lemon blueberry loaf

a naturally sweet adaptation of helen goh's blueberry & vanilla sugar crackle loaf

For Christmas last year, I received Helen Goh’s new cookbook Baking and the Meaning of Life. In case you’re unfamiliar, Helen has worked with Yotam Ottolenghi (who I’m a huge fan of) and they published the Sweet cookbook together several years ago. I have made quite a few recipes from the Sweet cookbook - it’s definitely not a cookbook that goes unused - and now I’m sure I’ll be baking a lot of recipes from Helen’s new cookbook. To start, I decided to adapt her recipe for blueberry and vanilla sugar crackle loaf and boy am I glad I did! This loaf was gone in record time in my house - with the fresh bursting blueberries, combined with the zesty lemon, and rounded out with vanilla (both extract and seeds from a vanilla pod), this loaf is such a treat. On top of that, Helen has you sprinkle some blueberries and then sprinkle some of the sugar/lemon zest/vanilla bean mixture on top so the top part of this loaf is honestly the best part with gooey blueberries and a crackle-y flavorful sugar coating.

I made a few adaptations to Helen’s recipe - for starters, I swapped out the granulated sugar for coconut sugar to naturally sweeten it. I also lowered the total amount of sugar and increased the amount of blueberries. And then she had sour cream in her recipe, which is just something I never have at home, so I swapped that out for full-fat yogurt.

I hope you give this absolutely irresistible lemon blueberry loaf a try and if you are looking for other baking ideas, check out my chocolate pistachio banana bread or my marbled chocolate strawberry bread. Enjoy!

As noted, this loaf is naturally sweetened with coconut sugar, which is the dehydrated and boiled sap of the coconut palm flower that goes through minimal processing and thus retains many of its inherent nutritional properties. To learn more about coconut sugar and other natural sweeteners, check out my natural sweetener 101 post.

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from the archive …

chamomile honey cake: a moist and chewy cake flavored with chamomile and naturally sweetened with honey and sucanat.

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lemon blueberry loaf

makes 1 9x5 loaf

ingredients

• 160 grams all purpose flour

• 30 grams cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 220 grams coconut sugar

• zest of 1 lemon

• scraped seeds from 1/2 a vanilla pod

• 115 grams unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3 eggs, room temperature

• 120 grams full-fat yogurt

• 200 grams blueberries

directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the 160 grams all purpose flour, 30 grams cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

3. Place the 220 grams coconut sugar, zest of 1 lemon, and scraped seeds from 1/2 a vanilla pod in the bowl of a stand mixer. Rub between your fingers to release the fragrance of the lemon and vanilla. Remove about 1 tablespoon of this mixture and reserve for sprinkling on top of the loaf before baking.

4. Next, add the 115 grams butter to the mixing bowl and cream with the coconut sugar for about 2-3 minutes, until well incorporated. Add the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and then the 3 eggs, one at a time (scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary). With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, alternating with the 120 grams yogurt in 3 batches.

5. Add about two-thirds of the 200 grams blueberries and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Top with the remaining blueberries and the reserved coconut sugar.

6. Bake for about 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.