Lemon Pecan Bread
Full of lemon swirling through with a crunch from toasted pecans tucked inside and a delicate coating of sugar crystals sprinkled across the top.
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- One large loaf pan, 9" x 5" x 3"
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling over the top
- 2 extra-large eggs, room temperature
- 1-½ cups flour
- 1-¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup milk
- 1-½ tablespoons lemon zest, about 6 lemons
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ cup chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
- Before you start, grease a large loaf pan (9” x 5” x 3”) and line it with a sheet of parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
- Using medium speed beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until it is creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the sugar and continue beating until it’s light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time on medium speed, mixing well after adding each.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and the kosher salt.
- Blend the flour and milk into the batter on low speed, adding about ¼ of the flour mixture at a time followed by milk, beginning and ending with the flour.
- On low speed, stir in the vanilla and lemon extracts along with the lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top with extra sugar, using about ½ to ¾ teaspoon to lightly cover. Bake the bread for 50 minutes or until the loaf is lightly golden and tests done in the center.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then loosen the edges with a sharp knife and gently lift the bread from the pan. Finish cooling completely on a wire rack.
Notes
When you’re adding a citrus extract or oil – balance it with fresh zest and juice, or both. Otherwise the extract can come off tasting more like perfume than citrus!