This black cherry almond bread is full of sweet cherries and almonds. It is tender, thanks to the addition of sour cream and buttermilk, and features a sweet almond flavor from the almond extract.
Glazed Black Cherry Almond Bread
This loaf of bread is pretty with the red color of the sweet cherries. Furthermore, it includes crunchy almond pieces and is topped with a buttery, sweet glaze that is poured over the finished loaf. You can enjoy this bread either warm or at room temperature. In addition, it is perfect for breakfast, snack time, or dessert.
Prepare the Cherries
You can use fresh or frozen plain black cherries for this recipe. If using frozen cherries, let them thaw before adding them to the batter. Also, roughly chop the cherries to make smaller pieces for eating. Fruit added to batters will sometimes sink to the bottom. To prevent this, toss the cut fruit into flour. This coating helps keep the fruit afloat, ensuring that the cooked bread has cherries throughout, from top to bottom of the loaf.
Mixing the Batter
When you add the dry ingredients to the batter–one of the last steps in this recipe–be sure not to over-stir it. Over-stirring causes gluten to develop, resulting in bread that is dense and chewy. And while that is desirable in some things like a pizza crust, it is not something you want in this bread. The texture of black cherry almond bread should be soft and tender. When you add the dry ingredients, stir to moisten the batter–and no more.
Sour Cream in Black Cherry Almond Bread
This recipe uses sour cream to help keep the bread moist after baking. It is one of my favorite ingredients for cake mixes, sweet bread, and cornbread. However, always bring it to room temperature before adding it to baked goods because cold ingredients can affect the baking time.
Other Cherry Recipes You Might Enjoy
Here are other cherry recipes you might like:
Black Cherry Almond Bread
Equipment
- 1 9×5-inch loaf pan
Ingredients
Bread
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup sour cream, room temperature
- ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 heaping cup fresh black cherries, pitted (or frozen, thaw before using)
- ½ cup almonds, sliced or slivered
Almond Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon cream
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Instructions
Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the pan with butter.
- Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and soda in a medium-sized bowl.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugars, vanilla, and almond extract until smooth and creamy. Blend in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the sour cream. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating between them, ending with the flour.
- Rough chop the cherries. Place them into a small bowl; sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour over them and stir to coat all the cherries.
- Stir the cherries and almonds into the batter. Stir just until they are incorporated. Do not overmix the batter.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the bread is brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with crumbs. Check the bread after 35 minutes. If it is brown enough, place a sheet of aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray over the top to prevent further browning. After baking, cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife between the sides of the bread and the pan. Turn out on a cooling rack.
Almond Glaze
- Place all of the ingredients into a bowl. Stir until smooth. If too thick, add more cream. Drizzle over the cooled bread.