30.03.2008 Lemon Thyme Quick Bread

Lemon Thyme Quick Bread

An unexpected ingredient to be found in a sweet bread, thyme makes the perfect addition to fresh and zesty lemon in this deliciously soft and fragrant quick bread.

Non-stick cooking spray
1 cup (240 g) vanilla soy or other nondairy yogurt
1/3 cup (80 ml) canola oil
2 teaspoons pure lemon extract
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup (132 g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups (188 g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Lightly coat an 8 x 4-inch (20 x 10-cm) loaf pan with spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, extract, zest, juice, and sugar until emulsified.
In a large bowl, sift flour and baking powder. Crumble thyme between your fingers on top of the flour.
Fold wet ingredients into dry, being careful not to over mix.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Place on a wire rack, still in the pan, for about 30 minutes before transferring directly to the rack, and letting cool completely before slicing or storing.

Yield: one 8-inch (20-cm) loaf

  • [...] tea cake is inspired by one of Celine’s recipes.  I used coconut milk instead of  yogurt, subbed olive oil for canola, and was able to nix the [...]

  • Hannah says:

    I made this this evening and wanted to thank you because it’s delicious! I’m now trying to come up with other inventive flavour pairs to try!

    • Celine says:

      let me know what you come up with if you try it differently, I would love to hear it! and thank you for trying it, Hannah.

  • hannah says:

    hmm i was considering lemon and rosemary but that’s quite similar, or orange and rosemary, what do you think? I’ve heard good things about mango and parsley – that could be fun, a little bit of mango nectar and/or mango puree in place of a bit of the oil/yoghurt… could pop a bit of tarragon in there…. strawberry basil… you may have guessed i like my fruit and herb combos and the possibilities are endless!

    • Celine says:

      orange, olive oil, and rosemary! and strawberry basil! for sure. all your ideas sound awesome. I’m not a fan of mango myself, but I’d still give a go to the combo you have in mind.

      • Hannah says:

        Lol I wish you could have a taste as I work my way through! Fancy coming to London for a fruit-herb tea party!?

        • Celine says:

          nothing ever sounded so good.

          • Hannah says:

            Ok so I tried out the mango-parsley idea and although it wasn’t what I expected exactly (could do with some tweaking, the parsley was unnoticeable and the mango taste could have been stronger) I was still pretty pleased. This recipe is definitely going to be my “base cake” go-to recipe! Now, my aunt just gave me a VAT of fresh olive oil from her house in southern France so how soon do you think I have to wait before I bake me up that orange-rosemary version… I reckon 24 hrs should do the trick ;)

            • Celine says:

              I am bowing down to your skills and devotion to the quick bread cause, Hannah.
              I’m also envious of the oil.
              did you use dried parsley for the latest version? it would be slightly stronger than fresh. still not the strongest of herbs though, so maybe basil?

              • Hannah says:

                Ah if I like something I kinda get fixated. Plus I’ve been halving the recipe so that only makes 3 or 4 slices so they disappear pretty fast and I can get on with a new flavour. I have a very short attention span hehe
                I did use dried parsley but I think it was kinda old cos it wasn’t very fragrant, although I thought being dried meant it never went off. Hmmmm. Orange-Rosemary and strawberry-basil have yet to be created but I’m pretty sure those herbs will work out well. But mango-parsley must be repeated because it was soooo close to perfection!

                • Celine says:

                  are we long lost sisters? I love halving recipes and therefore, getting to bake more frequently.

                  you know, the dried parsley I buy is never really strong in flavor, no matter how fresh it is. evil parsley.

                  • hannah says:

                    hehe that would be soo fun! sister bake-offs.

                    it’s my turn to bow to you – your orange-rosemary-olive oil idea was AMAZING!!!!!!! such a tasty combo and gotta have a little boast about my aunt’s olive oil cos it was soo fruity and yum and tasted of the cote d’azur….

                    can i ask you some cheeky baking questions though? 1. I wanted the cake kinda savoury so (in a half recipe) i only put in 1T (20g) sugar, could I have just left it out completely? I upped the orange juice to 3/4T but might do a whole T for the half batch next time and see. The other flavours of the oil and rosemary were stronger than the orange this time so might do like 1/3t rosemary too, obviously the oil in this case was what made it special, you wouldn’t have the “problem” if you were using a lighter olive oil. umm anyway got distracted the rest of the question was about the cake being quite dense, is it the lemon juice-baking powder combo that makes it rise and if so does orange not work quite so well, or was it the sugar? when you take sugar out of a baking recipe do you need to replace it with something else? I have read dried milk powder but obviously that’s no use!
                    I’m still very much a novice baker but I’m learning!

                    Anyway I would recommend this cake – I had it as a dessert today but it would go sooo well with a salad and some black olives. Cake for lunch is totally acceptable, right? I actually have my eye on a castagnaccio recipe (although a bit wintery) and your savoury chick-wheat muffins. Yes cake at meals is definitely acceptable in my book! Gives me more chances to bake!

                    • Celine says:

                      did you find the cake to be dense even when using sugar? but yes, removing one ingredient completely, especially when it’s a rather large quantity of it, can and will alter the outcome a bit. or a lot, in some cases. it’s hard to tell you what you could replace sugar with, because I haven’t tried it myself.

                      as far as removing the sugar completely to make it a savory cake, I think it might best to work from a savory recipe from the get-go so that it doesn’t alter the texture at all. I would have to play around with it myself to tell you what would work best.

                    • Hannah says:

                      Guess what I made this evening…? Strawberry-basil cake! I think I Kay have a problem, do you have a phone number for Quick Breads Anonymous? “Hi, my names Hannah and I’m addicted to making fruit-herb cake”!

                    • Celine says:

                      is it the best one yet? it sounds delightful.

  • Hannah says:

    My god yes sooooo delicious, sweet strawberries then with a teeny bit of bitterness from the basil… I’m now dreaming of strawberry with a little cracked black pepper….

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