Lemon Loaf

Recently I have been reading a lot of 'Mommy Blogs' and have been inspired to start my own as an e-diary of sorts of my days with Sydney and the sweet, simple pleasures that make this time of my life so amazing.

One of the things that I love the most about being a stay-at-home Mom is that I have the luxury of connecting with friends during the day when I would otherwise be stuck in an office!  The other day I went to my friend Sally's for tea and she served the most amazing lemon loaf from Butter Bakery, one of our favorite little shops in Dunbar.

I couldn't stop thinking about it once I got home so I searched through my dozens of cookbooks for a simple recipe and made one myself!  It was simple deliciousness!  I love how the pan is dusted with sugar to keep the loaf from sticking!  It was so yummy and didn't last long in my house!

Here's the recipe if you want to try it yourself, it's from Martha Stewart Living, April 2005 edition:

Glazed Lemon Loaf

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, plus more for dusting
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice plus finely grated zest of 2 lemons, plus more zest for garnish (optional)
1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9"x5" loaf pan.  Dust with sugar and tap out excess, set aside.  Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.  Stir together 1 tablespoon lemon juice and the milk.  Put butter and 3/4 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix until pale and fluffy, about 2  minutes.  Mix in eggs and zest.  Working in two batches, alternate mixing in flour mixture and milk mixture.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir together remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.  Upon removing cake from oven, immediately brush with lemon glaze.  Let cake cool in pan 10 minutes.  Unmold cake.  Brush remaining glaze on top.  Garnish with zest.