This White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf is one of my favourite quick breads because it’s simple to make and rustically pretty! The raspberries add moisture that keeps it fresh for days, while the invisible white chocolate bits adds great little pops of sweet. A slice of this improves any day!
White chocolate raspberry loaf
This is one of those recipes we confusingly call a “bread” or “loaf” but is not actually a proper bread made with yeast. It’s actually just cake baked in the form of a bread loaf, also called “quick bread” in reference to the speed with which they are made (ie no yeast = no rise = fast to make!).
I am a fan not only because of ease of making, but also because they are so much more transportable than tall layered cakes, easy to serve, and easy to eat with just a napkin and hands.
This White Chocolate Raspberry one is also rustically pretty to look at (as most things with raspberry are!), and I like that it’s not too sweet, with only 3/4 cup of sugar in the batter. But those with a sweet tooth don’t feel deprived thanks to the glaze and little pockets of sweetness you get from the white chocolate chips.
It’s a classic combination really, white chocolate and raspberry. It astounds me I don’t have more examples on my website!
Ingredients in White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf
This recipe is similar to my classic Blueberry Loaf, but is adapted to be more suitable for raspberries which release more moisture than blueberries. If you’re interested in how and why it’s different, see the FAQ below!
1. RASPBERRIES AND WHITE CHOCOLATE
Raspberries – Fresh is better but frozen is still great. See below for fresh vs frozen difference on this recipe.
Other berries – Blackberries would be a suitable substitute, or chopped strawberries though you won’t get nice red pops of colour in the loaf like you might expect. For blueberries, it’s better to use my Blueberry Loaf recipe (the skin holds the moisture in so the batter needs higher hydration than in this raspberry loaf).
White chocolate chips – I prefer using white chocolate chips for this loaf only because I feel chopping up the good stuff is a little wasted in a recipe like this. Also, convenience! But don’t let that stop you from using a good quality white chocolate block, if that’s what you prefer.
Flour – to coat the raspberries so they don’t sink as it bakes. It really does work (speaking from experience here!)
Fresh vs frozen raspberries
As with most baked goods, this loaf is marginally better made with fresh raspberries although I don’t hesitate to use frozen. Frozen raspberries chills the batter so it takes a little longer to start rising in the oven so the crumb is marginally less springy. However by no means compromised!
2. BATTER INGREDIENTS
WET INGREDIENTS:
Unsalted butter – I typically like to use a bit of oil in quick breads like this as it makes the crumb nice and moist as well as extending the shelf life compared to using butter. However, the raspberries add great moisture in to this loaf so I found oil actually made the crumb too damp. So butter it is! Plus, we get the added bonus of lovely butter flavour. 🙂
White sugar – Caster sugar / superfine sugar is better if you’ve got it as the grains are finer so it dissolves effortlessly. But regular white sugar (granulated sugar) is fine too. Brown sugar is not recommended, it will make the crumb too damp, I think.
Yogurt – Plain unsweetened yogurt (regular or Greek), a proven bakers’ trick to make cakes with lovely moist crumbs, plus the acidity in yogurt is what activates the baking soda in this loaf. Substitute with sour cream (it too has acidity). You could as a last resort substitute with 3/4 cup of milk but you’d need to also add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar.
⚠️ Important to bring it to room temperature (ie take out of fridge around 30 minutes prior) so it’s not fridge-cold when you mix it into the batter. Why? Because this batter has butter in it and fridge-cold yogurt + melted butter = solidified butter bits in the batter = greasy cake that doesn’t rise!
Large eggs – Also at room temperature, for the same reason as the yogurt. Use large eggs which are ~55 – 60g / 2 oz each (they come in cartons labelled “large eggs”) at room temperature. See here for what this means, and a quick way to de-chill fridge cold eggs!
Vanilla extract – Better flavour than imitation vanilla essence. I personally don’t use vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste in cakes, loafs, muffins etc because I think it’s wasted. Save it for things like Crème Brûlée and Flan Pâtissier!
Lemon zest (optional) – Just a tiny touch adds a hint of freshness that I feel compliments the raspberry-vanilla flavour in this loaf. However, it is not essential and I’ve made this plenty of times without!
DRY INGREDIENTS:
Flour – Just plain white / all-purpose flour.
Other flours – Self raising flour won’t work very well here as cakes typically don’t rise nearly as well as mixing flour + baking powder fresh. While it should work with wholemeal flour (wholewheat flour), I think the crumb will not be quite as soft. I haven’t tried this with gluten-free flour.
Baking powder AND baking soda (aka bicarbonate soda) – Wherever possible, I prefer to only use one or the other (for ease) but sometimes for the best result, I can’t avoid using both. This is because they have different rising qualities in different batters. As a general rule, baking soda is 3x stronger than baking powder, it requires an acidity to activate it and it makes things colour better in the oven.
For this loaf, I found that using just baking powder didn’t make it rise quite as well (it’s a thick batter) and the surface was as evenly coloured as pictured. However, I would not hesitate to just using baking powder in this recipe, if that’s all I had. Directions in the recipe notes.
Salt – Just a touch, to bring out the other flavours in the cake. Standard baking practice these days!
3. Vanilla glaze
Here’s all you need to make the glaze.
Icing sugar (powdered sugar) – Be sure to sift it to remove lumps. They can’t be mixed out (you know I’ve tried!).
Milk – Any type of milk is fine here – low fat, full fat, cow or non-cow.
When you first start mixing, it will seem like there’s not enough. But keep mixing and all of a sudden it will miraculously transform from a lumpy powdery mess into a silky drippy glaze!
Vanilla – For flavour.
How to make White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf
This is a very easy baking recipe, but the one tip I have to ensure success is to make sure your yogurt and eggs are at room temperature, not fridge cold. Otherwise it will make the melted butter solidify and you’ll end up with little butter lumps throughout the batter which results in a greasy loaf that doesn’t rise. I learnt this lesson the hard way in my early baking days!!
Toss the raspberries with the flour then set aside. If using frozen raspberries, pop the bowl in the freezer so they stay frozen until you’re ready to mix them in. Why? Because frozen raspberries thaw quickly and will streak throughout the batter when you mix it in.
Butter and sugar – Melt the butter in a heatproof mixing bowl (I use the microwave). Let it cool just for a few minutes (warm ok, hot not ok). Then whisk in the sugar.
Remaining wet ingredients – Whisk in the remaining wet ingredients (yogurt, egg, vanilla).
Dry ingredients – Scatter the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt across the surface (easier to mix in compared to dumping it all in one place). Then mix just until the flour is fully incorporated, then stop mixing. Over-mixing = tough cake. Some lumps in the batter is fine, they will bake out in the oven.
Raspberries & white chocolate – Add the white chocolate and raspberries. Stir only until the raspberries are dispersed throughout the batter, then stop mixing (see above about over-mixing).
⚠️ If using frozen raspberries, you want to work fast and minimise stirring because frozen raspberries chills and therefore thickens the batter if you leave it sitting around. This will affect how well the loaf rises in the oven, because it’s starting with a colder batter so it takes longer to start baking and rising properly.
Extra raspberries – Smooth the surface (no need to be meticulously, it will smooth out properly in the oven). Then decorate the top with extra raspberries, if you want. (I want!).
Bake 75 to 80 minutes – Bake for 40 minutes in a 190°C/375°F (170°C fan-forced) oven. Loosely cover with foil (to stop it from getting too brown). Then bake for a further 35 minutes if using fresh raspberries, or 40 minutes if using frozen. The loaf is ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean without a raw batter smear.
Cool for 5 minutes in the loaf pan. Then use the paper overhang to lift it out onto a rack and fully cool before glazing.
⚠️ If you glaze before it’s fully cool, the glaze will just melt and disappear into the loaf.
To serve, cut thick slices and eat with your hands. (Cutlery for this is way above my pay grade.)
Don’t try to toast it, the glaze will melt and the raspberries will become hot little red bombs that scorch your tongue.
As for shelf life, it’s best to keep it in the fridge and it will stay fresh for 5 days. Though as with most cakes, I highly, highly recommend eating it at room temperature. It’s just not as nice when it’s fridge cold – the crumb is drier and you can’t taste the flavour as well.
I have visions of you cutting thick slices and enjoying this loaf with a cup of tea this weekend. Let’s make that come true!! 🙂 – Nagi x
White chocolate raspberry loaf FAQ
You can use blackberries, mulberries and chopped strawberries (into raspberry size). For blueberries, I recommend using my Blueberry Loaf instead (which is designed for blueberries which don’t burst and release as much moisture as raspberries).
I’m sorry, I haven’t tried with gluten free flour. It won’t work as written with almond meal.
Ugh! As with so many recipes I have been making “forever”, I thought it was fine until I went to write out the recipe for my website, then I started getting fussy and trying to improve it. 🙂
Originally I got a little greedy and started out with almost 300g/10 oz of raspberries – I had a vision of LOTS of lovely red raspberries throughout the whole loaf! – and 1 cup of white chocolate. But that was a dismal fail – far too much “stuff” that weighed the loaf down! So I dialled it back to the same sensible quantities I’ve always been using (1 1/2 cups of raspberries and 1/2 cup of white chocolate) which actually, is perfectly sufficient for flavour and looks.
Then I found myself tweaking the leavening agent I was using. I originally only used baking powder which actually works just fine if you alway use fresh raspberries. But when using frozen raspberries – and I was determined to make sure this recipe came out really well using frozen – it didn’t work as well. My theory is that frozen raspberries chills the batter more so it takes longer to warm up and start rising in the oven, so it just never rises as well as when using fresh raspberries.
Substituting a bit of baking soda for the baking powder (which is 3x stronger) dealt with that problem, giving the loaf a nice kick start with the rise whether using fresh or frozen raspberries. I did find though that it browned a little too fast (because baking soda gives better colour to baked goods than baking powder) so I then tweaked the baking temperature and time to achieve a lovely golden colour in the time it takes for the loaf to cook through, without the outer layer drying out and overcooking (which I find to be a flaw in quick breads).
Because raspberries release more moisture than blueberries (which have skin that holds the moisture in). So if you use raspberries in the Blueberry Loaf recipe, you’ll find that the crumb gets a little too damp.
So the hydration in this batter is lower, and because the moisture from the raspberries keeps the crumb moist, it even meant I could switch the oil for butter which is tastier. (Generally as a rule, butter makes things taste better but oil makes cakes that have a more moist crumb and stays fresh for longer).
I also added baking soda (rather than just using baking powder) to give the rise a boost as I found that the volume of raspberries + white chocolate was weighing down the batter a bit. Bit more on this in the above section!
Cup sizes differ slightly between the US (1 cup = 226ml) and the rest of the world (250 ml). While the difference is not enough to make a difference in most recipes, for some baking recipes it can mean the difference between success and failure.
I made this recipe using US cups, Australian cups and the weights I’ve provided and there was no difference in the end result. So the difference in cup sizes does not matter for this recipe!
Note: Some may also notice that the recipe calls for 225g butter which is NOT 1 US stick (which is 115g, well, 113.4g to be exact). However, 1 US stick (which is 8 US tablespoons of butter) is the correct amount for the recipe using US cups to measure the flour, sugar, yogurt etc.
Watch how to make it
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White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- 125 g/ 8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 US stick) (Note 1)
- 3/4 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar) (Note 2)
- 1 cup plain yogurt , at room temperature, full fat best (Note 3)
- 2 large eggs , at room temperature (~50-55g/2 oz each)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest (not critical)
Dry ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cup plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (Note 4)
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
Add-ins:
- 1 1/2 cups raspberries , fresh or frozen (not thawed, see Note 5 tips)
- 2 tsp flour , prevents raspberries from sinking (Note 6)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Extra Raspberries – decoration
- 6 – 8 raspberries (optional)
Glaze:
- 1 cup icing sugar / powdered sugar , sifted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 tsp milk , preferably full fat but low / 0% fat ok
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Abbreviated recipe:
- Toss raspberries in flour (if frozen, keep in freezer). Whisk butter and sugar then remaining Wet. Mix in dry, fold through choc and raspberries. Bake in lined 22 x 12 cm pan (8.7 x 4.7") at 190°C/375°F (170°C fan) for 40 minutes, cover with foil then bake another 35 minutes (+ 5 min for frozen raspberries). Cool, glaze!
Full recipe directions:
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F (170°C fan-forced). Grease and line a 22 x 12 x 7 cm loaf pan with paper (8.7 x 4.7 x 2.75", Note 6).
- Toss the raspberries with the flour. If using frozen, put the bowl in the freezer (so they don't thaw).
- Wet ingredients – Put the butter in a heatproof bowl and microwave until melted. Cool for a minute then whisk in the sugar. Next, add the yogurt, eggs, vanilla and lemon. Whisk until combined.
- Dry ingredients – Sprinkle the dry ingredients across the surface, then mix it in using a rubber spatula. Stop mixing as soon as the flour is incorporated – some lumps in the batter is fine. (Over mixing = tough loaf)
- Raspberries – Working fast, add the white chocolate and the raspberries (including any residual flour in the bowl), then mix briefly just to disperse the raspberries. (Fresh raspberries – careful not to squish them. Frozen – work fast, else the batter chills and thickens = takes longer to bake). Batter is pretty thick.
- Fill pan – Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Roughly level the surface (spreads and levels in the oven). Press Extra Raspberries into the surface, if using.
- Bake 40 minutes. Cover loosely with foil then bake for a further 35 minutes for fresh raspberries, 40 minutes for frozen. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out without raw batter on it.
- Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer onto a rack. Full cool before glazing.
Glaze:
- Mix Glaze ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
- Glaze – Put the rack on a tray or plate to catch glaze drips. Drizzle glaze all over the cake. Scrape up glaze from the plate and glaze again.
- Serve – Leave for 20 minutes to let a crust form on the glaze before cutting thick slices to serve.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More quick bread loaf recipes
Life of Dozer
We are deep in the throes planning the book tour for my new book TONIGHT when it hits stores next month!! The Powers That Be have deemed it time to upgrade the Dozer cut-out which travels with me to events outside of Sydney*, which we made for the book tour of my first book, DINNER.
It’s life size. I insisted. See?
In case you are wondering why Dozer doesn’t travel with me outside Sydney, it’s because dogs are not allowed inside the cabin of planes here in Australia, and I can’t bring myself to put Dozer down in the cargo. He’s a valuable company asset, I need eyes on him at all times! 🤣
Nagi thank you for all the beautiful recipes. So looking forward to getting your new book here in NZ. You do so much for everyone – remember to take care of yourself too xxx
Hey. I’m confused with the cooking time. It says bake. Not bake for 40 mins covered then another 35 uncovered.
Or is it covered for 5 mins covered then bake for 35.
Sorry for my confusion!
It says to bake a further 35 minutes, meaning an additional 35 after the 40.
It is confusing, though because at the top of the recipe, it says the cook time is one hour.
Fixed! Thanks Cheryl 🙂 N x
Thanks for the reply to my query about the sale of books on continental Europe.
A friend has just placed an order for me and will collect it ( and hers!) from the uk. Now it a question of waiting …patiently!
delicious: loved by whole family. Realised too late that I no longer have a loaf tin so used a square 20cm brownie pan – used same time without foil and 5 minutes less with.
Absolutely delicious, served up for afternoon tea and it was very popular
Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa. Just dropping a message to let you know that I’ve pre-ordered your book. Thank you for including South Africa in your list Nagi. I bought your first cookbook, which is brilliant by the way. So I’m really looking forward to the new one. Hugs and kisses for Dozer.
Thank you for getting my book Danika! I’m so excited for the new one, I will show a few more glimpses of it soon! N x
I just made this beautiful white chocolate & raspberry loaf. I substituted sugar in the loaf for Natvia and used gluten free flour. Turned out really moist, winner winner
WOAH! WOW! I think I have to give that a go myself, I really was not sure it would work with GF flour! N x
It’s delicious! We made ours with gluten free flour and I used Caramilk choc chips instead of white, and it is YUM! My coeliac husband approved ❤️
I did add a bit more yoghurt and a splash of milk to the mixture, as GF flour tends to soak up a lot of moisture, and this turned out beautifully! Thanks Nagi!
WOW! I’m so pleased to hear it worked with GF flour Emily, thank you for taking the time to let me know. I will have a go and tweak the moisture per your tips 🙂 N x
Thanks for another lovely, thoroughly researched recipe. It’s nice to learn something while being entertained.
This will be a much better use of white chocolate chips than my snacking by the handful
Kudos for the seductive visuals (cue the bow chicka wow wow music).
All the best to you and Dozer.
Ugh yes I do that too with white chocolate chips! I don’t know what it is about white chocolate, I don’t snack on dark chips! N x
Seriously, please give yourself permission to take a break! We do understand.
I’m not a baker but even so I’m definitely going to make this one. As an Aussie, I plan to:
buy 2 punnets of raspberries (1 punnet = 125 grams in Australia)
Use the first punnet for the cake mix.
– Use 8 from the second punnet for the topping.
– Eat the rest with icecream or yoghurt straight away, because I adore rasberries.
Thanks for the advice Margaret!! I know, I need to. I know, I know! N x
Thanks Nagi for all your wonderful recipe’s. All the best for your book Launch. Give Dozer a big hug for me. I can see just how much you love him. Xx
Hug passed on!! N x
Dearest Nagi, some excellent advice from Margaret.
Burnout can come suddenly, swiftly and be ruthlessly undiscriminating. It can stop you in your tracks.
Take care of yourself and Dozer. The rest can wait. We all love you and your boy. 💝💖
Thanks Karen! I know I need to. I might have to disappear next week to somewhere without cell reception 🙂 N x
So I just made this. I used FROZEN raspberries, weighed all my ingredients in grams. Added an extra bit of salt because I find magi’s baking recipes go a bit too light on salt for my personal taste. Here are my notes:
1. It is DELICIOUS! The pops of raspberry, the invisible white chocolate chips… delightful!
2. It’s not super pretty, especially on the inside. The top didn’t rise super well, though the raspberries on top peeking through were lovely! The glaze hides them but still nice. The inside for me was the issue. The raspberries were very bleached out and soggy looking. Don’t get me wrong, the taste is the most important thing and it tastes amazing! I just wish the raspberries held on to more of their vibrant red hue. Perhaps it’s because they were frozen or… see next note
3. I had to bake it for MUCH longer than stated. I used an instant read thermometer and at the 80 minute mark it was only 163 F. For cakes like this you want 190 so I needed to add about 13 minutes. Took it out at 186 and it finished cooking as it cooled in the pan. It was not dry at all, perfectly baked. But it took quite a lot longer. My oven is a piece of poop so I’m blaming the oven!
Overall I will be making this cake again FOR SURE! Thabks Nagi for all you do. I look forward to meeting you again if you do a book tour up in Brisbane!
Hi Maggie! thanks so much for your detailed message, readers love seeing feedback like this 🙂 I’m sorry your raspberries were bleached out, that can happen depending on the quality of frozen. Sometimes they just aren’t very red on the inside! I’m glad you were able to fix the bake time so it cooked through ok, and if your oven runs cold then unfortunately yes, this will make the top rise less than ideal. I’m glad it was still delicious though! And YES I will be in Brisbane for the book tour!! N xx
I look forward to trying this one Nagi, I’m usually more of a savoury girl but this one is an exception. Saw your gorgeous house online when you purchased it and am hoping you’ll give us a tour when the work is done. The gardens are amazing too. Good luck with the new book and hugs to Dozer.
Thanks Lynda! My house definitely looked more dreamy and idyllic online than in reality LOL! Black mould, leaking roof, faulty wiring, unstable structure = not recommended I live there without getting some pretty big fixes done so I had to move out 🙁
I’m sorry to hear about your house. It must be stressful. Sending lots of love to you and Dozer! ❤️
Blessings upon you and upon Dozer. You are doing a lot. Thank you for sharing some of your busy life with us. The loaf looks amazing. I would toast a slice and smear it with salted butter and enjoy with my morning coffee. YUMBA!
Salted butter makes EVERYTHING BETTER!!! N xx
Thanks for your generosity in sharing this recipe and numerous tips and advice. Appreciate your present situation and how much stress you are addressing. Primarily take the space to care for you and Dozer, as without you (plural) none of this works.
I have been looking at your Blondies recipe and wondering how it would work with gluten-free flour.
Appreciation, Margaret
Hi Margaret! I’m confident the blondies will work with GF flour because it doesn’t rely on a rise like cakes etc 🙂 Thanks for your lovely message! N x
Thanks for your response.
They definitely do work with gluten free flour! I make them a lot and they are FABULOUS!
Dear Nagi…if you ever need time out I’m sure all your followers will still be here. We have plenty of your recipes to keep us going.
That said I always look forward to your inspiring and educational downloads. Not to mention news re. Dozer 💕
Thank you Christine! I’m just trying to find a slot so I can disappear for a few days to recover 😂
Working non-stop creates a sort of high and the mind thinks all is fine. That was me until one day I literally couldn’t get out of bed. It kind of ended my career creating many physical issues and mental fatigue. Treat yourself to something like FIFO workers, 2 or 3 weeks on, 1 week completely off. Be disciplined and stick to it. You really don’t know how or when overload will hit.
I think we’re all doubtful that you can put work down, look at you replying to all the comments! Yes, please find a place with no WIFI or phone coverage, we love you and are DEMANDING you take a rest. I’m sure your friends, family, and staff are in agreement and nodding their heads “yes.”
Hugs to you and your best guy Dozer.
Eventhing Christine said here, I completely agree 🙂
Yum! If I used wholemeal flour do you think it would still work?
Yes! 🙂 N x
Good luck. Nagi. I wish the best for you and Dozer and that everything works out better than you dreamed. Thank you for the recipes. It’s obvious the work you’ve put into them
Thanks Wendy! Just gotta push through this busy patch 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi,
Wow! What a hectic life you’re leading atm… Rrmember to get out and have some time on your own (or with Dozer) to recharge. Just wondering, with the raspberry loaf, ccould we use wholemeal flour or half and half as a slightly healthier variation?