Lemon Blueberry Bread--Sweet, Tangy, Who Can Resist

My friend, Gail, was telling me about a lemon blueberry bread she had purchased at local shop and asked if I had a recipe. This is what I made last night, when I came down this morning to start the coffee it was almost gone, apparently someone really liked it. You definitely want to try this one, it is light, lemony, sweet, tangy, everything you want in a tea bread. The glaze soaks in the top for the tangy flavor of lemon while the blueberries are bursting with sweetness.
Lemon Blueberry Bread
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour ( I used spelt )
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk + 2 teaspoons lemon juice (will curdle)
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Glaze:
juice of 2 lemons (scant 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Before you start mixing, zest two lemons, set aside.

Grease and flour a loaf pan, set aside.
Preheat the oven to 300F.
Cream the butter, beating until it's light and fluffy.

Add sugar, beat some more.

Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.
He is waiting for me to drop an egg.

Add the zest.

Save any extra zest to sprinkle on top after glazing.

In a separate bowl, sift a good amount of flour, sift, sift, sift, this will give you a light tea bread. I sift the flour for almost any thing I bake with baking powder.

Out of this, measure the 2 1/4 cups of flour then stir in the soda, salt and powder.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternating with the milk mixed with lemon juice.
Toss the blueberries in a tablespoon of flour, this is supposed to keep them from sinking to the bottom. Of course from my photo you can tell that it didn't work this time, oh well, it works most of the time.

Gently fold them into the batter.

And into the pan.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

While it is baking, mix the glaze and set aside.

After it comes out of the oven, allow it to cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan to a cooling rack.
Prick the top with a fork so the glaze will seep down in.

Drizzle glaze over the top slowly, allowing it to soak in rather than run off. This makes the top extra moist yet not soggy in any way.

Sprinkle the wet glaze with any leftover zest.

Serve warm or wait to cool (if you can).

I should call this "the vanishing lemon bread".
Enjoy!