The Most Cheerful Lemon Loaf
A snacky loaf for all seasons and all kinds of days - bad, good, weird, and in-between. Made weekly during the Great Pandemic of 2020 (and 2021, maybe 2022? *crying intensifies*). Last thing I baked before major surgery and first thing I made when I felt well-enough to stand. Christmas, Spring Solstice, pumpkin spice season - lemon’s vibe is an all-year-round kind of thing, and I will be taking no further questions at this time.
Ingredients
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup almond flour (does amazing things for texture and a tender crumb, but can sub with all-purpose if needed)
2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric (optional, does bless the loaf with a warm flavour and a sunny blush of colour)
1 cup plus 2 tbsp of sugar
2 medium size lemons
¾ sour cream or full-fat Greek Yoghurt
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tbsp poppy seeds
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x4” metal loaf pan (or close enough to it. I’ve also divided these up into smaller loaf pans). Line with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the longer sides so you can lift the cake out after it’s baked.
Whisk flours, baking powder, salt, and tumeric in a large bowl and set aside.
In another large bowl, add 1 cup of sugar. Then zest the two lemons directly into the sugar. I like to use a microplaner but using the smallest setting of your box grater works fine. Zest both completely for the full-lemon experience, don’t skimp!
Rub the zest and the sugar between your fingers. Really get in there. I’d do this for at least 5 minutes and until you see the sugar has a slight tint of yellow and smells real lemony. This is the most meditative part of the process and kind of my favourite step? Then add sour cream/yoghurt, the juice of ONE lemon (one!!), eggs, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
Add the wet ingredients to dry (muffin method bayybeee) then using a spatula, stir just until combined. Fold in melted butter and poppy seeds.
Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Scatter the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar on top of the batter. It should look like a thick-ish snowfall of sugar. You may be tempted to skip this step and your loaf will turn out just fine but honestly it’s kinda a bummer without the sparkly, craggy top. Strongly recommend going with it.
Bake until the cake is golden brown, risen, and edges are pulling away from the pan. I start checking for done-ness around the 45 minute mark - a tester/small knife inserted in the middle should come out clean (there may be a few moist crumbs, but deffo no batter). Every oven is different but this cake has always baked within 50-60 minutes for me. Do not keep opening the oven and checking, nobody likes that.
Let it cool completely before slicing. Pair a slice with a piping hot cup of earl grey tea - this flavour duo is my OTP!!! Cake will stay good in a sealed tupperware for up to 4 days (the sugar top is best on the first day).