Description

This Glazed Almond Poppy Seed Bread is an easy bake that yields a tender, pound cake-like loaf. Frosted, glazed, or plain, it’s a delicious treat!

Ingredients

Scale

12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups (250 g) white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups (320 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup (5.3 oz.) milk
1 Tbsp. poppyseeds

For the Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3–4 Tbsp cream or milk (see notes)
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Sliced almonds to garnish (optional)

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325F and grease a 9″ loaf pan well. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy, then beat in the extracts and eggs until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift half of it into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the milk thoroughly, then sift in the rest of the flour mixture and add the poppyseeds. Mix until all of the ingredients are well combined, then pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for an hour, or until the middle is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. After removing the loaf from the oven, allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

After the loaf has cooled, stir 3 tablespoons of milk or cream (you’ll need less milk if that’s what you use) and the almond and vanilla extracts into the powdered sugar. Add another 1-2 tablespoons of your dairy of choice until you have a pourable but not runny glaze. Pour or spread over the loaf, and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Allow it to dry before slicing and eating.

Notes

I recommend using a light glass pan, since a metal or dark colored pan will conduct heat very quickly and burn the outside of your almond poppy seed bread before the inside is ready. This is the pan I use–you can also find them at nearly any store with baking equipment.
Grease that pan veerrrryy well. You don’t want a stuck loaf of bread.
While you should definitely mix the batter until all of the ingredients are well combined, be sure not to overmix. That will activate the gluten and potentially leave you with a tough finished loaf.
As noted above, you may want to cover the loaf with foil part way through the baking time to prevent it from burning on the outside before baking thoroughly.
The recipe for the glaze calls for either cream or milk. The cream (which is what I used for this loaf) is going to give you more of a thick frosting, while the milk will create more of a thin glaze. Add your liquid to the powdered sugar and extract one tablespoon at a time to get the right consistency. For a frosting, try to get something that will drizzle/pour without running off the cake. For a glaze, you’ll need less milk to get the right consistency, so make sure not to add too much.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Category: Desserts and Sweets
Method: Baking