Brown Butter Cherry Almond Breakfast Loaf – An Accidental Recipe

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Brown Butter Cherry Breakfast Loaf - Right Out of the Oven!

Brown Butter Cherry Almond Breakfast Loaf – Right Out of the Oven!

Fall arrived in Seattle, bringing clouds and rain. I immediately felt like baking and couldn’t be bothered to go to the supermarket.  Dried tart cherries caught my eye on the countertop, and suddenly I craved a warm slice of cherry bread slathered with butter.  I found three saved recipes in my files and settled on a combination that pleased me.   I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

Many of you probably assume that I cook in an organized, neat fashion.  I hate to break it to you…but that’s not exactly the case.  I am clean, I am organized…but when I cook I don’t necessarily use “mise en place” where everything is measured and laid out ahead of time.  Nooooo.  Often I make a recipe between writing emails, talking on the phone, knitting… and it can be distracting.  I do put out the ingredients on my counter, and I read the recipe before I start and at the end of my cooking to be sure I didn’t forget anything.  In a perfect world, that is.

That is how this particular recipe evolved…  I did line up the ingredients: the milk carton, sugar, flour, cherries, bowls, bread pan…but I forgot to check everything when I thought I was finished.  OOOO, I left out an egg.

As I was melting the butter, I instantly decided to brown it as I did with the coconut bread.  And I cut the sugar down – which I often prefer.  I added extra cherries because I wanted to finish my container.

So here you have it, a flavorful, dense and truly-original-My-Global-Kitchens-not-icky-sweet breakfast bread.  It’s a keeper, and I will definitely make it again.  In fact, I’m thinking this would be a good make-ahead Thanksgiving weekend breakfast item along with spinach frittata.  Oh yea!

Brown Butter Cherry Almond Breakfast Loaf

Yield: one loaf

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Ingredients:
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • Slightly rounded 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp. non aluminum baking powder
  • ½ tsp. fine sea salt
  • ¾ cup dried tart cherries
  • ¾ cup of 2% milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 stick  unsalted butter, melted, browned and cooled (see coconut bread for instructions)
  • 1 tsp. almond extract
  • ½ Tbsp granulated sugar for the topping
Instructions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with a rectangle of parchment. Spray the parchment-lined bottom.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the cherries and toss to coat them  evenly. This helps distribute the dried fruit throughout the bread.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, cooled butter and almond extract. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until barely combined. Do not overmix.

Pour this batter into the prepared pan. Even out the top with a spatula and sprinkle the top with a half tablespoon of granulated sugar.

Bake in the middle rack of your oven until the top of the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-55 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool for ten minutes. Turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely before serving (although I love it a bit warmed).

When it is no longer warm,  cut the loaf  in half and freeze part for later in the week so it will be uber fresh.

 

 

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