I love just about anything with lemon, and every berry I can get my hands on. I found this bread recipe a long time ago, and have played around with it, both as a powerfully flavorful lemon glazed bread, as well as with various types of mix-ins. This is amazing just as a lemon bread. But any berry works great, so you can run with whatever is fresh and available at any given point in the year. Because I live in Wisconsin, berries vary greatly throughout the year. In the winter, I head to my local Costco for amazing raspberries and blueberries. But during summer, there’s nothing better than fresh-picked berries, and Wisconsin is lush with them. 
I called this Zingy Lemon Berry Bread because it really has a powerful ZING of lemon flavor. The key is to use fresh-squeezed lemon and lots of zest. I don’t suggest using bottled lemon juice…or those funky plastic squeezy lemons. You simply won’t get the same sweet and tangy flavor as fresh. Because it’s really the zest, and the essential oils in the zest, that really make the flavor, don’t skimp. Zest to your heart’s content…just make sure you’re not zesting in the white of the lemon, or the “pith”. This is where the lemon’s bitterness begins.
Last tip – whenever you’re integrating fruit into a batter, toss the fruit first with a little flour so it’s well-coated. The flour helps the fruit “float” and not sink to the bottom of your batter.
Zingy Lemon Berry Bread
Ingredients
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder do not substitute baking soda!
- 1/2 C canola oil
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2.5 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 C sour cream
- 1 fresh lemon, zested & juiced
- 1 C choice of berries, tossed in 2 tsp of flour
Glaze
- 1 fresh lemon, zested & juiced
- 1 C powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. In a small bowl, toss berries and 2 tsp of flour. Set aside.In separate bowl, beat with mixer sugar, oil, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth. Fold in the dry ingredients and berries by hand, folding only until all ingredients are incorporated.Spray a 9"x5" loaf pan with cooking spray, and pour in batter. Smooth so evenly distributed in the pan. Bake 50-65 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Time may vary based on oven.Remove from oven when done, and let rest 10 minutes. Carefully turn loaf out onto a cooling rack. Drizzle with Lemon Glaze, allowing it to run off the loaf. Result should be a thin glaze on the loaf, not thick like frosting. Cut only when totally cooled. Store in airtight container.
Lemon Glaze
- Measure 1 C of powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the zest and juice of 1 lemon to bowl. Mix ingredients with a fork until the glaze runs easily off the fork. If the glaze is too thick, add more lemon juice (preferred) or cold milk. The glaze should easily run off the fork, which will make it easily glaze your loaf.
