Dried Cherry-Cardamom Bread

By á-5133

Treat your family to this delicious bread loaf that's flavored with lemon and cardamom and filled with cherries - perfect for any holiday!

This bread is a nice introduction to cardamom, a spice native to India. Cardamom's spicy ginger-like aroma warms the bread's sweet-tart lemon and cherry flavors.

Use dried cranberries or chopped dates in place of the dried cherries.

Bake this bread to have on hand for holiday entertaining. Let the bread cool completely and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Place the wrapped bread in a food storage plastic freezer bag and freeze. One hour before serving, slice the frozen bread and arrange it on a platter.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Details

Servings 16
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 25mins
Adapted from bettycrocker.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 9x5- or 8x4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix sugar and butter; beat until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add buttermilk and eggs; blend well. (Mixture will appear curdled.)

In small bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Add to buttermilk mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into pan.

Bake 9x5-inch pan 50 to 65 minutes, 8x4-inch pan 55 to 75 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Loosen edges of bread; cool in pan on cooling rack 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan; place on cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. Wrap tightly, and store in refrigerator.