Lemon Blueberry Loaf

Lemon and blueberry is one of my favorite combinations and I friend of mine mentioned that she liked that combination, too, so I did a little bit of a hunt for a lemon blueberry treat to make. It seems like I have been making quite a few loaf breads lately, but they travel well and are easy to bake. Plus, it seems like you can put about any flavor combination imaginable in a loaf form!

When I was looking for recipes, I was stunned by how many lemon recipes start with a lemon cake mix. That’s fine, but I prefer to start from scratch. There’s a strawberry lemonade cookie that I’d like to make, but I need to figure out how to make it without a cake mix. This recipe was one of many lemon blueberry loaves that I came across, but this one won by its decadence: lemon blueberry loaf, lemon soaking syrup, and lemon glaze. Yum!

This loaf is sometimes described as a cake, and I think it is very much cake-like. The loaf is really fantastic. The blueberries pair with the lemon so well. I love the lemon soaking syrup; it makes the cake extra special. With the syrup and the glaze I would imagine that the cake would last for several days, but mine was eaten up right away. It is fairly fragile when it’s warm so make sure you take the time for it to cool completely. So this loaf may have a few extra steps and a little extra work, but it’s completely worth it.

Lemon Blueberry Loaf

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

1 tablespoon flour

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9” x 5” loaf pan.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and gently stir until the flour is combined; the mixture will be lumpy.

In a small bowl combine the blueberries and 1 tablespoon flour; stir. Add the blueberries to the batter and gently stir to combine. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a thin knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan.

Once you have removed the loaf from the pan, make the sugar syrup. In a small saucepan combine the 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/3 cup sugar. Heat on medium until the sugar is dissolved and then cook for 3 minutes.

Using a toothpick, poke holes over the top of the loaf and pour the sugar syrup on top. Allow to cool completely.

Make the glaze: in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice; whisk to combine. If the glaze is too thick, add additional lemon juice. Spoon the glaze over the cooled loaf. Allow the glaze to set before cutting the loaf into slices.

Recipe from Michelle Rothmeier