Lemon glazed raspberry bread is a so-much-better-than-your -coffee-shop little slice of heaven packed with juicy raspberries and bright lemon flavor. This easy lemony loaf cake is an absolute must make!
Raspberry bread tastes like summer baked up in a loaf pan!
Raspberries reign supreme among berries for their incredible aroma (blueberries might win for healthiest fruit, but raspberries take the prize for most ethereally delicious, hands down.) And baking bumps up their flavor like crazy. This light fluffy raspberry quick bread marries those berries with bright lemon for one of my favorite combos.
I love to pair berries with lemon
- Raspberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream
- Strawberry Lemon Blondies
- Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
- Blueberry Lemon Cake
- Blueberry Lemonade
what goes into raspberry bread?
- raspberries ~ I use fresh but you can use frozen.
- buttermilk ~ I love to bake with it so it’s a staple in my fridge. If you ever end up with extra you can freeze it.
- sugar ~ both granulated for the bread and confectioner’s for the glaze. If you want to get extra fancy you can use homemade raspberry sugar!
- oil ~ a neutral oil creates a soft moist texture in the bread. You can use melted butter if you prefer.
- egg ~ room temperature helps, check out my tips for getting it there, here!
- vanilla ~ I’m a believer in more is more when it comes to vanilla. A little extra really brings out the best in this bread. And I always buy a premium brand, it really does make a difference.
- all purpose flour
- baking powder and salt
- lemon juice and zest
the lemon glaze is the icing on the (raspberry) loaf cake
Don’t skip it, please! And it’s so easy, just stir together some confectioner’s sugar (no need to sift) and lemon juice. Here are the most important tips to keep in mind when making glazes:
- Don’t be impatient ~ let your loaf cake cool completely! This is the number one mistake people make with glaze. If you try to glaze a warm cake or bread the glaze will melt into the top. If this happens to you, do a second glaze once it has cooled completely.
- Don’t over-thin your glaze. It takes a little practice to get to know the right consistency. For a glaze that will thickly coat the top of the bread and just run down the sides a bit, it needs to be fairly thick. Spreadable but not runny. I like to do a little test on a corner of the bread to check the consistency. That way you can adjust as needed. A little more sugar to thicken, or lemon juice to thin, but make your adjustments in SMALL amounts.
what about loaf pans?
Aren’t they all alike? No! When it comes to baking, your pan can make a huge difference in the outcome of this raspberry bread and all your quick breads and loaf cakes. You may have noticed that loaf pans are all over the place in terms of size, shape, and material. I recommend getting a couple of classic 9×5 loaf pans in light colored aluminum like these from Nordic Ware. And I always take the extra minute to line mine with a strip of parchment paper so I can easily lift my bread out after baking.
love raspberry bread? Here’s more!
- Strawberry Banana Bread
- buttermilk peach bread
- Amish Cinnamon Bread
- Triple Coconut Pound Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread
- Ultimate One Bowl Zucchini Bread!
Lemon Glazed Raspberry Bread
Equipment
- standard 9×5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, plus extra for popping on top before baking, if desired.
lemon glaze
- 1 cup plus one tablespoon confectioner's sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, or more if necessary
- lemon zest for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray and line your 9×5 loaf pan with a sheet of parchment paper with long ends so you can lift the bread out easily after baking.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the oil, buttermilk, sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
- Whisk in the baking powder and salt. Then whisk in the flour and mix just until everything is fairly smooth, but don't over beat your batter.
- Gently fold in the raspberries and turn the batter into your prepared pan. Add a few extra berries into the top of the batter if you care about that sort of thing 🙂
- Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the bread is risen, golden, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out without wet batter on it. Moist crumbs are fine. Note: keep an eye on the bread through your oven window but don't be tempted to open the oven door during baking. If toward the end of baking the bread seems to be browning too much you can (quickly!) add a piece of foil loosely over the top.
- Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes, then loosen and remove it using the parchment paper 'sling'. Finish cooling completely on the rack before glazing.
- To make the glaze stir together the lemon juice and sugar until smooth. If you want to make it thicker add a bit more sugar, and to make it thinner add more lemon juice. But do so in small increments, stirring completely in between additions. Spoon the glaze over the cooled bread and top with some lemon zest. Let the glaze set up before slicing.
Nutrition
Good morning Sue. I want to make this delicious bread and would like to know if I make the freeze dried raspberry sugar, do I use the whole cup or can I use half and half or just add a little of the raspberry sugar? Also can I substitute any fruit to make this bread? I appreciate any suggestions you can give me. And Thank You for all your delicious recipes!!!
Susan
Interesting question ~ I think that would be nice, and you can use the whole cup of your raspberry sugar. Let us know how it turns out!
Thank you for your quick response 🙂 and I will let you know how it turns out and how the bread turns out when I substitute peaches or other fruit.
Have a great Sunday!
Susan
I love to bake and let’s say I am very mature! We have raspberry bushes in our backyard, so I often am on the hunt for outstanding recipes to put the crop to very good use. This recipe is outstanding, moist, flavorful (although I did add some lemon oil because we love the combination or lemon and rasberry) . Thank you for this recipe
You’re welcome Linda ~ I’m patiently waiting for my backyard raspberries to ripen 🙂
Overpowering lemon in the glaze. I cut the lemon juice in half as it looked to be too much. The bread itself was good. If I make it again, I will either cut the lemon WAY back again or will more likely use almond extract for some flavor.
We really enjoyed this tasty bread recipe, Sue! It’s homey, easy to make, and has just the right sweetness! I just bought the strawberries to make the strawberry-buttermilk bread next. ?
I’m so glad Karen, thanks! Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
I needed a least minute baked good for a brunch potluck and happened to have all these ingredients on hand. I used frozen raspberries and I think it caused my bread to be too wet at the bottom. The flavor of the bread interested was good but I might try adding some lemon zest or almond extract to it next time. (Because there will be a next time.) At least one person thought it was a store bought bread and I can’t home with only two slices of the loaf. Big hit!
Hi Sue,
I was wondering if I could substitute cranberries for the raspberries?
Thank you,
Susan
I think that should work fine Susan.
I had leftover frozen raspberries from another recipe and an abundance of lemons, so this recipe arrived in my inbox at the perfect time! I made exactly as written except for the addition of some lemon zest to the batter — using up those lemons! My loaf took about 68 minutes to fully bake and I did tent it with foil at about the 50 minute mark. The cake had delicious flavor and the texture was super light and perfect for summer.
Thanks so much Kirsten. One thing I find interesting about this bread is that it stays so soft even though it bakes for a fairly long time.