1/2 cup butter, room temp.
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
2 eggs, room temp., lightly beaten
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk, room temp.
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
1-2 Tbsp poppy seeds (optional)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or almonds (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F/180C. In a large mixing or mixer bowl cream together the butter and 1 cup sugar. Add the eggs. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and spoon this into the egg mixture, alternately with the milk. Add the grated rind and the optional walnuts/almonds/poppy seeds. Blend thoroughly- but only enough to mix well. Overworking the batter will toughen it.
Pour or spoon the heavy batter (or dough) into a medium (8 by 4 inches) greased loaf pan. Push the batter into the corners with a spatula or spoon. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for an hour, until light golden in color.
Remove the bread from the oven but leave in the pan. Prick the top with 20 or 30 holes, using a wooden pick or a metal skewer.
Mix together ~1/2 cup sugar and the lemon juice. Spoon it on the bread. If there is a long break in the crust (and there should be) be sure to coat this well. Slowly the crust will absorb all of the lemon mixture. Allow the loaf to stand for 15 minutes, and then carefully turn it on its side and remove from the pan. Handle gingerly since quick breads can be fragile while warm.