Saturday, March 5, 2011

Chocolate Cherry Bread

Posted by thecaramelcookie / 13 comments » / Breads, Cake, Dessert, Vegan

Since I am looking to avoid white sugar (which is proving way harder than I ever thought) I wanted try baking something using only fruit to provide the sweetness. I had my doubts while mixing the ingredients that this bread would even taste good, but I shoved the pan into the oven anyway, hoping for the best.

When I had my first bite, I was shocked. This bread was AWESOME! It was dense, moist and perfectly sweet. Pretty much everything I like in a quick-bread.

Dates are used as the main sweetener, which I had never even tasted until about 2 months ago. If you haven’t eaten dates, you are missing out! They are sweet, slightly moist, and make a great snack.

This bread is quick to throw together and sure to please everyone. My husband, who isn’t much on sweets (talk about my opposite) loved this bread and even had seconds.

Chocolate Cherry Bread

Inspired by Sugar Plum Blog
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup water
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 + 1/8 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsweetened almond butter
1/2 cup no sugar added apricot preserves
1 flax egg*
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup dark cherries, fresh or frozen
1 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional, but delicious!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Spray an 8 or 9 inch loaf pan.

Pour water and dates into microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 1-2 minutes, until dates are soft. Mash the dates with a fork and set aside.

In another bowl, mix togther the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a large bowl, mix the almond butter, apricot preserves, and date mixture on medium, until well combined. Beat in the flax egg and vanilla. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour mixture, alternating with the almond milk. Beat until just combined

Toss the cherries with 2 teaspoons of flour and stir into the batter along with the chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly into pan (it will be thick) and bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool before slicing, if you can wait. I didn't. It tasted wonderful warm :)

*To make flax egg: Mix 1 tablespoon ground flax seed with 3 tablepoons of water. Let sit for 5 minutes before using.

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13 Responses to “Chocolate Cherry Bread”

  1. 1

    vicki — March 5, 2011 @ 6:50 pm

    So glad I introduced you to baking while very young, now you can bake treats for us. The bread looks wonderful!

    [Reply]

  2. 2

    Brittany — March 5, 2011 @ 7:41 pm

    I can see that moist dense awesomeness that you are describing. Great image! And well done for trying to avoid white sugar. I want to do that now.

    [Reply]

  3. 3

    Ayesha Jameel — March 5, 2011 @ 9:28 pm

    That looks absolutely yummmmm….. lovely presentation of the food !
    please do visit n follow my blog if you wish to at http://kitchensojourn.blogspot.com :)

    [Reply]

  4. 4

    Kat @ Cupcake kat — March 6, 2011 @ 1:22 am

    This recipe looks so delicous and healthy!

    [Reply]

  5. 5

    Katie — March 6, 2011 @ 4:42 pm

    That is almost too much greatness for one loaf of bread. Yum!

    [Reply]

  6. 6

    Emily — March 8, 2011 @ 12:49 am

    Oh my gosh! It was inspired by me! That makes me feel so good. :) Yaaay!

    I think your bread looks great. What if you made a sweet potato bread sweetned only by sweet potatoes and dates?

    [Reply]

  7. 7

    Nourhan @ Miss Anthropist's Kitchen — March 8, 2011 @ 11:03 pm

    This sounds so delicious! Thanks for sharing :)

    [Reply]

  8. 8

    Molly Abraham — March 9, 2011 @ 8:06 am

    I have been trying to avoid sugar also, so I am enjoying all your recent posts. Thanks!

    [Reply]

  9. 9

    Peggy — March 15, 2011 @ 10:17 am

    What an amazing combination for a quickbread! Sounds amazing!

    [Reply]

  10. 10

    blackbookkitchendiaries — March 15, 2011 @ 6:41 pm

    thank you for sharing this post! it looks so yummy!

    [Reply]

  11. 11

    sucre en poudre — March 18, 2011 @ 11:31 am

    chocolate and cherry: a perfect match
    iza:)

    [Reply]

  12. 12

    michele — November 3, 2011 @ 8:24 am

    Sooooooooo I stumbled on this blog a few minutes ago… then started clicking around and this was the recipe that sold me. Keep up the amazing nom nommables :D

    [Reply]

    thecaramelcookie Reply:
    November 3rd, 2011 at 3:29 pm

    Glad you stopped by!

    [Reply]

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