LEMON THYME TEA BREAD
Lemon Thyme Tea Bread
I am having so much fun with my herb garden this year. I grew so much already, I had to cut a bunch and prune the entire garden back already. One small herb garden produces so much harvest!! I wanted to start baking and cooking using these precious herbs! I think there is an herb called lemon thyme, but I am just growing regular thyme this year. I’ve used thyme when I cook a roast or turkey but I have never baked anything with thyme in it…. So this is my first time using fresh thyme in my baking.
This tea bread is so yummy and is the perfect little bite of sweet to go with your favorite tea! You will taste just a hint of the thyme with that subtle sweet flavor of lemon. The butter give the bread so much flavor and moisture… I can’t wait for you to try this recipe and impress all of your tea table friends!
2 cups unsalted butter, softened 2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme 4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole buttermilk, at room temperature 1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Glaze (recipe follows) Garnish: Fresh thyme, lemon slices
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 (8x5x3 inch) loaf pans with nonstick baking spray with flour. I used mini loaf pans making 8 mini loaves and I adjusted the baking time. I will note this baking time below.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at high speed until creamy, approximately 6 minutes. Add thyme and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a large bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt. Sift twice and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside.
Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Divide batter evenly between prepared loaf pans.
Bake for 30 minutes (I baked for about 15 - 20 minutes for the mini loaves). Cover loaves with tented aluminum foil, and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes (I baked for an additional 20 minutes for the mini loaves). Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely. Place parchment paper under the cooling racks, and pour lemon glaze over loaves. Garnish with thyme and lemon slices, if desired.
Lemon Glaze (makes approximately 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
In a small nonreactive bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Use immediately. Drizzle over the tops of the loaves.
I wrapped each individual loaf in Saran Wrap and froze them. Take out a loaf for tea, slice and enjoy my friends!
Lemon Thyme Tea Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 Tbls fresh lemon thyme, chopped
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup whole buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 Tbls lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Lemon Glaze (recipe follows)
- Fresh lemon thyme and lemon slices for garnish
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Spray 2 loaf pans with non stick baking spray or 8 mini load pans
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at high speed until creamy, approximately 6 minutes
- Add lemon thyme and mix until combined
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
- In a large bowl, sift together sugar, baking powder and salt. Sift twice and set aside
- In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Set aside
- Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture
- Divide mixture between the 2 prepared loaf pans or 8 prepared mini loaf pans
- Bake for 30 minutes for loaf pans and bake 15-20 minutes for mini loaf pans. Cover loaves with tented aluminum foil and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes (or another 15-20 minutes for the mini loaves) until cake tester comes out clean.
- Let cake loaves cool in the pans for at least 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely
- Place parchment paper under the cooling racks, and pour lemon glaze over the tea bread
- Garnish with lemon thyme and lemon slices if you like
- In a small bowl, mix together confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth
- Drizzle over the cooled lemon tea bread loaves
- Serve right away or wrap each loaf in Saran Wrap and freeze until ready to serve.