Now that it is officially spring, I decided it was time for a fruity dessert this past weekend. Lemon Poppy Seed Bread was the perfect answer to my craving! Moist and light, this bread will help you turn a fresh leaf from winter to spring.
It was a great break from all the chocolate-y treats I have been making lately. During the winter months baked goods like a warm brownie or a fresh cookie comfort the soul. Now that the sun is shining a little more and the temperatures have started to climb, however, I was ready for something a little lighter.
Don’t get me wrong. I adore chocolate and crave it daily. Cookies and brownies have my full adoration as well. Moderation is a great thing though. Trying out new recipes is a great thing too! You wanna know what else is a great thing? Adding extra glaze to each piece of Lemon Poppy Seed Bread- that is truly a great thing.
Another note about this bread is that My Cowboy and I like a little lemon in our lives, however we don’t love a really strong lemon flavor. So when I make treats with lemon, I don’t use fresh lemon juice because it is so strong. Now, if lemon flavor IS your thing and you DO love it strong, use fresh lemon juice instead of the bottled stuff. Generally I am a lover of strong flavors of all sorts, just not when it comes to lemon 🙂
Mmm mmm good!
Did you try this recipe or did you like it? Let me know 🙂
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Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.
- 3 cups flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 3/4 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (can use regular yogurt as well)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3 cup milk or cream (if using cream, will need to add some milk as well)
- 1. Preheat oven at 350 F.
- 2. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
- 3. In a large bowl combine sugar, eggs, poppy seeds, lemon juice, vanilla, applesauce, yogurt, and oil.
- 4. Carefully fold dry flour mixture into wet ingredients. Do not over mix.
- *5. Pour batter into two greased 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch pans.
- 6. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Flip over onto cooling racks and cool ten minutes.
- Measure powdered sugar into a medium sized bowl. Add the milk or cream and whisk. If you use cream, you will probably need to add milk to thin it out. I used cream for my glaze, and thinned it out a little with milk, but as you can see it is a bit thicker of a glaze. Just add the milk until it is the consistency you want. Add lemon juice and vanilla, then whisk until there are no lumps.
- Flip bread loaves onto serving plates and poke holes in the tops of the loaves with a toothpick. Spread half of the glaze evenly over the top of each loaf.
- *I don't have the correct size of loaf pans, so my loaves of bread were not as tall as they should be.
- Yields: 2 Loaves