you're making mealtime meaningful.
The loaf cake might just be the unsung hero of the baking world. They’re delightfully unfussy and are somehow appropriate to serve at any time a day. Cake for breakfast? Sign me up! This Lemon Cream Cheese Bread is a deliciously dense loaf cake with a swirl of rich cream cheese through the middle. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds!
The batter comes together with the regular baking staples, the zest of two lemons, and a splash of lemon juice. Once you have that all mixed up, it’s time to start on the cream cheese swirl. This will be made with a block of softened cream cheese and a little powdered sugar for sweetness. The batter and cream cheese mixture are layered into the loaf pan and then swirled together for a beautiful marble look.
The loaf bakes for just over an hour and you’ll want to cover it with foil near the end to prevent the top from browning. The hardest part is probably allowing the bread to cool, but this is crucial for the cream cheese swirl to set. Once cooled, slice it up and dig in. You’ll understand the magic once you take your first bite!
Lemon Cream Cheese Bread
Yield(s): Makes 1 loaf
10m prep time
1h 5m cook time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 8 oz sour cream
- ½ cup canola oil
- Zest of 2 lemons
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a standard loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, add sugar, eggs, sour cream, lemon zest, juice, vanilla, and oil. Mix until smooth and well combined.
- In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until fully combined, then set aside.
- For the cream cheese swirl: In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.
- Add half of the batter to the prepared pan and spoon about half the cream cheese mixture on top, then swirl together with a knife.
- Top with the rest of the batter and spoon the remaining cream cheese mixture. Carefully swirl together to create a marbled look.
- Bake bread for 65-70 minutes, covering with foil for the last 20-30 minutes to prevent the top from browning.
- Allow the bread to fully cool before slicing to allow the cream cheese to set.
Recipe adapted from Laughingspatula.com