24 December 2020

Cherry Almond Tea Loaf

Cherry Almond Tea Loaf / www.delightfulrepast.com


Cherry Almond Tea Loaf is a recipe I developed when I found myself with too many dried cherries on hand—a nice problem to have!—and almond flour that needed to be used before it expired.

If you've had more than enough super sweet treats this month, you'll enjoy this not-too-sweet cake with its slightly tart cherries. Be sure to use plain dried cherries rather than sugary glacé cherries.

And if you're one of those people who doesn't like dried fruits, trust me, these dried cherries plumped for a short time in a bit of hot water do not seem at all like your usual dried fruit.

I want to bake it in a 3-inch deep 7-inch round pan next time, for serving on my little clear glass pedestal cake plate. Yes, I'm still thinking "tea party" after ten months of no such thing! I hope you are doing well. See you next year!

Cherry Almond Tea Loaf / www.delightfulrepast.com


Cherry Almond Tea Loaf


(Makes 1 9x9x4-inch or 9x5x3-inch loaf cake) 

2 packed cups (10 ounces/283 grams) dried cherries
1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces/118 ml) boiling water
1 1/2 dip-and-sweep cups (7.5 ounces/213 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 firmly packed cup (2 ounces/57 grams) super-fine almond flour (ground almonds)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 sticks (7 ounces/198 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar 
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/2 teaspoon almond extract


1 In a 3-cup shallow bowl, pour 1/2 cup boiling water over the dried cherries. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through, then drain thoroughly, reserving the liquid. Maybe give it 15 seconds or so in the microwave at that halfway point (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't). 

2 Grease and flour, or spray with cooking spray, a 9x4x4-inch loaf pan or 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. I use a teaspoon of softened butter and 1 tablespoon of flour. Preheat oven to 350F/180C/Gas4. 

Note: I love the square shape of the 9x4x4-inch loaf pan that I initially got for baking my gluten-free yeast breads but use (without its lid) for nearly everything that calls for a 9x5x3-inch pan. 

3 In 2-quart glass measure or mixing bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Whisking the daylights out of the dry ingredients takes the place of sifting. 

4 In 2.5- to 3-quart bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding in just a spoonful of the flour mixture if needed to keep the mixture from curdling. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.

5 Dump the flour mixture on top of the creamed mixture, then put the thoroughly drained cherries on top of the flour, and kind of dust the cherries with the flour. Then stir gently just until mixed. This keeps the cherries from sinking to the bottom of the loaf.

6 Stir in 1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces/59 ml) of the reserved liquid. 

7 Scrape into prepared loaf pan and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325F/165C/Gas3 and continue baking for about 50 to 60 minutes. 

8 Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack. Continue cooling for an hour.

Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon .com and affiliated sites. We are a ThermoWorks affiliate, earning a small commission at no cost to you on purchases made through our links. This helps cover some of the costs of running the blog. Thank you for your support. 

Jean

44 comments:

Angie's Recipes said...

What a lovely tea cake! I don't have dried cherries, but guess it would work with just any other dried fruits.
Happy Holidays, Jean.

TONY said...

I love tea loaves, Jean. A sort of comfort cake. At this moment, I could eat the whole cake and down it with gallons of hot tea, all in one go.
The tension is almost unbearable here. We have a Brexit trade agreement, at the last moment, to be announced later today. Of course compromises, the good and bad, will debated over the next week in Parliament. MPs won't be having Christmas. Well, actually, none of us here will here be having Christmas. The virus is causing havoc. Hail the vaccines and Parliamentary agreement.
Cake and tea are such important things you see, Jean.
I hope you and Mr Delightful have not only a , delightful, Christmas, but a bloody great one!!! Tony

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Angie. You could use other dried fruits, but the plumped dried cherries taste like fresh cherries in the cake.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Tony, thank you. Yes, these are trying times, but it's all much easier to swallow with gallons of tea and a bit of cake! Wishing you and your family a 2021derful!

Louca por porcelana said...

Looks delicious! Merry Christmas!

Angie @ North Trail Kitchen said...

I am a big fan of tea cakes and loaves, especially if they are not too sweet. I am bookmarking this because I am a tea lover and I am always looking for accompaniments to try with it. Have a wonderful Christmas!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Maristela! Of course, you would serve it on a prettier plate than I did! 😊

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Angie. And if you're a tea lover looking for accompaniments for a nice cup of tea, you've come to the right place! Lots more such things on the blog!

ellen b. said...

That sounds like a good combination. A very Merry Christmas to you!

Tamago said...

Your cherry almond tea loaf looks so good! I do not like glacé cherries. In my opinion, they are no longer cherries ;-) But I do love them fresh and dried!
Very Merry Christmas to you. I wish you a safe and warm holiday season and a happy new year!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks so much, Ellen!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Tamago, thank you! And I love your "In my opinion glacé cherries are no longer cherries." That's exactly how I feel but hadn't thought to put in those words!

Angie @ North Trail Kitchen said...

Yes! I started looking around. This weekend I’ll be relaxing and catching up with blogs. I haven’t done that in forever!

Thomas "Sully" Sullivan said...

Almond! YES! Thank you for mentioning that ingredient as a fit companion, flour or not, to go with cherries. I am about to partake of a Christmas Eve treat in the form of a saucer of yogurt with black cherries and – now that you’ve supplied the magical final touch – a drop or two of almond extract. Used to do that and somehow lost the almond tweak. It’s delightful, as is Delightful Repast. Merry, Merry to you and what’s his name and a delicious new year!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

That's great, Angie. I hope you have a wonderfully relaxing weekend. I need to arrange one of those very soon!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Sully, I love adding cherries and a drop of almond to my organic plain yogurt. But I haven't had yogurt in a while. There are a number of items I've always bought regularly, but now that I'm just making lists or entering online orders and others are doing the actual shopping for me, I'm forgetting to add to the list.

Chef Mimi said...

I love dried fruits, but I’ve also made this cake with Amarena cherries, which is fabulous! I’ve never made this with nuts though. It sounds wonderful! Merry Christmas!

Kitchen Riffs said...

We don't use a lot of almond flour, but always have some in the freezer (so it won't spoil; or at least, we'll use it way before it has a chance to do so!). So we're set. No dried cherries, but I'm sure we can figure out something (plenty of other dried fruit). This looks great -- very festive. Thanks. Happy holidays!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Mimi. I've made it with fresh cherries as well, but have never tried the Amarena cherries. Any cherry would work well, but you just have to be careful with frozen cherries unless you're going for a pink cake!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, John. I think it would be wonderful with dried apricots.

Buttercup said...

Happy to discover your blog. I'm a fan of any kind of cherries and want to add this to my baking list. Thanks!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you so much, Buttercup! Be sure to check out my Cherry Clafouti recipe.

Miz Helen said...

Hi Jean,
This treat will be perfect for my afternoon tea! Hope you had a great Christmas and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday,516. We hope to see you back here again soon!
Miz Helen

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Miz Helen! And may you have a 2021derful!

Dee | GrammysGrid.com said...

Oh, yum. That looks good! Thanks so much for linking up with me at the #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 20, open until January 26 at 12:05 am. Shared on social media.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Dee, thanks so much. Social media shares are always appreciated!

Jeanie said...

This looks delicious, Jean! I hope you had a very merry Christmas and are continuing to enjoy the holiday season! I'll bet that smells so good when it's baking!

Cocoa and Lavender said...

I am definitely with you in wanting to serve something nice to company someday soon. This has been a very long year without being able to entertain. As for the cake? It’s beautiful… The combination of almond and cherry is one of my favorite, although I don’t have the good fortune to have an over abundance of dried cherries. Thus, they will need to be purchased. Happy New Year, Jean! Wishing you health, happiness and peace.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Jeanie. Yes, it does smell good when it's baking, a real air freshener of the best kind!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

David, thank you so much. Now all I can do in the way of entertaining is drop off treats and hope that they are properly plated and garnished and served with the appropriate beverage! Wishing you a 2021derful!

Margie said...

Your tea loaf looks great, Jean!

Last week, I was actually searching online for cherry almond TEA. I found one (Amaretto Cherry by Citizen Tea), but I'm going to wait until I finish some of the teas in my stash before buying new blends.

Happy New Year!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Margie! And I applaud your restraint; holding off on another tea purchase isn't easy for you, I know! 😁

Phil in the Kitchen said...

Not too sweet is music to my ears. Maybe it's just me or maybe it's because it's comforting, but there seem to have been a lot of very sweet foods on offer this year. Personally, I prefer the less sweet these days. I love the sound of a cake with nicely plumped dried cherries. I confess that I have a serious aversion to glacé cherries, I think because there were always cheap, nasty ones in the very worst cakes when I was growing up.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Phil, thanks so much. I see soooo many recipes that call for crazy amounts of sugar. No thanks! Maybe you and I will start a not-too-sweet trend!

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

Mmmm this sounds heavenly, Jean! I love the TartcMontmorency dried cherries from Costco. This bread with a cup of tea would be perfection! Happy New Year!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Kitty. Montmorency are the best! Have a 2021derful!

Lowcarb team member said...

This looks delicious, many thanks for the recipe.

Sending my good wishes for a happy and healthy 2021.

All the best Jan

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Jan, thanks so much. Wishing you, as well, a happy and healthy 2021!

The Liberty Belle said...

I would just love a slice (or two) of this with a cup of coffee. Yum!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Liberty! Hope you'll try it soon!

Dee | GrammysGrid.com said...

CONGRATS! Your post is FEATURED at my #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 21, open until February 26.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks so much, Dee! I'll check it out.

Olivia Rose@momslilmunchkin said...

This looks so yummy, many thanks for the recipe. Definitely gonna try this with my evening tea.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Olivia Rose. I'm making it again this week, we like it so much. Hope you do too!