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Zesty Raspberry Loaf

This is a very beautiful loaf. It has a golden top, an almost white interior and, of course, bright raspberries scattered throughout, making the contrast between white and red all the more obvious.

The idea to do a lime-raspberry flavor combination had been floating around in my head for some time, but I kept forgetting to buy raspberries. Or when I would get them, they would often spoil before I had a chance to use them. In all probability, the weather this summer has not been very produce-friendly, which probably contributed to the exceptionally short shelf-life of my berries. In the end, I ended up using frozen raspberries despite the fact that I could have used fresh. Frozen will hold their shape as the bread bakes and will not get smashed when mixed into the batter. You can use either kind, but I think that frozen might actually be a bit better when it comes to appearances.

The quickbread itself is sweet and tender, though it is not too light – marking it as more of a bread than a cake. This means that it stands up to toasting very well, if you prefer to eat yours with a bit of butter rather than having it plain. The lime zest gives it a bright flavor without coming across as too acidic or citrusy and serves to simply highlight the sweet berries, not to overwhelm their flavor. Feel free to try this with lemon or orange zest, too, for a bit of variety!

I should also mention that this bread smells fantastic when it’s baking. You might want to have a snack on hand so you’ll be able to resist slicing into the loaf before it’s cool.

Zesty Raspberry Loaf
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp lime zest
3/4 cup milk (any kind)
1 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, egg, vanilla, vegetable oil and lime zest until smooth. Stir in 1/2 of flour mixture and all of the milk. Stir in the rest of the flour mixture until just combined. Quickly stir in the raspberries and pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour at 350F, or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaf.
Turn loaf out onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.
Store wrapped in plastic wrap and it will keep for several days.
Makes 1 loaf.

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18 Comments
  • Rachel
    August 7, 2006

    yum! i love quick breads.

  • KAnn
    August 7, 2006

    I love lime, but prefer strawberries to raspberries…do you think this substitution would work? Strawberries don’t bake real well…

  • Julia
    August 7, 2006

    wow, those colours!! 🙂
    looks very nice and fresh!
    do you think it could work in muffin tins? handy if you’re on the road (or in my case; in school!)

  • Nic
    August 7, 2006

    Kann – If you like strawberries in baked goods, try frozen strawberries, as they might hold their shape a bit better. I think that raspberries at the best match for this recipe, but blueberries could work, too.

    Julia – It will work in muffin tins, but you’ll have to watch the baking time, which should be 15-20 minutes. Alternatively, you could just slice up the loaf, which would be equally convenient for eating on the road.

  • Resident Advisor
    August 7, 2006

    Thats a great combination with the raspberries and the lime! I have never thought of putting raspberries and lime together in a quick bread. This is one recipie that I will def need to try!

    http://chefonashoestring.blogspot.com

  • peabody
    August 7, 2006

    Mmmm, I love the combination of limes and raspberries. I made a key lime souffle a few weeks back and something was missing so I threw raspberry coulis on it…that hit the spot.
    I love how they look perfectly placed in your bread.

  • Annie
    August 7, 2006

    What a beautiful photo.
    I love the flavor of raspberries but hate the seeds. Can you notice the seeds when the berries are baked in the bread?

  • UnGourmetGal
    August 7, 2006

    That picture is great, the bubbles of pinkish-red raspberries are very dramatic.

  • Nic
    August 7, 2006

    Annie – I have to say that I did not notice any seeds, but if they were there, they must have been lost in the bread – a good thing, if you don’t like them!

  • Vegan Diva
    August 8, 2006

    That looks great! I’m definitely going to have to make a vegan version of this. Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂

  • doodles
    August 8, 2006

    you put a rasberry in it I’ll eat and/or drink it…..and the lime just puts it over the top….tasty looking nic

  • naomi
    August 9, 2006

    Heh. I just made a couple of batches of raspberry-lime jam…

  • diva.
    August 11, 2006

    this looks amazing. very pretty! and i kinda like the idea you paired raspberry with lime. lovely!

  • Kate
    August 20, 2006

    A fellow foodie passed on the link to your blog… and I have to compliment you on this recipe! Very easy, very good – a great brunch bread. I also chopped up a bar of semi-sweet Scharffen Berger and threw that in – a nice companion to the tartness of the berries.

  • Yvonne
    May 7, 2008

    This loaf smells absolutely amazing when cooking !! I made a couple of changes, simply due to what I had in my cupboard! I used self raising flour instead of plain, and only used about a half tablespoon of olive oil instead of the 3 tablespoons of veg oil. I omitted the vanilla extract but added some smashed 70% dark chocolate instead. Gorgeous !!

  • Alex
    July 22, 2009

    I just baked this up almost as is, but with the addition of 3/4 cups of chocolate chips. Was delicious!

  • Sandra
    December 19, 2010

    Im thinking about making this for Christmas morning. I have some frozen raspberries from this summer. Using frozen raspberries straight into the dough didnt make your bread doughy or wet? Im afraid, Ive n ever used frozen raspberries in batter before!

  • Camella
    July 3, 2013

    Would it work to do up a lime as zest and freeze the remainder for future recipes?

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