Do you indulge in a certain lemon loaf at the “green apron” (Starbucks) and the price alone makes you blanch? It’s $3.95 for a small slice now. That is a lot of money for a small snack/dessert, especially for a treat full of oil and sugar.
The ingredient list is pretty nasty, and the calorie content/fat is shocking for something so small. It has corn syrup, soybean oil, palm shortening, modified food starch (corn), carrageenan, locust bean gum, guar gum, and xantham gum. The only reason it needs all that is to stay stable to be transported long distance, frozen and thawed before it is served to you. We can, and MUST do better to ourselves. So this is my “Starbucks copycat recipe”. Is it exactly the same? No. But it is quite delicious.
Starbuvks Lemon Loaf ingredient list: ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], SUGAR, EGGS, BUTTER [CREAM (MILK), NATURAL FLAVOR], POWDERED SUGAR [SUGAR, CORNSTARCH], BUTTERMILK [CULTURED LOWFAT MILK, NONFAT MILK, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, SODIUM CITRATE, LOCUST BEAN GUM, CARRAGEENAN, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D3], LEMON JUICE, LEMON ZEST [LEMON PEEL, SUGAR, LEMON OIL], SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, PALM OIL SHORTENING, CORN SYRUP, SEA SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR, BAKING POWDER [SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, BAKING SODA, CORNSTARCH, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE], BAKING SODA, GUAR GUM, XANTHAN GUM, BETA CAROTENE [COLOR], ENZYME, SOY LECITHIN.
Lovely Lemon Loaf
Ingredients:
- 1 stick unsalted butter (½ cup), softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice (about 1 medium lemon)
- Zest of 1 medium lemon
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup milk
Glaze Ingredients:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice (about 1 medium lemon)
Directions:
Lightly oil an 8″x4″ bread pan. Preheat oven to 350°
In a stand mixer bowl beat the butter till smooth. Add in the sugar, and beat until combined. Scrape the bottom well.
Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time.
Add the lemon juice, zest, and extract, beat until smooth, and scrape the bottom of the bowl well.
Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and milk.
Beat until smooth.
Scrape into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top.
Bake for 45 minutes and check if the loaf is done with a toothpick in the center. Continue checking every 5 minutes until baked (our loaf took 55 minutes).
Place on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then loosen and knock out the pan.
Place the warm loaf in the center of the cooling rack. Place a dinner plate under the rack.
Stir the glaze together until smooth.
Using a pastry brush, brush the glaze onto the warm bread. Fully coat the top and then brush the sides.
Let cool before slicing.
Makes 1 loaf.
Cover any leftovers gently with plastic wrap or store in a glass storage container, on the counter.
~Sarah