This isn’t the first attempt. Not even close. But after a lot of trial and error we have arrived at my first vegannized baked good and goodness me is it good. It’s sweet without being over-powering with all the brightness of lemons. It’s similar to the lemon loaf at Starbucks but so, so, so much better.
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There is one non-negotiable in this recipe. You have to use fresh lemons. Don’t even look at me with that bottled stuff, you need fresh. Not only does fresh taste so much better, but the lemon flavor is also severely kicked up a notch when you add the lemon zest on top. Just trust me on this one. I’d say buy three just to be safe and if you don’t use it all, you have a water additive.
This also calls for Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer. I personally prefer it to other egg replacements because sometimes chia or flax eggs can change the texture of a large bake. Plus, I wanted this to be a smooth, beautiful pale yellow and not have flecks of egg replacement visible throughout. I’m going to go ahead and make the assumption that Just egg would also work but the price point physically prevents me from attempting it.
If you’re not as crazy as me, go ahead and use whatever egg replacement you like. Just be mindful that it will change the bake time so keep your eye on it and keep checking so you don’t under or overcook your lemon loaf.
Once the loaf is baked, you have to let it cool before glazing.
I know how hard this can be, and trust me, I’ve made a couple of these where I didn’t wait and the glaze unsurprisingly slides right off and ends up on the plate next to it. I left this one to cool overnight before I glazed it, partly because I wanted it to be pretty and partly because I got busy with other things. You can also pop it in the fridge to cool it faster. Or do that sheet pan fanning thing everyone does on the Great British Baking Show.
Once it’s completely cool, whip up your glaze. This is where a lot of the sweetness comes from so if you don’t want it to be overly sweet, don’t use all the glaze. I made it optional to add in the zest because I understand not everyone owns a zester, but if you do please add it. It takes this from a lemon loaf to a LEMON loaf.
- 2 tbsp Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer
- 4 tbsp water
- 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup plant milk
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided
- zest from one lemon
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp plant milk
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- (optional) zest from half lemon
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease bottom and sides of a bread pan.
- Prepare buttermilk by mixing 1/2 cup plant milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice. Set aside to curdle for around 10 minutes.
- Mix 2 tbsp egg replacer with 4 tbsp water. Allow to thicken for 1 minute.
- To egg mixture, add 1 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Whisk or mix together until fully combined.
- Add in 1/2 cup buttermilk, 2 tbsp lemon juice and zest from one whole lemon. Mix until well combined.
- Add in 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp baking powder. Mix until all lumps are gone but do not over mix.
- Pour into bread pan and bake for 60 minutes. After 60 minutes, poke check loaf and cook in 5 minute intervals until toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely, 3-4 hours or overnight.
- Make glaze by combining 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp plant milk and 1 tbsp lemon juice (and zest if using).
- Pour over loaf allowing excess to drip off sides. Glaze will harden up over time but place in fridge to quicken process.