Here’s a moist, rich Lemon Cream Cheese Bread 🍋 — tender lemon loaf with a creamy cheesecake-style swirl inside.
🍋 Lemon Cream Cheese Bread
🧁 Ingredients
Lemon Bread Batter
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ½ cup milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
🔪 Instructions
1️⃣ Prep
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Grease and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment.
2️⃣ Make the Cream Cheese Filling
- Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Add egg and vanilla; mix until creamy.
- Set aside.
3️⃣ Make the Lemon Batter
- In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well.
- Mix in lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix just until combined.
4️⃣ Assemble
- Pour half of the batter into the loaf pan.
- Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over it.
- Top with remaining batter and gently smooth.
5️⃣ Bake
- Bake 50–65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center (avoid the cream layer) comes out clean.
- If browning too quickly, loosely tent with foil.
6️⃣ Cool
- Cool in pan 15 minutes.
- Transfer to rack and cool completely before slicing (this helps the cream layer set).
🍋 Optional Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2–3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Whisk and drizzle over cooled loaf for extra brightness.
If you’d like, I can also give you:
- A bakery-style version with streusel topping
- A blueberry lemon cream cheese version
- Or a lighter, yogurt-based version 🍋
