A Taste of Yellow-Lemon Tea Bread

The lemon balm and lemon thyme in my herb garden are putting out new growth now that spring is here and the lemon thyme is beginning to bloom with tiny white flower clusters. A perfect time to make this lemon tea bread recipe from Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead's book "Herb, Gardens, Decorations, and Recipes", one of my very favorite herb books which has gorgeous photos by Chris Mead. It is also a perfect time to write this post for the Livestrong Day blog event hosted by Barbara of winosandfoodies whose personal life has been affected by cancer. The Livestrong event is the Lance Armstrong Foundation's (LAF) initiative to promote awareness of cancer which has touched everyone in some way whether a friend or family member or personally. I lost a dear friend a year ago who had battled with cancer for several years and was one of the most elegant and lovely persons that I have ever known. I miss her terribly.

Please visit Barbara's site winoandfoodies for more information about Livestrong Day.


Lemon Tea Bread

Makes 1 loaf

3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon balm
1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon thyme
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Butter a 9x5x3-inch pan. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Heat the milk with the chopped herbs and let steep until cool.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl, cream the butter and gradually beat in the sugar. Continue beating until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the lemon zest. Add the flour mixture alternately with the herbed milk. Mix until batter is just blended.

Put the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and dry. Remove from the pan onto a wire rack that is set over a sheet of waxed paper. Pour Lemon Glaze over the still-hot bread. Decorate with a few sprigs of lemon thyme.

Lemon Glaze

Juice of 2 lemons
Confectioners' sugar

Put the lemon juice in a bowl and add the sugar, stirring until a thick but still pourable paste forms. Pour the glaze over the hot bread.