Dried Cherry Cardamom Bread

Dried Cherry Cardamom Bread

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

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray by spraying the bottom only. (I opted to use three – 5 x 2-inch mini loaf pans.)

In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, buttermilk, and eggs; blend well. (Mixture will appear curdled.)

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom; whisk to combine. Add lemon zest and cherries; mix. Add flour mixture to buttermilk mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Pour batter into prepared pan, bake for 55 – 75 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (For 5 x 2-inch loaf pans, baking time will be shortened to 25 – 30 minutes.)

Remove bread from oven, loosen edges of bread; cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, continue cooling on rack. Wrap cooled bread tightly and store in refrigerator.

I opted to use the three mini loaf pans instead of one large loaf pan so that I didn’t have to wait on the longer baking time.

This recipe would make an impressive larger loaf of bread, but the mini loaves are so cute and bake in less than half the time. When you’re dealing with a craving, time can be important!

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