Moist delicious cherry almond bread with fresh, ripe cherries and almond paste.
This week’s CSA from Dreyer Farms gave me a bag of beautiful cherries. I gobbled up a bunch of them and then decided to put the rest to good use in this cherry almond bread. Even though this is my second year in the CSA program, I’m still amazed at how much better local, in-season produce tastes compared to the stuff you get at the supermarket. We’re talking night and day difference here people. I’m completely obsessed with the strawberries, as seen in my fresh strawberry cake. Even the cabbage (did she say cabbage?) is awesome. Last night for dinner, we went Polish and I made braised cabbage with last week’s green cabbage instead of the usual red. My husband liked the CABBAGE better than the kielbasa and pierogies. That’s a CSA miracle.
But back to the main plot: cherries. Ripe, plump cherries simply pitted and left whole in this simple loaf bread. Combine that with a full 8 ounces of luscious almond paste and oh my! This is dense and super tasty. Watch the cooking time as it can get dry quickly. And if you like a little extra almond flavor, add a few drops of almond extract (which I will do next time). Banana bread might be my go-to recipe year round, but when cherries are in season, you’ll find this one making an appearance.
- 8 ounces almond paste
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ cups fresh pitted cherries
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grease and flour two 8-inch loaf pans.
- Toss cherries with 1 tablespoon of the flour and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the almond paste and butter until well combined. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix thoroughly after each addition.
- In a small bowl, stir together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
- With the stand mixer on low, add one third of the flour mixture, followed by half the milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk, mixing well after each addition.
- Pour ¼ of the batter into each of the prepared pans and dot with half the cherries, pushing some of them into the batter a bit. Top each with half the remaining batter.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes, then invert onto a baking rack to cool completely.
There is something special about the flavor of almonds and cherries together. Love how delicious your bread looks with the plump juicy cherries. Thanks for sharing your recipe:)