You’ll love this Red, White & Blueberry Bread, full of fresh fruit and tangy cream cheese. With a crunchy top and a sweet, moist interior, it’s a slice of heaven!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Spray or line a 9x5 inch loaf pan, and set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the cream cheese swirl. Using a hand mixer, blend until smooth, and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. With mixing speed on low, add eggs one at a time until incorporated.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running on low speed, gradually alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk, mixing just until no flour pockets remain. Remove the bowl from the stand and fold in the fruit.
Pour half of the batter for the bread into the prepared loaf pan. Then pour the cream cheese "swirl" on top. You can either leave it as-is or carefully swirl it with a knife. Pour the remaining batter over top and sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
Place in the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the center of the loaf is set. You may need to tent the loaf with foil if the top is getting too brown (around the 40–50-minute mark). Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
If using frozen blueberries, coat them in flour before mixing them in. Mine were very moist and left swirls of blue/grey in my bread. You can avoid this altogether by using fresh blueberries.
Although I have never made these in muffin form, I'm sure it can be done! I'd say it would make 12-14 muffins and that they would take anywhere from 18-22 minutes to bake, but just watch and test.
To STORE Red, White, and Blueberry Bread, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container. It will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, you can FREEZE the bread for up to 3 months.To REHEAT, thaw at room temperature if frozen, then warm individual slices in the microwave for about 20 seconds or in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 5-10 minutes.