Zesty and aromatic with an eye catching marble effect
Ingredients
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 lemon
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
¾ cup softened butter
½ cup greek yogurt or cream cheese
3 eggs
1 ½ cups AP flour
2 cups blackberries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mince the rosemary and zest a lemon into a large bowl.
Add the sugar and rub the mixture with your fingers until well incorporated and aromatic.
Cream the butter and the sugar.
Mix in eggs and greek yogurt, add 1 tbsp lemon juice.
Mix in flour, starting with 1 cup, and then add the remaining 1/2.
Mash up blackberries in a small bowl until blackberries have released juices but there are still large blackberry pieces, pour into batter and swirl around with a spoon, don’t incorporate fully.
Pour batter into a greased or lined loaf tin, bake for 1 hour. The loaf is done when the top is not wobbly, is slightly browned, and has a few cracks. Stick a toothpick into the loaf to see if it comes out cleanly.
Tips
Rosemary
Rosemary is a powerful herb. I actually used 4 tablespoons for my first batch and I thought it was too much. If you know you like rosemary -- and you're feeling a little adventurous -- use 3 tbsps. If you're not sure, use only 2. With 2 tbsps, you will get to taste the rosemary but not be ATTACKED by rosemary. I definitely felt attacked by 4 tbsps.
Blackberries
I used fresh blackberries (not frozen) and microwaved them at 10 second intervals for 40 seconds. This softened them up a bit and made mashing them easy. I used a potato masher, but you could use a fork.
Bake time - Don't burn the top
Bake for an hour. Check the bread. To be honest, it probably won't be done in an hour. Mine was definitely still raw. Look at the color. Is it still pale? Touch the top. Does it jiggle? Stick a toothpick in. Does it come out with batter stuck to it? If any of those answers is yes, bake it longer. I'll be honest, I burned the top of my first load. If your loaf still seems raw in the middle, but the top is browned, stick some tinfoil over the top. This should protect the top from burning. Seriously, your loaf will probably need the tinfoil. And if the top does burn, the inside will still taste good.
Eat it warm
I've been eating a slice of this loaf every morning for breakfast. I give it a quick 10 seconds in the microwave, and it makes all the difference. I like it plain, but you could add honey, butter, or MORE blackberry jam. A slice of this is so perfect with some black tea.
Calories
Baked goods are often high in sugar, fat, and carbs. As someone who bakes often, I have to watch how much I eat. I love to eat. I do. I also love to have a healthy body. That being said, I appreciate when a recipe states a calorie count. So I've decided to provide that for you.
total calories: 3,333
If you used different ingredients, your calories will be different. The total calories are for the entire loaf, so divide that by how many slices you made out of the loaf. For example, I cut my loaf into tenths, so each slice is 333 calories.
Our flavors: rosemary, blackberry, and lemon. Rosemary will take center stage, with blackberries adding a beautiful color and lemon subtly coming in last.
Our batter pre-blackberries.
Mashed up blackberries. Note: see those white parts? Those aren't super fun to eat, pick them out.
The blackberries swirled into the batter to create a marbled effect.
So good.
A wonderful, spongey texture. Moist (thank you, Greek yogurt) and full of blackberries. You can see some -- and certainly taste -- the rosemary.
I mentioned in my thyme cake post that I wanted to bake with more herbs. I was inspired to make this cake loaf by the rosemary bush in our backyard. Our dog likes to roll on it, and then smells like rosemary all day. I decided to pair the herb with a classic spring flavor: blackberries. And who doesn't love a little lemon? You might have noticed by now that lemon is a constant in my kitchen. Even if the bake doesn't center around lemon, you can usually bet that there's some zest or juice in there.
Anyway, here's a rosemary loaf, in case you ever wanted to make one.
Love,
Rachel