This easy quick bread is chock-full of maraschino cherries and almond flavor, and drenched in an unbelievable maraschino cherry-almond glaze! This Cherry Almond Bread is a perfect treat for Valentine’s Day!
So when the idea for Cherry Almond Fudge fell through, and we got this 5-Minute Strawberry Shortcake Fudge instead, I decided to channel my cherry-almond idea into another recipe, this Cherry Almond Bread.
This Cherry Almond Bread is something I’ve wanted to make for a long time, and it’s been an idea I’ve had for a while, but I waited until Valentine’s Day because something about cherry and almond feels like Valentine’s Day to me.
Maybe it’s because it’s pink food. My kitchen was an explosion of pink for basically all of January. I would look around every day at the desserts on the counter, and everything was PINK. It wasn’t intentional, it just worked out that way.
Is it a requirement that a Valentine’s Day dessert have some pink in it?
Well, as it turns out, Cherry Almond Bread has been done before. I mean, of course! Because it’s a great idea. I always try to brainstorm new and innovative ideas, but sometimes somebody else had the same idea already, and it’s usually because it’s a good one. So at least there’s some validation in that!
I’m not reinventing the wheel a whole lot here, but this bread is HEAVENLY. Cherry and Almond were MADE to go together – like Amaretto.
With two entire bottles of diced maraschino cherries in the batter, and a seriously bold and intensely-flavored maraschino cherry glaze smothering the whole bread, this sweet bread is as decadent as cake. Slivered almonds and almond extract give it loads of flavor in the nut department too.
It doesn’t require a lot of ingredients, and you can whip this up without a mixer! This Cherry Almond Bread is a super simple quick bread recipe, but it’s pretty in pink, sweet, and indulgent!
Cherry Almond Bread with Cherry Glaze
Ingredients
For Cherry Almond Bread:
- 2 - 10 oz. jars maraschino cherries
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. whole milk
- 1/2 c. vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 2 c. all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
For Cherry Glaze:
- 3 c. powdered sugar
- 4 tbsp. butter melted
- 1/2 c. maraschino cherry juice
- 1 tsp. almond extract
Instructions
For bread:
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Drain the maraschino cherries very well, reserving the juice. Finely chop the cherries.
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In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, milk, oil, egg, and almond extract.
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In a large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
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Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.
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Fold in the chopped cherries.
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Pour the batter into a well-greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, or until edges are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
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Cool for 20 minutes, before removing bread to a wire rack to cool completely.
For glaze:
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In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, maraschino cherry juice, and almond extract, whisking until smooth.
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Once the bread is cool, drizzle with glaze. Slice and serve!
Adapted from Tastes of Lizzy T.
Oh, that sounds so wonderful! I wonder if it works well with strawberries too…
If you can, I would love for you to share this post over at the Really Crafty link party that is live right now!
This looks SO VERY delicious!!! We love cherry flavored things, and when you add in almond it just makes it even better!! We will be giving this a try for sure!! Pinning, tweeting, stumbling, and sharing on Google+.
Thank you so much!
Oh Sarah,
This looks divine, and I will definitely be trying it.
Perfect for Valentines day or a lil girls birthday maybe,
or a ladies luncheon,,,,,,,,,wouldn’t mind a piece right now!! lol
YUM!
Blessings, Nellie
I love cherries and almonds together and this is really pretty in pink! And no cherry trees sacrificed, I assume! Perfect for President’s day!
Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Throwback Thursday!
Mollie
Haha! No trees sacrificed. LOL. Thanks so much!
Looks yummy! Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Pinned and shared.
Found you from Monday Madness blog hop. Oh my! This looks so yummy! Pinning this for future use.
This really looks delicious! Can’t wait to try your recipe! Pinned and fb shared! Thank you for linking up and sharing with us this week for Snickerdoodle Sunday!
Cherry and Almond anything is a favorite in my book. Thanks for sharing on Creative K. Kids Tasty Tuesdays. I hope you will party with us again next week.
I love cherry and almond. Pinned and can’t wait to try. Found you on Wine’d Down Wednesday.
Oh. My. Word. You SO had me at “cherry” and “almond.” When I leave the land of chocolate, I love to go to the land of cherry + almond. Yum. My family is leaving me for Spring Break, and I just might make a loaf of this and eat the whole thing BY MYSELF. Glad I found you at Think Tank Thursday!
Im a newbie to this site, and Im from the UK.
I think Im going to like it here!!!!!! XX
YAY! So glad to have you here!! Please check back often! 🙂
Ohhhhhhh this looks amazing! My husband’s favorite cake is cherry with cherry frosting like his grandma used to make, and I think this might give that a run for its money. I can’t wait to try!
I used frozen fresh cherries and added one quarter cup more of sugar. I also put in cinnamon as we love a coffee bread with cinnamon aroma and with cherries, awesome. I baked in a tube pan for 45 min and glazed with warmed white icing with a bit of cherry juice!! An absolute hit for us♡
I’m so glad to know that frozen cherries worked well too – thanks for the tip! I love the idea of cinnamon added to this too, maybe in the fall when I like warm spices in EVERYTHING. So glad you liked it! 🙂
I just made this bread with the last of the 4th of July marachino cherries from ice cream sodas. Next time I will add 1/2 tsp of salt to perk up the flavor a bit.