As you can plainly see, my attempts to focus on healthier eating have failed abysmally. My pie in the sky – hopes of shedding those holiday pounds in January never really gained traction… Here we are in the second week of February and it’s only getting worse… That’s right – it’s more dessert. Meyer Lemon Blackberry Swirl Loaf. Damn!
It’s the Meyer Lemons’ fault. I bought a bag at Trader Joe’s and they mocked me at every turn… “Whatcha gonna make with me? How are you going to showcase my greatness and beauty???” ‘Cause you know Meyer Lemons are special. Not as tart as regular lemons with that gorgeous orange-yellow hued skin. They are juicy and fragrant and deserve more than a squeeze in your cup of tea or sliced over your poached fish… (either of which would have been better options for fitting into my skinny jeans!)
For this sweet loaf cake, I doubled down on the Meyer lemons — taking advantage of the zest and the juice. The zest went into the rich batter and I layered the batter with seedless blackberry jam. You could use strawberry, blueberry or raspberry, but make sure they’re seedless.
Use a toothpick to swirl the jam into the batter and layer several times to ensure that it’s not just one “ribbon” working it’s way through the cake.
While the loaf bakes, mix the Meyer lemon juice with sugar to make a glaze. Pour the glaze over the hot loaf. It will coat the cake and permeate the crust, leaving little sugar crystals present on the top of the loaf and adding a sweet crunch to the glazed portions. Have a slice with your afternoon cup of tea, with sliced berries for dessert or, hell, for breakfast with your coffee — who am I to judge???
Meyer Lemon Blackberry Swirl Loaf
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 Meyer Lemon zested
- ¼ cup blackberry jam seedless
For Glaze
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons meyer lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Spray a Loaf pan with non stick vegetable spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with vegetable spray and set aside.
- Microwave the blackberry jam in 15-20 second increments until liquidy. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl beat together the sugar and softened butter for 1 to 2 minutes on medium high speed until fluffy and well incorporated. Beat the eggs in one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula occasionally.
- Add 1/3 of the flour to the butter mixture and beat on low speed to combine. Add half of the milk, mixing until just combined, followed by 1/3 of the flour and the other half of the milk. End with the remaining flour mixture. Stir in the meyer lemon zest and set aside.
- Add 1/3 of the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Drizzle 1/3 of the blackberry jam over the batter and use a toothpick or skewer to gently swirl the jam into the batter. Top with 1/3 of the cake batter. Gently smooth the batter and drizzle with 1/3 of the blackberry jam. Swirl again with the skewer. Add the final bit of cake batter, smoothing the batter to the edges, followed by the remaining blackberry jam. Swirl again with the skewer.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then rotate the pan 180° in the oven and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the loaf cool for five minutes before removing it from the pan.
- Meanwhile, mix the sugar and lemon juice (using the meyer lemon you just zested) together in a small bowl. Spoon it over the still hot loaf and let it come to room temperature before slicing.
Nutrition
More Sublime Sweets:
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- Pineapple Coconut Buckle
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- Bourbon Brown Sugar Banana Bread
This recipe just made me want to try it! I made a few adjustments in my attempts to feed my kids less sugar. I cut the sugar down to 2/3 and skipped pouring the lemon sugar on top of the bread. I didn’t have blackberry jam but had some seedless homemade strawberry jam so used that and it was good but next time, I’ll use blackberry. It was a pretty bread and kids loved it but if I was to entertain, I’d definitely pour the sugar lemon mixture on top since I know that makes it super moist and even seeeter.
Susie, I completely hear you on less sugar — this was a real treat for us as I try not to have a lot of sugary stuff in the house. I’m glad that your alterations worked well and that your kids liked it so much… Strawberry jam sounds like a great choice and I’m sure it looked very pretty! Thanks for your comment!
Oh Lisa, I am in love with the crumb on this loaf! I love a lemon loaf, but never paired it with blackberries. Sounds lovely!
Blackberries are so deep purple, they’re almost black – and so is the jam!
Wow! This loaf looks amazing! It would be perfect for breakfast, or with a cup of coffee in the afternoon! Love the combination of blackberries and meyer lemons, too!
I think you could easily make a case for sneaking a slice at any time!
Wow that looks delicious! I LOVE blackberries so this is my kind of recipe! 🙂
My attempts at healthy eating are failing too; especially when there are cakes as gorgeous as this in front of me! What a beautful, beautiful loaf!! I love lemon and blackberry together!
It’s simple, straightforward and eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head good! Enjoy!
What a beautiful tutorial on how to get the “swirl on” in a loaf! Great combo of flavors as well. OK, I’m ready for a slice!
TBH – I just like playing with my food!
Yum! I love Meyer lemons. I’ve never tried using blackberry jam in recipes, but I will now. Beautiful loaf!
Thank you, Amanda! Glad you like it. Sorry it’s not gluten free for you… 🙁
I’ve always made blueberry and lemon, but this with blackberry sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to try it!
Blueberry and lemon is a classic combo, I agree!!
I’m dying to make this. I’m going to attempt to make a blackberry jam myself as I have a carton of them that needs to be used. I love any type of berry with lemon. This bread looks divine!
Hope you enjoy it!
Your recipe lists 1 Meyer lemon but your directions do not say what to do with it. Pictures show it grated. Really tired of careless on line recipe instructions!
Nice catch, Mary — I fixed it. You add the zest of the meyer lemon to the cake batter and use the lemon juice for the glaze. Hope that helps!
Mmmmmmmm! That looks so good and what a beautiful swirl!
Thanks, Linda — it’s a simple, but delicious cake!
Ha! My healthier eating resolution has also flown out the window. I’m pretty sure that this loaf will make me forget all about that—especially since I adore Meyer lemons. The crunchy sugar-crystal glaze reminds me of a dessert I used to love as a child, so I can’t wait to make this!
Oh good, there’s someone else who has given up the resolution! I thought I was the only one!