Springtime baking for Lemon Lovers

I am slightly obsessed with the King Arthur Flour cookbooks. I have made many things from the three I have, and I have yet to be disappointed. Last week Miss Cutiepie and I made two loaves of this bread for her parent's return. It was a great success!! She loved to stir the mixture, and the bread turned out great as it always does. It just tastes like springtime!! You can easily serve it as a dessert or for brunch as a part of a sweet bread basket. It's absolutely wonderful with strawberry or raspberry jam. Enjoy!

Bread
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt (I use buttermilk)
1/2 teaspoon lemon oil OR 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup) - It usually takes me 1.5 or 2 lemons
1/3 cup sugar

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar till thoroughly combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix the buttermilk or yogurt and lemon zest, and set aside. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture. Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven, and poke it all over with a cake tester or long toothpick. Whisk together the glaze ingredients, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and while the cake is hot drizzle it gradually with the glaze, stopping periodically to allow it to soak in. Set the bread aside, and let it cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove it from the pan, and allow it to cool completely before slicing. Yield: 1 loaf.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour