My Name Is Snickerdoodle: Marbled Strawberry Lemonade Loaf

Every time I visit the store lately, there's this beautiful table full of berries.  And it just makes me want to cook something with them.  But then I get busy, and they just sit in the refrigerator, looking out at me balefully.  And by the time I finally get down to business, they're not quite so beautiful anymore.  So I decided I needed to make something that allowed me to capture the beautiful sweetness of those overripe berries without having their bumps and bruises on showcase.  This delicious little lemon loaf is basically strawberry lemonade in cake form.  Perfect for dessert or a nice afternoon snack.

Marbled Strawberry Lemonade Loaf
Loosely adapted from My Name Is Snickerdoodle blog

1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
6 ounces fresh strawberries
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 medium lemon
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray one 9x5-inch loaf pan with a cooking spray with flour, such as Baker's Joy.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.  In a blender or food processor, puree the strawberries with 1 tablespoon of sugar (or more to taste depending on ripeness of berries).  Set aside.

In a large bowl (or stand mixer) cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and blend well. Mix in lemon juice and zest. Blend in ⅓ of the flour mixture and alternate with half of the sour cream, ending on the flour mixture.

Scoop one cup of batter into a separate bowl.  Measure out 6 tablespoons of strawberry puree and add to the 1 cup of batter.  Mix to combine thoroughly.  Dollop plain lemon batter and strawberry batter in an alternating pattern in the loaf pan.  Once all of the batter has been used, sweep a butter knife through the batter, moving back and forth, to give the loaf the marbled look.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a rack and cool completely.

Once the loaf is cool, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice.  Mix thoroughly to ensure that all the powdered sugar is dissolved.  Drizzle over the top of the loaf.  Slice and serve.