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This lemon bread is tangy, rich, and soft! With a yummy caramelized sugar top, this sweet and tender loaf is sure to brighten any day.
Lemon Bread Recipe
Lemon bread is one of my favorite non-traditional desserts because it is decadent and rich without feeling too heavy. Perfectly fluffy, this lemon bread recipe is easy to make and a great addition to any gathering. Really, it’s a jack of all trades – fitting the bill for brunch, parties, mid-day snacks and dessert. In my opinion, the decision to make lemon bread is easy-peasy lemon-squeezy!
What Ingredients are in Lemon Bread?
- Cream Cheese – Cream Cheese (and the Sour Cream) add richness to the bread and make it ultra soft!
- Granulated Sugar – I love to add a little granulated sugar to the top of my bread to give it a caramelized crust.
- Eggs
- Sour Cream
- Melted Butter – Instead of using oil, this recipe calls for melted butter because it works better with the lemon.
- Lemon Juice – Yes, there are a lot of lemon sources in this recipe! I diversified because in order to get the flavor I wanted, I would have had to add way too much juice and the batter would have had too much liquid.
- Lemon Zest
- Lemon Bakery Emulsion – I love bakery emulsion (my favorite brand is LorAnn’s), but you can sub with lemon extract if you prefer.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder – This gives the loaf its rise!
- Salt
- Yellow Food Coloring
How to make Lemon Bread
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350° F.
- Prepare a 8×4 bread pan by spraying it with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine your flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and granulated sugar on low until the mixture is completely smooth.
- With the mixer still running on low, add one egg at a time, mixing until smooth, and then add in the sour cream.
- Once the eggs and sour cream are incorporated, keep the mixer on low and add in the melted butter, lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon bakery emulsion.
- Allow the mixer to continue mixing until combined.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredient mix that you have prepped into the mixer, mixing until the batter is completely combined and smooth.
- Finally, add in yellow food coloring, if you’d like. I like to use gel food coloring.
- Pour the batter into your prepared bread pan.
- Top the mixture generously with extra granulated sugar. This gives the top of the loaf a nice sweet, crust.
- Place the pan in the fridge and allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes prior to baking.
- When the rest period is over, bake the bread at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center of the loaf with only a few moist crumbs. To prevent your bread from getting overly browned, you may need to place some tinfoil over the top around the 40 minute mark.
- When the bread passes the toothpick test, remove it from the oven and allow it to sit in the pan for 15 minutes prior to cutting.
- Enjoy!
Can I add glaze or frosting to my lemon bread?
Absolutely! After your bread has cooled, feel free to add a glaze or frosting to the loaf. I recommend trying this frosting (yum).
Can I add other flavors to my lemon bread?
Yes! Try adding in blueberries, raspberries or white chocolate chips for an additional pop of flavor!
How do I store Lemon Bread?
Your Lemon Bread is best if eaten within 3-5 days of baking. Once the bread is cooled, wrap it tightly in saran wrap and leave it on the counter. If you want to keep it fresh a little longer, you may also refrigerate it (but it will dry out more quickly!)
More Recipes Like Lemon Bread
Lemon Bread
This lemon bread is tangy, rich, and soft! With a yummy caramelized sugar top, this sweet and tender loaf is sure to brighten any day.
Ingredients
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar, + extra for topping
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon bakery emulsion*
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- yellow food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together the cream cheese and granulated sugar on low until completely smooth.
- With the mixer still running on low, add one egg at a time, mixing until smooth and then add in the sour cream.
- Once the sour cream is incorporated, add the melted butter, lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon bakery emulsion all while the mixer is mixing on low.
- Allow the mixer to continue mixing- in a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixer, mixing until completely combined and smooth.
- Lastly, add in yellow food coloring, if desired.
- Prepare a 8×4 inch bread pan by spraying with non-stick spray. Pour the batter into the bread pan and then top generously with extra granulated sugar.
- Allow the batter to rest in the pan in the fridge for 10 minutes prior to baking.
- Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center with only a few moist crumbs. You may need to place some tinfoil over the bread at about the 40 minute mark to keep your bread from being over cooked and too brown on top.
- Remove from the oven when it passes the toothpick test and allow the bread to sit in the pan for 15 minutes before cutting.
- Enjoy!
Notes
*You can substitute Lemon Extract, if you prefer. Extracts tend to bake out of the baked good while in the oven, so I would suggest adding more than 1 tbsp of the lemon extract to have a strong enough flavor.
Nutrition
Calories: 149kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 143mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 303IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 0.2mg
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