Description
A moist, tender, and tangy lemon cream cheese quick bread with a luscious cream cheese swirl.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 8 oz (226 g) sour cream, room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) canola or vegetable oil
- Zest of 2 lemons
- Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 Tbsp)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (190 g) all‑purpose flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup (40 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Grease and flour a 9×5‑inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, beat together sugar, eggs, sour cream, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined; don’t overmix.
- In a small bowl, beat cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Dollop half of the cream cheese mixture on top and use a knife to create a swirl.
- Add the remaining batter and top with the rest of the cream cheese mixture. Swirl again lightly.
- Bake for 65–70 minutes, tenting with foil after 40 minutes if the top is browning too quickly, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Use room‑temperature ingredients for a smoother batter and even baking.
- Tenting the loaf with foil in the last part of baking prevents excessive browning.
- Cool fully for clean slices and to let the cream cheese swirl set properly.
- Store wrapped at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
- Optional garnish: dust the top with powdered sugar or drizzle with lemon glaze.