mind it does need to chill in the fridge for a few hours or you can use store-bought. Trader Joe's has a good one!
Baking is a science and to really achieve the best results I highly recommend investing in a kitchen scale. This OXO Kitchen Scale is the one I use and is also the number one recommended kitchen scale by Cook's Illustrated. Think about it -what one person scoops into a "cup" is completely different from what someone else scoops!
Baking for success
Bake for 40 minutes then place a piece of foil on top to prevent the lemon curd from turning
While most everyone has had success with this recipe a few readers complained of an underbaked cake. So I recently made the cake again, at 30 minutes I added a lightly greased piece of foil on top of the cake to cover it and prevent it from browning too much. Then I let it cook for another 20 minutes, at this point the cake was perfectly done. I do find that doing less swirling to the outside edges of the cake helps prevent any super dark spots on the cake from the lemon curd.
Easy, Sweet, and Tart Lemon Glaze
There you have it a delicious sweet, citrus loaf cake that is extra special. Another lemon loaf cake recipe I love is myLemon Zucchini Cake.
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
Make sure to join our Newsletter and follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
PrintRecipe Card
Lemon Curd Loaf Cake
This lemon curd loaf cake is soft, tender, and full of bright citrus flavor with ribbons of lemon curd swirled throughout the batter. Lemon zest is rubbed into the sugar to release fragrant oils, creating a deeper lemon flavor before the cake even hits the oven. The result is a slightly dense, moist loaf that balances sweet cake with pockets of tangy lemon curd and a simple lemon glaze on top. Perfect for afternoon tea, brunch, or whenever you're craving something fresh and citrusy.
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 Slices 1x
Ingredients
Loaf Cake
- 188 grams (1 ½ cup) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 200 grams (1 Cup) Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest (Roughly 2 medium lemons)
- 4oz (½ Cup) Unsalted Butter, at room temp.
- 2oz (¼ Cup) Vegetable Oil
- 2 Large Eggs, at room temp.
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 4oz (½ cup) Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
- 4oz (½ cup) Lemon Curd (Homemade or Store-bought)
Lemon Glaze
- 125 grams (1 Cup) powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest
- Splash of Cream
Instructions
Loaf Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C and grease a 9X5 loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer or large bowl with a handheld mixer combine sugar and lemon zest for 3-4 minutes- this helps infuse the sugar with a stronger depth of lemon flavor.
- Add the butter and mix for 3-4 minutes, so it's nice and fluffy. Then the oil and mix for another minute or two.
- Next, add the eggs one at a time. Mix in lemon juice (mixture make look curdled that is totally fine). Add the Greek yogurt, mix to combine. Gently fold in the dry mixture.
- Place ⅓ of lemon loaf batter in the prepared pan and place ⅓ of lemon curd in dollops on top use a butter knife to slightly swirl the curd, repeat two more times ending with lemon curd.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes then place a piece of foil on top to prevent the lemon curd from turning to dark back for an additional 10-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean** Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before inverting out of the pan, carefully flip right side up and let cool for an additional 30 minute before starting glaze.
Lemon Glaze
- While the cake is cooling prepare lemon glaze. In a bowl combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and, heavy cream. Drizzle on top of the cake when it is completely cool. Store cake in an airtight container, store in the fridge to last longer.
Notes
***While most everyone has had success with this recipe a few readaers complained of an underbaked cake. So I recently made the cake again, at 30 minutes I added a lightly greased piece of foil on top of the cake to cover it and prevent it from browning too much. Then I let it cook for another 20 minutes, at this point the cake was perfectly done. I do find that doing less swirling to the outside edges of the cake helps prevent any super dark spots on the cake from the lemon curd.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 70
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Jeanette says
I didn’t follow the instructions exactly because I just mixed dry/wet separately like I would have with a cake and then combined them.
I also used raspberry curd instead of lemon curd because I had some left over and it needed to be consumed. This is pretty much a foolproof loaf considering all the suspicious things I did during the process of making it, so thank you!
Anonymous says
Anonymous says
Sallyee says
Does this freeze well?
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Sallyee, yes it does freeze well. Just make sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, twice and then aluminum foil or a freezer safe container to help prevent freezer burn. Hope that helps! Please report back if you try the recipe how you like it! XX Liz
Linda says
Sounds delicious and want to make it in a tube / bundt pan. I did the 2X but not sure if the temp is the same and will the time be doubled?
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Linda, the bake temperature will be the same. I would expect the bake time to increase to 45-55 minutes but I might tent it with foil or parchment 1/2 way or 2/3rds of the way to prevent browning too much. Hope that helps, please let us know how you get on! XX Liz
Lisa says
This lemon cake was easy to make and really tasty! The only thing I want to mention is the total time of 1 hr 25 minutes at the top of the recipe is not taking into consideration the cooling and icing time. I gave myself 3 hours because I was using a glass pan, but didn't realize you need a full hour for cooling before you can put on the icing. So I had to skip that step, and it was more like a lemon bread without the icing.
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Lisa, sorry for the misunderstanding on the timing. Glad to hear you enjoyed it though! XX Liz
Anne Higgins says
Hello I absolutely love this recipe and have done it several times. Unfortunately, out of the 6/7 times only the once has the loaf not sunk in the middle. I’ve tried several different makes of full fat yogurt but that doesn’t make any difference. It still tastes delicious but looks a bit sad. Any tips please or is there a video of you making it. I live in the UK. I do quite a lot of baking and am so determined to make this work. Thank you
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Anne, so sorry to hear that you are having trouble. I made two of these loaves about two weeks ago and didn't have any issues. I would check that your oven is properly calibrated and is heated fully before placing the cakes in the oven, I would bake on the middle shelf, and not open the oven door until you want to check it is fully done. Letting in cool air can cause the cake to collapse. And when mixing the cake mix don't over mix it and make sure your leavening agents are fresh. Hope that helps! XX Liz
Debi says
I made it 2x last night and it didn’t raise, and it sunk in the middle. Realized this morning that the measurements in cups did not change when doubled but the weight measurements did, so my proportions were off. Both 1x and 2x called for 1 and 1/2 cups of flour. Perhaps that’s part of it?
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Debi, I am so sorry about that. Unfortunately you are correct it didn't increase the cups as it increased the grams. The recipe card will only double one measurement and since grams are more accurate I have it set to double that. I am really sorry your cakes did not turn out, I just remade this about two weeks ago it really is a delicious loaf cake. I hope you give it another try one day. XX Liz
Cparkingyon says
Yes I made and this cake and found it to be very tasty ,nice and moist .and also nice and lemony.
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi there, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! XX Liz
Dorothy Dixon says
Good morning, I’m using the ‘scale up 3x’ on the lemon curd pound cake - the amount of flour stays the same, while all other ingredients scale up. Would you please let me know how much to increase the flour?
Thank you
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Dorothy, we can only have one measurement increase so the more accurate one in grams increases but the cups doesn't. Its the same for the whole recipe card with other ingredients. But for the flour 1.5 cups X 3 would mean you would need 4.5 cups total! Hope that helps please report back how you like the recipe! 🙂 XX Liz