Spring Delights

We have finally reached the best part of Spring here in North Carolina. The weather has warmed up, birds are nesting, everything is in full bloom and best of all, the blasted pine pollen is finally gone. We have the windows wide open and we are loving it.

Along with all the sights and sounds that herald Spring, there are certain flavors that represent Spring. One of those flavor combinations is lemons and blueberries. Maybe it’s because the flavors are so bright and cheerful on their own, but together tangy lemon and sweet blueberry are amazing.

As I looked through my many saved recipe files, I realized I had saved a LOT of blueberry lemon baked goods. So I thought I would try my hand at a Blueberry Lemon Loaf from www.allrecipes.com. It is a very simple recipe with just a few steps.

This recipe calls for one lemon – just one. Honestly, I was hoping it would use more. You see, I have a lot of lemons on hand, like bought a bag at Costco and forgot I already had a bag kind of lots of lemons. But that’s ok, I’ll make lemonade soon.

The recipe also calls for frozen blueberries, but again, I had been to Costco and bought fresh blueberries, so I used those. Either works just fine. Every other ingredient is readily found in your pantry and fridge.

Zest the lemon and set aside, then juice the lemon. Make a simple sauce by mixing a bit of powdered sugar with some zest and lemon juice. Then set that aside. Mix the wet ingredients in a small bowl by combining melted butter, eggs, sour cream, granulated sugar and the rest of the lemon juice and zest. Next, mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, placing 3 Tbsp. of the flour mix into another bowl.

Now, if you have ever made muffins or quick bread with berries, you know they can tend to sink to the bottom of the pan while baking. One way to prevent this is to toss the blueberries in the reserved flour mixture. Somehow, this allows them to stay spaced throughout the batter – more baking magic.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry and mix until just combined. Then gently fold in the blueberries and pour the batter into a greased 9×5 loaf pan. Bake in an oven preheated to 350ºF for about an hour. Remove the pan and use a toothpick to poke holes across the loaf. Pour the sauce over the top, allowing it to sink into the holes. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely.

Slice and serve the loaf with a cup of coffee or tea. The recipe says it will taste even better after sitting a day wrapped in plastic wrap. We aren’t that patient and had to taste it right away. My Blueberry Lemon Loaf was delicious. I think it was a tad more tangy than some might like, because my blueberries were a bit on the tart side. Personally, I like things on the tangy/sour side. If your prefer a sweeter loaf, make sure your fresh berries are sweet or use frozen berries.

In the past, I have had trouble with my loaf breads baking all the way through. This recipe was perfect. I set it in the oven for the whole time and the loaf was baked completely.

I will definitely make this loaf again, and maybe next time I will try it with raspberries for variety.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/167303/blueberry-lemon-loaf/