This raspberry lemon loaf is bursting with fresh raspberries and drizzled with a sweet lemon glaze. Perfect for breakfast or dessert—with just 15 minutes of prep!
Why You'll Love It
- Easy: Just 15 minutes of prep, simple ingredients, and a few straightforward steps. Just like my blueberry lemon bread.
- Freezer-Friendly: This raspberry lemon loaf is great for meal prep or making ahead. Freeze it without the glaze—either whole, cut in half, or sliced into individual pieces.
- Loaded with Fresh Flavor: Made with 5 oz of fresh raspberries, plus the juice and zest of a whole lemon. The fresh lemon glaze on top makes it even better. You might also like my raspberry lemon bundt cake and raspberry brownies.
How to Make Raspberry Lemon Loaf (Step-by-Step Photos)
- This is just a quick overview (with photos)—find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below. I’m so excited for you to try it!
- First up: gather all your ingredients. Here’s a photo with everything you’ll need:
- Start by preheating the oven to 375°F and greasing and lining an 8x4-inch loaf pan.
- Dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, sift together 2 cups of flour, and baking powder. I like to use salted butter, but if you're using unsalted, add about ½ teaspoon of salt to the dry ingredients.
- Wet ingredients: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth, then add the sugar and keep mixing until it looks light and fluffy—it won’t get completely creamy because of the sugar texture, and that’s totally fine. Next, mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, beaten egg, vanilla, and milk, stirring just until everything comes together (no overmixing!).
- Combine: Then, gently fold in the dry ingredients into wet ingredients with a spatula.
- Add berries: I like to toss raspberries with a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the batter so they don’t all sink to the bottom while baking. Some or many of them will break. If you don't like that, you can freeze the berries in advance and fold them in frozen.
- Bake: Pour everything into the prepared 8x4 loaf pan, and smooth the top. Bake at 375°F for about 40–45 minutes—your kitchen will smell amazing!
- Make the icing: Once the loaf cools, whip up a simple icing by stirring powdered sugar and milk together. I like a thicker icing, but you can thin it out with extra milk a teaspoon at a time if you want.
- Decorate: Drizzle it over the loaf (I like to use a piping bag to get thin and even lines). I like to decorate the loaf with fresh raspberries and a few mint leaves on top.
Tips for Success
- Freeze the raspberries before folding them into the batter to help them hold their shape.
- Measure flour properly: Aerate or sift the flour first, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off—don’t scoop directly from the bag or you’ll end up with too much flour and a dry loaf.
- Don’t overmix: Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet to keep the loaf light and tender.
- Cool before glazing: Let the loaf cool completely so the glaze sets nicely instead of melting.
Storage Instructions
- Room Temperature: Store covered at room temp for up to 2 days. I like to keep it in an airtight container to keep it moist.
- Refrigerator: For longer storage (up to 5 days), refrigerate it. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
- Freezer: You can freeze the loaf (unglazed is best) for up to 2 months. Wrap it whole (or cut in half) tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temp before glazing and serving.
More Raspberry Desserts
- Raspberry Lemon Cake
- Raspberry Brownies
- Raspberry Cheesecake
- Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberries
Raspberry Lemon Loaf
This raspberry lemon loaf is bursting with fresh raspberries and drizzled with a sweet lemon glaze. Perfect for breakfast or dessert—with just 15 minutes of prep!
Ingredients
Loaf:
- 4 oz salted butter (½ cup). Note: I like using salted butter, if using unsalted add ½ teaspoon of salt.
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (about one lemon)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (about one lemon)
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 tablespoon for coating raspberries
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 6 oz fresh raspberries
Icing:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk as needed
Garnish:
- handful of fresh raspberries
- Mint leaves
Instructions
Make the raspberry lemon loaf
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease and line an 8”x4” loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl sift 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt if needed.
- In a large bowl, add the butter and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Add the sugar and beat until it’s fully incorporated and becomes light and fluffy. Note that it will not look creamy; you will still see the texture of the sugar.
- Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, egg, vanilla extract and milk and mix until fully incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Add the dry ingredients and fold into the wet mixture using a spatula.
- Coat the raspberries with one tablespoon of flour and fold into the batter using a spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake at 375 F for 40-45 minutes. Let cool.
Make the icing
- Mix ½ cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk for a thick icing. Add more milk if you want a thinner consistency, adding 1 teaspoon at a time.
Decorate
- Drizzle the icing on the cooled raspberry lemon loaf. I use a piping back to get thin and even lines.
- Decorate as desired. I used fresh raspberries, lemon zest and mint leaves.
Notes
- Raspberries: When you mix the berries into the batter, they will break. If you don't want them to break, freeze the berries beforehand.
- If the loaf starts browning too much on top, loosely tent it with aluminum foil toward the end of the baking time.
- Baking pans you can use: I used an 8x4-inch loaf pan, but you can also bake this raspberry lemon loaf in a slightly larger 9x5-inch pan—just reduce the baking time a little, since the batter will spread out more in the larger pan.
- Lemon drizzle: Make sure the loaf is completely cool before drizzling it with lemon glaze or the glaze will melt or slide off.
- Storage tips: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days (without the decorative berries), or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information
Raspberry Lemon Loaf
Amount per Serving
Calories
351
% Daily Value*
Fat
13
g
20
%
Saturated Fat
8
g
50
%
Trans Fat
0.5
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
3
g
Cholesterol
56
mg
19
%
Sodium
240
mg
10
%
Potassium
112
mg
3
%
Carbohydrates
54
g
18
%
Fiber
2
g
8
%
Sugar
28
g
31
%
Protein
5
g
10
%
Vitamin A
423
IU
8
%
Vitamin C
9
mg
11
%
Calcium
113
mg
11
%
Iron
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
So delicious! I added a tablespoon of lemon juice to the glaze, reduced milk in the glaze to 1 teaspoon and upped the sugar a lot to make a thicker glaze. I also used kefir instead of milk for the batter. And, I decorated the cake with candied lemon peel. SO GOOD!
Oh wow, thank you so much for sharing your recipe changes - they all sound delicious! I LOVE using kefir in baking, too!