A Useful Lemon Loaf Cake with Lemon Glaze: Recipe and Tips

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat two approx. 8 x 4" pans or one 10 x 4" pan with cooking spray or brush softened butter on the pan/s and coat with flour.
• Zest your (3-4) lemons now. This will take a few minutes to get 3 tbsp. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt – Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest and rub the mixture together with your fingers until the sugar is coated. I use rubber gloves. Stir in eggs one at a time, lightly mix, then add vanilla, oil, applesauce and yogurt.
• Fold in dry ingredients slowly and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pans about 2/3 full and smooth the top. Bake until the top of the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, for a regular-sized loaf about 45-60 minutes depending on your oven. For muffins or mini loaves approx. 16-20 minutes.

Making the Glaze

• While your cake loaf is in the oven and close to being done, mix the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and let it come to a boil then take it off the burner. (Add a little more or less lemon juice or powdered sugar depending on how thick or thin you like it), as long as it pours nicely on your cake. When the loaf is done, take a thin spatula around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan and then turn the cake out onto a cooling rack. Poke a few holes with a toothpick so some of the glaze can seep into the cake. Slowly pour the warm glaze over the top of the warm cake loaf. Let the loaf cool completely or cut into it when it's almost cooled to room temp. and enjoy it warm. YUM! Store in an airtight container.