Lemon Blueberry Bread Recipe

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in Holly Clegg’s Trim & Terrific Cookbook. The texture of this bread is somewhere between a pound cake and a quick bread and is super moist if you don’t over cook it. If you like the fresh taste of lemon you’ll love this because the lemons are definitely the star of this show.  This recipe would be equally as good with raspberries. The simple syrup adds an extra hit of lemon while adding some additional moistness but it’s definitely optional. The bread stands well on it’s own without the syrup so if you aren’t looking for that extra tartness, don’t add the syrup. Coming out of the oven, this bread isn’t particularly pretty but when you cut into it you’ll see the bits of zest and the juicy blueberries. It’s pretty fabulous and is less than 180 calories per serving.

Ingredients

Bread
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 buttermilk (lowfat or fat free)
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

Lemon Simple Syrup (Optional)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix oil, 2/3 cup sugar, lemon extract, egg, and egg whites.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
4. Combine sugar mixture with flour mixture.
5. Add buttermilk and stir just until blended.
6. Fold in lemon zest and blueberries. Be gentle with the blueberries or they will explode.
7. Pour batter into pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. At 40 minutes insert a toothpick to check doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean, it’s done.

If adding lemon syrup do this step while bread bakes.
8. Combine sugar and lemon juice in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave until sugar is melted. The time will vary depending on the strength of your microwave. Heat mixture in 30 second increments. You could also do this in a small sauce pan on the stove.
9. Poke holes in bread immediately after removing it from the oven. Pour lemon syrup over the bread.
10.Allow bread to cool before slicing.

Makes 16 servings.