Glazed Clementine Loaf

It seems that from December through much of the winter, clementines are in abundance. I can’t go into my local grocery store without seeing a big display of this tasty, easily peeled fruit. Not only are clementines perfect in lunch boxes or as a midnight snack, they are also the perfect fruit to put in a citrus loaf.

I have made my Mom’s recipe for Lemon Bread for a hundred years. Not only is it simple to make and delicious, it turns out perfectly every time.

My Mom died in January of 2005. That year, as a Christmas gift for my siblings, children, nieces, and nephews, I compiled all of her handwritten recipes and had them copied and bound into a recipe book for each of them.

The house on the cover is my childhood home. It was built by my grandfather in the 1910s. The year my mom died, my daughter had a painting of my home commissioned and she gave it to me for my birthday. This cover photograph is a copy of a portion of that painting.

Every time I open up this book and see one of my Mom’s handwritten recipes, I remember her.  In the early days, this would make me cry, but now it makes me smile.

With the abundance of clementines everywhere I looked, it made me think, why not substitute clementines for the lemon in my Mom’s bread? So a couple of days ago I decided to do just that and see how the loaf/bread turned out.

Side note – What do you call it? Lemon Bread, Lemon Loaf, Banana Bread, Banana Loaf? I have always called these treats a “bread”, (maybe it’s a Maritime expression?), but I have noticed that many people refer to it as a”loaf”.

Anyway, loaf or bread the result was delicious! A wee bit sweeter than a Lemon Bread/Loaf and perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

Confession, please don’t judge us. Music man and I polished off three-quarters of this loaf in the first 24 hours.

Anyway, enough of the true confession, here is my Glazed Clementine Loaf recipe. It is an adaptation on my Mom’s classic recipe for Lemon Bread.

As you know, I like to gather all of my ingredients before starting to bake. I have been caught too many times.  This habit saves me running to the store in the middle of baking for a missing ingredient.

Make sure your butter and sugar is creamy and fluffy before adding your eggs.

 Mixing the zest into the flour mixture, helps to distribute it evenly throughout the bread.

 Once you add the flour, don’t overmix. It will make the bread tough and heavy.

If you look closely, you can see the little specks of clementine zest sprinkled throughout the bread.

For the glaze, stir the sugar and the hot juice together. Don’t worry if there is some clementine pulp in with the juice, it will add to the taste!

While it is still in the pan, spoon the glaze over the hot loaf.  Let cool for 10 or 15 minutes before removing loaf from the pan.

As always, if you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my very best to answer.

Okay, I need to know. Bread or Loaf…what do you call it?