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It has been frigidly cold here in Wisconsin the last couple of days. But next week, we are jumping up to the 30’s and may even hit 40 degrees by mid week. This cranberry lemon loaf is the perfect mix of winter and spring. The tart cranberries remind me of the winter holidays, while the sweet lemon gives just a touch of spring. This bread is so good served either warm or cold.

Ingredients:

• Salted butter, room temperature
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Lemon, for zesting and juice
• Vanilla extract
• Flour
• Salt
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Sour cream
• Cranberries
• Powdered sugar

Let’s Bake:

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Prepare a loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in the room temperature eggs one at a time, until they are incorporated. After all the eggs are added, continue to mix for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

In a spearate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. With the stand mixer on low, alternate adding the dry ingredient mixture and the sour cream. Add in 1/3 of the dry mixture, followed by half of the sour cream, 1/3 of the dry mixture, the rest of the sour cream, and then the rest of the dry mixture. When the dry ingredients and sour cream are well incorporated, fold in the cranberries. Add the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake for one hour. The loaf is done when the top is a nice golden color and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the loaf to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

To make the glaze for the top of the loaf, add the powdered sugar and lemon juice to a bowl. Mix well until the mixture is smooth and all the lumps are gone. If needed, you can add more lemon juice or a splash of water to make it smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled loaf. Allow the glaze to dry before serving. I hope you enjoy ♥

Cranberry Lemon Loaf

• Servings: 1 loaf
• Time: 1 hr 20 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

½ cup salted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice, +2 tbsp lemon juice for glaze

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

⅓ cup sour cream, room temperature

1 ¼ cup cranberries

1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare a loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time. Continue to mix for an additional 2 minutes after all the eggs are added.
4. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. 
6. With the stand mixer on low, carefully mix in ⅓ of the dry mixture, ½ of the sour cream, ⅓ of the dry mixture, the rest of the sour cream, and then the rest of the dry ingredients. 
7. Fold in the cranberries.
8. Add the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Cool in the loaf pan for 10 min. Remove from the loaf pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
10. To make the glaze for the top, in a medium sized mixing bowl, add the lemon juice and powdered sugar. Mix until smooth. If needed, you can add extra lemon juice to make smooth.
11. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled loaf and allow the glaze to dry before serving.