Deliciously Fresh Lemon Lime Loaf
This Delicious Lemon Lime Loaf is perfectly moist with lots of citrus flavors and a thick layer of sweet lemony icing. Itās almost impossible to eat just one piece!

Today is an extra special day.
It's the kind of day that deserves lemony icing and a sweet lemon lime loaf cake. Cause you know, it's not every day you buy a house.
OMG did I just say that? Yes yes, I did. And it's true! My handsome man and I bought our first home together. āinsert biggest lemon icing covered smile ever ā
To celebrate, I think we should all make this insanely delicious lemon lime loaf. I wish we could all celebrate together, but just knowing that you've got cake crumbs on your lips too will make me happy.

I'm not much of a dessert person, but this lemony cake is just about killing me. I know that calling something ‘perfect' often seems a little over the top, but that's how I feel about this cake. IMO it is, without any doubt, the best lemon lime loaf ever. No lie.
The cake itself isn't overly sweet and has a great citrus flavor. It manages to be both light and dense at the same time. I know that seems like a contradiction, but that's exactly how it feels when I eat it.
And then there's the icing …

That sweet lemony icing. I like to pour the icing on in 2 or 3 layers so it builds up, and I get extra with each bite. If you're not as keen on icing as I am, you could always cut it back.
I figure that since I don't eat dessert often I should do it right when I do. Go big or go home.

A few tips for the perfect lemon lime loaf
- Don't over bake the cake! Overbaked cake = dry cake. Check it after 40 minutes by inserting a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean, it's done. If there is batter left on the toothpick, it needs a little more time.
- Only use FRESH lemon and lime juice. Please promise me this. The stuff you buy in bottles has a very different flavor than fresh juice, and it will affect the taste of the loaf.
- To build up a thick layer of icing, you will need to put it on in several layers. Let each layer dry before pouring over the next layer.

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More Delicious Lemon Desserts:
- Triple Berry Paleo Banana Bread with Lemon Glaze
- Coconut Lemon Chia Matcha Pudding
- Coconut Lemon Energy Balls
- Lemon Whipped Ricotta with Cranberry Honey
- Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake
- Glazed Coconut Lemon Sugar Cookies

Lemon Lime Loaf Recipe
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ā cup plain yogurt
- Zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
The Icing
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 pinch sea salt
- Lemon and lime zest, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the inside of a loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and yogurt, lemon and lime zest, and lemon and lime juice and beat until everything is thoroughly mixed, about 30 seconds.½ cup salted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 3 large eggs, ā cup plain yogurt, Zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Add it to the large bowl and beat the batter just until everything comes together.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake in for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a cooling rack.
The Icing
- In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, lemon and lime juice, and a tiny pinch of sea salt. If you would like it a little thinner, you can add a small splash of water. If you prefer your icing a little thicker, you can add a touch more powdered sugar.1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1 pinch sea salt
- Once the loaf is completely cool, pour ā of the icing over top and let it drip down the sides. Wait for the icing to begin to harden, about 10 minutes, then pour over another ā . Once the second layer has begun to harden you can pour over the remaining icing.
- As soon as you pour the third layer of icing on the cake sprinkle the top with a little lemon and lime zest.Lemon and lime zest
This turned out amazing!!! I had a bag of limes I needed to use up and I actually substituted the plain yogurt for key lime flavored greek yogurt! I also used all lime juice and no lemon. My husband who doesn’t like sweets ate a whole piece and said was delicious. I also baked at 320 in a 9×5 loaf pan so it was go low and slow and not burn the edges before middle got done but that might just be my oven. Excellent recipe!!
Made this super delicious loaf yesterday. My husband and I give it two thumbs up as an easy to bake recipe and for taste! Only had one additional question, what size of loaf pan do you recommend to use for this recipe? Your instructions in the recipe state ‘in a loaf pan?’ I have two different sized loaf pans. I used the larger one which is 9 x 5″ because I wasn’t certain if the smaller one (8 x 4″) would be too small. Thank you again for this recipe — it is so worth making this loaf again and again.
We tested this recipe in an 8×4″ loaf pan!
Absolutely delicious!! So fresh and flavorful. Def adding to my dessert recipes!Ā
How long can you store this for? Thanks
This will keep well for 2-3 days before it starts to dry out. If you want to store it longer, wrap it tightly and store it in the freezer.
OMG I feel like I have to try this cake asap! I am such a fan of lemon.. I could eat anything with lemon.. ?
Is there a substitute for egg?
I’ve never tried an egg substitute so I can’t say if it would work. If you’re up to experimenting, you could try a flax egg, but I can’t guarantee the results.
Hi can you freeze this cake pleaseĀ
Most cakes freeze very well so I suspect that this one will, too. š
Thank you so much for making this recipe available online and for free. It is simply delicious and so quick to make – the whole family loves it and we can;t stop eating it!! Thanks again Deb
You’re so welcome, Deb!
Love it but there was a tiny problem with the icing it was really runny even though I followed the receipt and kept adding powder sugar it only got sweeter not thicker but I love the bread part !
Excellent recipe. Lovely and tangy and also very moist!
Thanks, Dave!
Easy bake.
Followed the 1/3 drizzle and all it does is removed the previous layer even when leaving for longer than stated. I have icing all over my work surface. Hope it tastes better than it looks
Did you wait for the first layer to dry before adding more? That’s the trick to getting a double layer. š
The person said they left the icing “longer than stated.”
My only guess is that the icing took longer to dry than mine normally does. When I’ve done this trick, as long as I wait until the first layer is dry to the touch, the second layer doesn’t ‘melt’ off the first layer. š
Is this recipe for a 1 or 2lb loaf tin?
2 lbs. š
Hi Kristen!
My husband resisted the tentation to by a limon cake at Publix supermarket today. I decided to make him one, my first one ever.
Used the yogur that I had ( peach) and the batter fitted perfectly in the only rectangle bake ware that I have.
Delicious taste and fabulous aroma!!
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!! Already saved to make it again over and over.
Gigi
Thank you for letting us know you loved the recipe!
This recipe looks amazing, and I would love to try it, but I do not have any yogurt in the house. I do, however, have sour cream. Would this be an ok substitution?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried it myself but I would think it would work just as well. š
I used sour creamāworks great!
I would make this cake again, but without the icing! The cake is really nice and moist, and plenty sweet on it’s own. The icing made it a bit too sweet for me. I also added a cup of blueberries, which was a great addition.Ā
Blueberries sound like a wonderful addition!
I had 4lbs of lemons and limes because they were on sale and I was looking for citrusy recipes so I was happy to find this in my search. I made this as a loaf first to bring to a friend’s and then again the next day for myself splitting it and baking it in a muffin tin for “portion” control š
The one tweak that I made was the addition of blueberries and blackberries, which I layered into the pan with the batter and it was a delicious addition!
Thanks for the recipe! This is definitely a keeper!
Great call on the blueberries and blackberries!!
I love, love, LOVE this recipe! The cake was so moist and delicious with such a refreshing lemon lime flavor. I did Add a few frozen chopped strawberry bits to the middle of the batter before baking. Would have been amazing without them as well. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
I’m so happy you liked the recipe! And good call on adding strawberries. Yum!
Who ever picked this table below this amazing piece deserves a piece nominee!!!!!!! The
Awww thanks!!
This cake is fab. I used passion fruit yogurt as didn’t have plain. First cake gone in a day! Very easy recipe.
I’m so happy you like the recipe!
Kristen, we have loads of Lemon/limes growing at our place in Costa Rica, big hit, will put it on FB… and correct, I confirm it was impossible to eat just one slice! thanks!
Lucky you! I’m not going to lie, I’m a tad bit jealous. š
Oh wow! Have been searching for a perfect lemon cake recipe for ages and have now found it. Thank you for sharing, it’s amazing!! X
You’re so welcome!!!
Tried this recipe today. The loaf cake was super moist with a very refreshing lemon flavor. I added more lime zest and orange zest on top for garnish instead of the icing. Very good with tea. One of my favorite cake recipes!
I’m so happy you like it! I actually made it a few days ago, too. Love your idea about adding orange zest. š
Any chance for a gluten free option? Thank you by the way. It looks amazing.
I haven’t tried making this recipe gluten-free. I know that gluten-free baking is a whole other animal, though. If you’re comfortable with experimenting my best guess would be to use rice flour, as it’s the lightest of the gluten-free flour alternatives. I can’t make any guarantees how it would turn out though as I haven’t tried it myself. š
Oh my …….. I have just found you and I am smitten!!! I was searching online for a prawn stock …. And liked yours ….. Then I delved a little deeper …. And 3 hours and 1 coffee, 1 slice of warm home made bread, and 1 limoncello later …. I found this lemony creation . I love lemons!!! (I have also joined cos I want a part of this and your amazing recipes!!! Thank you!! Just one little thing please ….. I am in The UK and we don’t have cups (well we do, but not for measuring out infredients) we use metric or imperial with ounces …. And I have had some disasters with converting recipes …. (Why are all the good ones from Canada or USA or Australia??) so please could you possibly give me some conversions of the basic ingredients …. Or point me in the direction of a fool proof Canadian conversion site? I desp want to make this lovely luscious lemon cake !!! Thank you very much. Maggie
Hi Maggie,
I’m so happy that we’ve been able to connect! I’ve actually thought that I should include weights on my baking recipes … it is far more accurate, too!
The conversions off the top of my head that I normally work with are:
1 teaspoon = 5 grams
1 tablespoon = 15 grams
1 liquid cup = 8 ounces
1/2 cup butter = 4 ounces (113 grams)
1 cup flour = 120 grams – although most times when I measure with a cup it tends to weigh closer to 130/140 grams
From there I just do some basic math to figure out a recipe. It’s not the easiest way, and I want to make my recipes easy to follow. Going forward I’ll make sure to add both for baking recipes.
Here’s a link to a great converter that gives weights for TONS of ingredients.
http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/cooking/
I hope that helps!
Hi Kristen!
I love this recipe, it looks beautiful and I can’t wait to try it out! I was just wondering, was the heat measurement in Celsius or Farenheit?
Thanks!
Charlese x
Hi Charlese,
Good question! The heat measurement is in Fahrenheit. Even though I’m Canadian (and we normally use Celsius here) most of our ovens read as Fahrenheit. I’ll keep that in mind when I’m writing recipes from now on!
Hi Kristen! Congratulations on your new home! I really love this lemon lime loaf. It looks so delicious. And I really do love lemons. And that extra thick icing is so gorgeous!
Thank you so much!
Brilliant photo’s, didn’t tryed the recipe yet.
In case off spelling errors š I’m from Holland , not that that would be an excuse.
Keep up the great photo’s and cooking
HI Hans,
Welcome to The Endless Meal! All the way from Holland!
Love your lemon lime cake..kids can’t keep their little fingers off the icing. Really enjoy reading your blog and can’t believe u r from Kelowna where we live. Please check our Bistro out at Volcanic Hills Winery called blusaffron next time u r in town, I think u will love it,Next time we r in Van would love to check your place out.
Hi Joanne,
I’m so happy to hear you and the kids like the lemon lime loaf!
I will definitely come by the winery next time I’m in town. We’ve been wine tasting in the Okanagan the past few years but haven’t yet made it to the wineries in Kelowna. It’s on our list this year so I will come and say hello!
It would be great to have you over to the supper club too! š
Congratulations on your new house! You must be very excited and I think this is the perfect cake to celebrate with. I love the backdrop and was thinking “oh no! Her beautiful backdrop was ruined by that drizzling icing”. How clever that it is vinyl and can be easily wiped clean. I will definitely be checking out that store.
Thank you so much, Lynn! Definitely do check out Ink and Elm. I’m actually double tasking and browsing through their store right now. š
This lemon and lime loaf is PERFECT. I cannot get over how moist, zesty and delicious the images are – you definitely have got me craving a slice!
I’m e-sending you a slice right now!
Wow those pictures! I love your choice to photograph this cake on the blue background.
It looks divine. Citrus flavors are my fav as they are never too too sweet.
Will be making this!
Thanks, Andrea! That’s the same reason I love lemon cake too. Never too sweet. Well, except the icing. š
This is sooooo lovely! It looks so moist, and that drizzle! Wow! Congratulations on your new home!
Thank you so much!!
So that’s how you get extra thick icing like that! I always wondered, other recipes just say to pour it over and it’s disappointingly thin! PS I love the distressed wooden background in this photo…gorgeous! Where on earth did you find that??
The trick is to ice it in layers. Pour over one coat then let that dry before adding the next and the next and …
I got the background from Ink and Elm. It’s actually a vinyl sheet that I can roll up. Super handy! I bought 4 of them a while ago and even though their international shipping is atrociously expensive I still think I’ll order more one day. It’s a dangerous store. š