Baking Challenge #4: Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread

This weeks recipe comes from "The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook". I basically choose this recipe because I had all the ingredients on hand already and I wanted to make something to eat for breakfast. This recipe was easy peasy, however, it wasn't the greatest lemon poppy seed loaf that I've ever tasted. I was hoping that it would taste really lemony but there was only a hint of the lemon in the end. I even added extra lemon juice to boot!

Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling (I used sparkling sugar to sprinkle on the top, the sugar crystal is larger and adds a nice crunch)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (I would add more!!)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 cup poppy seeds
(I also added fresh squeezed lemon juice, a couple tablespoons)

Oven 350 degrees
Grease & flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, zest and butter. Stir in the vanilla, lemon extracts and lemon juice if you decide to add some fresh squeezed juice. Add in the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the poppy seeds.
Pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake for 1 hour or until cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes.




















Like I said, I wish the loaf had more lemon flavor but overall it was good and the best part was the crunchy top.