Description
A moist, bakery-style quick bread bursting with tart cherries, enriched with almond and vanilla extracts, and topped with a sweet almond glaze and crunchy toasted almonds. It’s the festive loaf you’ll want to bake, gift, and repeat all season long.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups frozen tart cherries, patted dry
- 1 cup powdered sugar (for glaze)
- 2 tbsp milk (for glaze)
- 1/4 tsp almond extract (for glaze)
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan or three mini loaf pans.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla and almond extracts.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and sour cream to the wet mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
- Gently fold in cherries.
- For a large loaf: bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, then reduce to 350°F and bake for another 30–40 minutes. For mini loaves: bake at 375°F for 10 minutes, then 350°F for 20–25 minutes.
- Cool completely before glazing.
- Mix powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract to make glaze.
- Toast sliced almonds in a dry skillet until golden and fragrant.
- Drizzle glaze over cooled bread and sprinkle with toasted almonds. Let set before slicing.
Notes
Double the batch for six mini loaves—perfect for gifting or freezing. You can also use fresh or dried cherries, swap sour cream for Greek yogurt, or go gluten-free with a 1:1 flour blend.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50–60 minutes
- Category: Baking
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 269
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 180mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 45mg