Lemon Raspberry Old-Fashioned Donut Loaf

Ingredients

Pan used

I personally prefer a light-colored aluminum pan for these loaves. Here is the one I use. Not sponsored. I don't earn a commission from this link.

Glass holds heat longer, so the edges can overbake before the center is done. If you use glass, loosely tent the loaf with foil early, as soon as the top starts to brown. The foil helps protect the top, but it does not stop the sides or bottom from baking too quickly.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a standard 9x5-inch loaf pan and fully line it with parchment paper.
2. Make the streusel. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold cubed butter and vanilla bean paste. Work the mixture together with your fingertips until fine crumbs and larger buttery clusters form. Refrigerate while preparing the batter.
3. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and lemon zest to a large mixing bowl. Rub the zest into the sugars with your fingertips until the mixture is very fragrant.
4. Add the oil, yogurt, milk, lemon juice, vanilla bean paste, and lemon emulsion. Whisk until smooth.
5. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Mix just until almost combined.
6. Add the fresh raspberries and gently fold until the batter is just combined and the berries are evenly distributed. Avoid overmixing or intentionally breaking up the raspberries.
7. Spread just under half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Scatter approximately half of the chilled streusel evenly over the batter.
8. Add the remaining batter and gently spread it over the streusel, stopping when the pan is just over two-thirds full and never filling it more than three-quarters full. Reserve any excess batter for muffins or mini loaves.
9. Top with the remaining streusel, keeping the crumbs loose and clustered. Do not press down.
10. Sprinkle generously with coarse sanding sugar.
11. Bake for 55-90 minutes. Check the surface around 45 minutes and tent loosely with foil if it is sufficiently browned. A browned, set-looking surface does not indicate that the center is finished. Once tented, make sure to keep the oven door closed instead of checking frequently because every opening releases heat and prolongs the bake. My smaller oven bakes more quickly, while yours may need closer to the full 90 minutes.
12. 12

    Before you take the loaf out

    Baking time is a guide, not a deadline.

    Check the center: Insert a skewer or toothpick into the cake in the center, avoiding raspberries and the streusel seam.

    Ready to come out: The tester comes out clean or with moist crumbs. No wet batter.

    Keep baking: Thick, paste-like batter: bake 3-5 minutes more. Wet batter: bake 7-10 minutes more. Then test the center again.

    The 205-210°F (96-99°C) range is an extra check. Batter on the tester still means keep baking, even at that temperature. My photographed loaf reached about 210°F (99°C) in the center.

    An underbaked center can collapse as the loaf cools.

13. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then lift the loaf out using the parchment and move it to a wire rack. Let it cool until warm but no longer hot.
14. For the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla bean paste, and salt until smooth.
15. Pour the vanilla bean glaze generously over the warm loaf once it no longer feels hot, allowing it to run naturally down the sides.
16. Let the glaze set completely before slicing.