Lemon poppy seed bread with a lemon glaze

There’s banana bread and then there’s lemon bread, which is equally delicious when made right. It is so moist and actually tastes just like a cake. This is topped with a lemon glaze which I decorated with shredded coconut. The poppy seeds in the batter give it a really nice texture but it isn’t overwhelmingly obvious. Add this delicious lemon bread to your brunch weekends and smile all day.

Any great sweet bread starts with room temperature ingredients. Lemon zest and lemon juice are must-have ingredients for any lemon bread recipe, in my opinion. The lemon zest enhances that superb aroma and sharp acidic taste. I used a 8×4 inch loaf pan but a 9×5 inch loaf pan works too. The difference between the two loaf pan sizes is that the latter takes a shorter time to bake because of the wider surface area. The bread also tends to rise higher in the 8×4 inch loaf pan since it is steeper. It’s all up to you but I think bread baked in the 8×4 inch pans are much prettier.

There are literally 3 ingredients in this glaze. Just whisk everything together until it looks smooth. Pour it as desired over the top of the lemon bread. Whatever garnishes you want on your lemon bread should be added when the glaze is still wet. Keep the bread refrigerated for a few hours to harden the glaze on the bread. This is very yummy even when it is served cold.

Lemon poppy seed bread with a lemon glaze

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Servings: 8 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 50-55 Minutes 50-55 Minutes

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

Lemon bread

1&1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

2 large eggs, at room temperature

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar  

 

Lemon glaze

1 cup confectioners' (icing) sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons cream (heavy cream or half-and-half cream)

Instructions

Lemon bread

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
2. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla extract and milk together.
3. In another bowl, whisk the flour, lemon zest, poppy seeds, granulated sugar, salt and baking powder. Add this to the mixture from step 2.
4. Heavily grease a 8x4 inch pan with butter or line it with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and give it a good shake to even it out.
5. Bake the batter for 50-55 minutes at 350°F/175°C or until a toothpick inserted has no wet streaks.
6. Let the bread cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Lemon glaze

1. Mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice and the cream. This is your glaze.
2. Spread this over the bread as desired.
3. Refrigerate the lemon bread for at least 2 hours to set the glaze.