Raspberry Bread with Butter Crumb Topping

Quick bread is a kind of loaf cake that's easy to make and perfect for pretty much any situation. This lemon raspberry bread with buttery crumb topping is no exception. This loaf is:

• easy to make
• best served any time of day
• more cake than bread

And, like Raspberry Muffins and these delicate little raspberry cupcakes, this loaf is perfect for bake sales, afternoon snacks, lunchboxes, breakfast or brunch, potlucks, BBQs, camping trips, neighbor and teacher gifts, casual get-togethers, and even dinner parties.

Like classic banana bread, blueberry bread, cinnamon swirl loaf, or lemon olive oil loaf, the texture of raspberry bread is similar to a bakery-style muffin: soft, tender, and sweet without being cloying.

Because lemon and berries are a delicious combination, this recipe includes some lemon zest and sweet-tart lemon icing. If that's a combination you love as much as I do, you'll also want to check out this recipe for lemon berry snack cake.

Unlike most raspberry bread recipes, the raspberries in this loaf are baked on top of the batter underneath a blanket of buttery crumbs. This creates a texture that's similar to my all-time favorite berry cobbler, both of which I find irresistible.

Ingredients Needed to Prepare This Recipe

• All-purpose flour. I usually use unbleached flour because it adds a bit more structure to this raspberry loaf, helping it support all those raspberries and buttery crumbs.
• Granulated sugar.
• Salt. Salt is essential in sweet baked goods because it helps bring out the other flavors. In this recipe, a bit of salt in the crumb topping and in the batter gives the whole loaf more flavor.
• Cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces. While I'm telling you to use unsalted butter for the butter crumb topping, I usually use salted. It's just a personal preference. I like a bit more salt in the crumbs. If you suspect that you too would enjoy a bit more salt in the crumb topping, use salted butter. Otherwise, stick to unsalted.
• Baking powder and baking soda.
• Vegetable oil. Because of all the raspberries in this bread, I recommend storing it in the refrigerator. Baked goods made with butter don't remain as soft as those made with oil when they get cold. For this reason, I chose to use oil instead of butter to make the batter for this raspberry bread.
• Eggs.
• Whole milk, plain, unsweetened yogurt. I used greek yogurt, but regular yogurt works just as well.
• Pure vanilla extract.
• The zest from one large lemon.
• Fresh raspberries. Frozen raspberries work just as well as fresh in this recipe. By the way, the same is also true for my favorite raspberry pie recipe, which means raspberry bread and raspberry pie year round. 👏
• Simple Lemon Icing. This is optional, but highly recommended.

Variations

This recipe can be made with pretty much any kind of berry instead of, or in addition to raspberries. Just aim for about a cup and a half (9 ounces) of any kind of berries, fresh or frozen. Here are a few other ways you can shape this recipe to your personal tastes and preferences:

• Make a gluten-free raspberry loaf: Swap out the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free flour mix that includes xanthan gum such as Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free One-to-One Baking Flour or King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour.
• Substitute sour cream for the yogurt if you like, in equal measure.
• Add some spice! Add a teaspoon of ground cardamom or cinnamon, or a pinch or two of nutmeg, ginger, or allspice to the dry ingredients for the loaf batter.
• Add some chopped nuts. Sprinkle some chopped nuts or sliced almonds over the raspberries before adding the crumb topping to add some nutty crunch to your loaf.
• Top your loaf with vanilla icing instead of lemon icing. As with the lemon icing, a half recipe of vanilla icing is enough.
• Make chocolate chip raspberry bread: If the combination of chocolate and raspberries is your jam, stir in about a cup of mini chocolate chips into the batter. Top your loaf with vanilla icing instead of lemon icing.

Step-by-Step Photos and Instructions

Both the crumb topping and the batter for this raspberry bread are super simple to make. I usually use my KitchenAid Stand Mixer to make both, but other methods work just as well. Pulse the crumb topping in a food processor instead of using a mixer to blend the butter into the other ingredients. Or, use a pastry cutter or just use your fingers.

The batter for the bread can easily be prepared entirely by hand, mixing the dry and wet ingredients with a wire whisk then blending them together with a wooden spoon.

To make the butter crumb topping, add the flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of an electric mixer and then drop in the pieces of cold butter. Mix on medium-low until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

You can also do this in a food processor if you prefer. Be sure to pulse the machine rather than running it so you don't over mix the crumbs.

Prepare a 9-inch loaf pan by coating the inside of the pan with a thin layer of vegetable shortening or butter.

Shake some flour around in the pan so that the inside of the pan is completely coated then shake out the excess flour.

Use a wire whisk to mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Use an electric mixer to beat vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and lemon zest until very well blended. You can also do this by hand with a wire whisk if you prefer.

Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir just until everything is blended and most of the lumps have disappeared.

Spread the batter into your prepared loaf pan.

Spread the raspberries over the batter and use your fingers to gently press them into the batter.

Press the raspberries just so they are embedded into the batter rather than just resting on top.

Spread the crumb topping over the raspberries, using your fingers to squeeze it together as you do to create some larger crumbs.

Time to bake! It can be tricky to know when the bread is done. If you're unsure, use a butter knife to scoot some of the crumbs over and dig into the center of the loaf a bit to check for raw batter. Then cover the space back up with crumbs.

Allow the bread to cool, then drizzle lemon icing over the loaf if you like.

Storage and Make Ahead Instructions

Because this loaf contains berries, I like to keep it in the refrigerator if I want to store it for longer than 24 hours. If wrapped in plastic wrap or placed in an air-tight container, raspberry bread will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

If you would like to make this bread in advance, I suggest waiting to top the loaf with icing until the day you plan to serve it.

Raspberry bread can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Freeze the entire loaf, well wrapped, or slice the bread and wrap and freeze individual slices so you can remove only a slice or two when you wish.

The bread can be frozen with or without icing. If I am freezing the entire loaf with the intention of serving it at some point in the future, I usually wait to top it with icing until the day I plan to serve it.

An entire loaf will take about 6 hours to thaw at room temperature or 12 hours to thaw in the refrigerator. Individual slices thaw much quicker, about 1 hour at room temperature or 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.