Barbara Cardinal brought this yummy loaf to January's Historical League meeting. The plate was passed around and not much was left over. This is a wonderful time to use citrus in cooking and baking in Phoenix with the trees loaded with fruit. We also juice them and freeze them into ice cubes for later use. If you can't use what is on your tree, you can call the gleaners at the food banks and they will pick them and donate them. It's a great system for sharing the fruit with food bank networks throughout the country.Luscious Lemon Loaf pg 198
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tsp lemon extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a 5 X 8 " loaf pan with baking parchment paper. Sift the flour (who does this anymore??), baking powder, and salt together. Combine the sugar, butter and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, walnuts and flavoring.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until the loaf tests done. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Note: you may drizzle with a mixture of 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 tsp half and half and 1 tsp lemon juice. Makes 1 loaf.
