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Bursting with zesty lemon and sweet strawberries, this easy-to-make Strawberry Lemon Loaf Cake is perfect for breakfast, snack time, or any time you need a little sunshine on your plate.
Strawberry Lemon Dream Loaf
Let’s zest some lemons, whip up a batter, fold in some juicy strawberries, and watch the magic unfold. This loaf cake is the sweet spot between breakfast, snack, and dessert, bringing all the freshness of lemon straight to your kitchen.
Picture this: a tender, moist crumb bursting with the bright, zingy flavor of lemon, dotted with pockets of sweet strawberries that pop with every bite. It’s like your favorite coffee shop lemon loaf took a trip to a sunny strawberry patch and came back with a whole new look.
But let’s be real—this Strawberry Lemon Loaf Cake isn’t here to win any baking awards for innovation. It’s here to remind us that sometimes the simplest things are the most delicious. No fancy tricks, just straightforward goodness. A golden top that gives way to a fluffy, lemony interior, with those delightful strawberry surprises throughout. Basic? Sure. But basic in the way we all crave: pure, uncomplicated, and ridiculously satisfying.
Find the complete recipe card below with measurements and full instructions.
Let’s Make A Strawberry Lemon Loaf Cake
- In small bowl combine the lemon zest and sugar. Mix together with your fingers until zest is coated with sugar and mixture is fragrant (it will smell like lemon!)
- In large bowl mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar zest mixture. Whisk together to combine.
- In another medium bowl beat the eggs, add in the greek yogurt, vanilla extract, lemon juice, vegetable oil, stir until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently to mix.
- Toss the strawberries with the 1/2 tablespoon of flour. Once batter is mostly mixed, gently fold in the strawberries.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Using the back of the spoon evenly spread the batter.
- Bake for approximately 60 minutes. Top will be browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle will come out clean once done. Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes then turn the pan upside down to remove the bread from the pan. Move loaf to wire rack to continue cooling.
- While bread is cooling you can prepare the glaze. In small bowl add the powdered sugar, then the lemon zest. Pour in the lemon juice and stir. Start with 1 tablespoon and if the glaze is tasting tart enough (depends on the lemon used!) then use half and half or heavy cream to get the correct consistency. The glaze will be smooth. Stir until there are no clumps of sugar remaining. Add more sugar or more juice to obtain desired consistency.
- Pour the glaze over the cooled bread.Serve immediately or store bread in sealed container. Can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Want to Freeze It?
Simply follow the recipe, DO NOT PUT THE GLAZE ON. Once the pound cake has cooled, wrap it with plastic wrap, then wrap in foil, or place in a large plastic bag. Seal it up. And freeze. The pound cake can be frozen for 3-4 months. To eat, allow to come to room temperature. Then you can make the icing.
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Strawberry Lemon Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1½ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup greek yogurt vanilla or plain
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup strawberries diced
- ½ tbsp all purpose flour
Lemon Glaze
- zest 1 lemon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1½ tbsp lemon juice (can sub with some half and half or heavy cream)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray loaf pan (mine is 9×5) with baking spray and set aside.
- In small bowl combine the lemon zest and sugar. Mix together with your fingers until zest is coated with sugar and mixture is fragrant (will smell like lemon!)
- In large bowl mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar zest mixture. Whisk together to combine.
- In another medium bowl beat the eggs, add in the greek yogurt, vanilla extract, lemon juice, vegetable oil, stir until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently to mix.Toss the strawberries with the 1/2 tablespoon of flour. Once batter is mostly mixed, gently fold in the strawberries.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Using the back of the spoon evenly spread the batter.
- Bake for approximately 60 minutes. Top will be browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle will come out clean once done. Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes then turn the pan upside down to remove the bread from the pan. Move loaf to wire rack to continue cooling.
- While bread is cooling you can prepare the glaze. In small bowl add the powdered sugar, then the lemon zest. Pour in the lemon juice and stir. Start with 1 tablespoon and if the glaze is tasting tart enough (depends on the lemon used!) then use half and half or heavy cream to get the correct consistency. The glaze will be smooth. Stir until there are no clumps of sugar remaining. Add more sugar or more juice to obtain desired consistency.
- Pour the glaze over the cooled bread.Serve immediately or store bread in sealed container. Can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Strawberry Recipes to Love
Recipe first published July 3, 2019. Updated August 28, 2024.
Photography by KJandCompany.co
Can you freeze this with the glaze?
I would recommend freezing and glazing after you defrost, just because the glaze can become watery or sticky when it’s defrosted. But if you need to, it is perfectly safe.
This bread turned out amazing! I only used about a quarter of the glaze, and ate half the loaf in one sitting. This will be going on heavy rotation during strawberry season!
i just made this recipe yesterday…OMG!! So yummy! Moist and lemony…perfect..I didn’t have quite enough strawberries, so I threw in a few blueberries….I did add some of the cream in place of the lemon juice as some of my family members don’t like such a strong lemony tartness as I do. I baked in a glass pyrex so I lowered the temp to 325 and it did take a bit longer to bake. Thanks Serene, it’s a keeper for sure!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Shelley! Thanks for the amazing review 🙂
Thanks, Girl! This was delicious! It took about 1/2 hour longer to cook, but probably because I used more strawberries.
Thank you for the amazing recipe, everyone loved this loaf but I have a question, in the Glaze what do you mean by: sub with some (half and half or heavy cream)
Made this for a family party – big hit! I sliced the bread and put it on a platter with fresh strawberries on the side along with an small container of extra glaze; a lot of people loved the extra glaze.
Thats a great idea!
Yummy! I used Noosa Blood Orange yogurt and a little sour cream instead of the Greek Yogurt. I didn’t have enough lemon zest for the glaze so I used orange zest mixed with the lemon juice. It was outstanding! Moist, tender and delicious.
That sounds amazing! I love the addition of the blood orange flavor! Thanks for the review 🙂
Hi Serene, I came across your blog whilst looking for a strawberry loaf recipe. This looks so delicious that I’m trying it out this evening.
I wanted to ask if it’s okay for me to use frozen strawberries. They’re not the store bought variety, just straight from the farm but I couldn’t use them right away, so I popped them in the freezer.
Just made this cake and it’s delicious, my other half is already planning for stockpiling strawberries next season haha! I used frozen strawberries (left over from Summer, from the local berry farm!) and it was perfection.
Beautiful loaf!! I love lemon paired with other fruits and that glaze is to die for!!!!
We are having guests for dinner this Sunday, and now this will be our dessert! Thanks so much for this super yummy dessert!
I just said “dessert” twice. Sorry to be so redundant 🙂