Having a couple of quick bread loaves in the freezer is good insurance for busy days or weeks when there is no time to bake. Date Loaf and this Lemon Loaf are my usuals. Lately, I've been craving the fresh sharpness of lemon and have made the recipe twice in the past month or so. Most recently I doubled the recipe and made four small loaves which are good for giving away to friends or neighbours. The lemon and sugar glaze on top really adds to the flavour, and I wouldn't recommend skipping it.
Lemon Loaf (makes one large loaf or two small ones)
1/2 cup (125 g) soft butter
1 cup (250 g) sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk
1 1/2 cups (375 g) flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt
grated rind of 1 lemon
Glaze:
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup (50 ml) sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 C).
In large bowl, cream butter, add sugar, then one egg. Beat in second egg. Stir in milk.
In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon rind. Pour into the butter/egg mixture and stir just to combine.
Spoon into greased 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
While the loaf is baking, prepare the glaze by combining the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat and stir just to dissolve sugar.
Remove from oven and pour glaze evenly over immediately. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool on a rack.
