Lemon Poppy Seed Bread with Coconut Sugar
Spring has technically arrived but it sure doesn’t feel like it yet based on the frost on the ground this morning. But to convince myself that Spring really is here, I wanted to bake something lemon-y and Lemon Poppy Seed Bread seemed like the perfect choice. This recipe is adapted from the Sweet cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi. I made a few changes to align it with the naturally sweet way - I reduced the amount of sugar, I swapped the sugar for coconut sugar in the loaf, and I swapped the confectioners sugar for honey in the glaze.
As a reminder, coconut sugar is the dehydrated and boiled sap of the coconut palm flower. Because coconut sugar goes through minimal processing, it retains many of its inherent antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals - especially in comparison to the standard granulated white or brown sugars, which are heavily processed. For those of you who may not be a big fan of coconut, I just want to note that the coconut sugar does not have a noticeable coconut flavor.
The coconut sugar does result in a darker looking cake so it’s a bit harder to see the poppy seeds but the end result is just as delicious as the usual version. I hope you’ll give it a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients
3 eggs
200 grams coconut sugar
120 ml heavy cream or milk
70 grams (5 tbsp) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
finely grated zest of 3 lemons
170 grams all purpose flour
1 and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
For glaze: 40 grams honey, juice from half a lemon
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and coconut sugar for about 3 minutes, until well combined. Next, beat in the cream/milk for a minute or two.
In a small pan, melt the butter. Once melted, stir in the poppy seeds and lemon zest.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Stir the flour mixture into the batter until fully combined and then stir in the butter mixture. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
To make the glaze, briefly heat the honey so it becomes liquidy and stir in the lemon juice. Once you remove the bread from the oven, pour the glaze over the top. Let the bread cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing.