Blueberry and Sour Cream Loaf

Amidst packing at my parents’ place and cleaning the refrigerator- attempting to use left over sour cream and a batch of blueberries, and flipping through the recipes July’s Indian issue of Good Housekeeping, this moist and flavorful Blueberry and Sour Cream Loaf was made.

When I told a friend of mine that I was posting the recipe for this loaf on the blog today, the question arose what is the difference between a sweet loaf and a cake. While I answered the doubt to the best of my knowledge, I wondered what the web had to say about it and did a quick google search to find the exact difference.

The most obvious difference is the tin used to make the baked good in question. Loaf cakes are always baked in a loaf pan, whereas cakes in other square or round tins. And even though both cakes and loaf cakes share similar ingredients, the ratio of flour, fat, sugar and the mixing methods are different and make a difference in the final product.

While quick breads (like banana bread, scones and muffins) are made by combining the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in the other and then mixing the two till just combined with few lumps, cakes are made by creaming the butter and sugar together (or by folding whipped egg whites into flour, sugar, yolks mixture- the chiffon method), lending a finer crumb to cakes. Thus, cakes are generally lighter than loafs and other quick breads. Kind of like the difference between a muffin and a cupcake, a cupcake being a mini cake and a muffin being a type of quick bread.

The Kitchn explains the difference between a cupcake and a muffin fairly well, and best to my knowledge that would be the difference between a cake and a quick bread (or sweet loaf).

Also generally, comparing various recipes, loafs are always with some kind of fruit in them, whereas cakes can be with fruit or not. 

Like all quick breads, this one too tastes better the next day. And that means its great to bake a day ahead and have it as breakfast the next day with no disappointing results.

It might be difficult to resist not cutting into it (and finishing the whole loaf) immediately but luckily for me I baked this loaf while everyone was sleeping in the afternoon and since we had been invited for dinner at somebody’s house in the evening, my family could only get to eat it the next day. I did try it out fresh out of the oven as well as the next day, and found the loaf more flavorful and moist the next day. So if you can, I highly recommend you to wait.

The loaf is moist, with a slight tang from the blueberries, lemon zest and sour cream and just the correct amount of sweetness.  And who doesn’t love a crumble topping- I know I do! Crumble makes everything better.

I am not exaggerating one bit when I say the whole loaf was finished in a matter of 2-3 hours the next day. My two and half year old niece also enjoyed eating it and gobbled up 2-3 pieces in one sitting.

I did adapt the original recipe (which features in the July Indian issue of Good Housekeeping) slightly.

The recipe did not call for either baking soda or baking powder. But past experience with baking quick breads made me add baking powder out of habit.

You could use baking soda as well, since this recipe has sour cream as an ingredient which acts as the acidic medium for the baking soda to react and form bubbles and thus for your quick bread to rise. The only catch with using baking soda (besides making sure you use an acidic ingredient in the recipe) is that you need to bake your baked good right away since once it mixes with the wet acidic medium it starts forming bubbles immediately and any waiting will result in a less risen product. Most baking powders on the other hand are double acting in nature. Their chemical reaction happens twice- once when you mix them with liquids and the second time when you subject them to heat. Having said that, you still shouldn’t let a baking powder batter sit for too long since the initial reaction is vital for a well textured cake.

Since this recipe called for neither, I decided to stick to baking powder and it worked pretty well for me.

 

I also added a bit of lemon zest. I enjoy the combination of lemons with blueberries and since I had lemons on hand I added them to the recipe. Lemon zest is a great way to add flavor to your baked good, without messing the liquid ratio.

Next time I will try replacing some of the all purpose flour for whole wheat to make it healthier. Will let you know how that goes. Till then, hope you enjoy this version.

 

 

 Enjoy Quick Breads? Check these out:

Orange Berry Muffins

Cranberry Scones

Zucchini Coconut Lime Bread