Dessert loaves - heavier than a cake, though often sweet enough to be one - are always a nice treat. They can have a glaze or be iced, though they do not need it. They are nice sliced and served with some fruit alongside. They can even be used as a sort of shortcake (think strawberry shortcake), depending on the fruit/vegetable involved. From apples to zucchini, there are all kinds. I am setting three more out here for your perusal.
One of these is an older recipe. Date Loaf, from my mother-in-law's cookbook. Her cookbook wasn't used as a cookbook for the recipes it came with, but instead was used for all of her recipes scribbled in any margin, inside covers, and any open spot. Other recipes, clipped from newspapers or magazines, were stapled in. But nowhere could I see that an actual recipe from the book itself was used, altered or notated in any way. Her Date Loaf, or Date Nut Loaf (just add nuts!) was one of these, noted in a margin somewhere.
Date Loaf
Makes two 4 x 8 or 5 x 9-inch loaves
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| Date Loaf |
1¼ cups chopped, pitted dates
1½ cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1½ cups sugar
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
In medium saucepan, place dates, water and butter and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, until dates are softened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla, set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once date mixture has cooled, add in the egg and sugar and stir well to combine. In a mixing bowl, sift or whisk together dry ingredients and then stir into the date mixture until well combined. Do not over beat. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Allow to rest in pans for about 7 - 10 minutes before turning out on racks to cool completely.
NOTE: To add nuts, fold in 1 cup of nuts after combining wet and dry ingredients together.
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The Apple Butter Quick Bread came about as I had made Apple Butter, and then wondered if there was another way to use it. I came up with this recipe and it was truly wonderful. If you end up with a glut of apple butter, here is one way to put some to very good use.
Apple Butter Quick Bread
Makes 1 loaf (about 5 x 9-inches)
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| Apple Butter Quick Bread |
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup apple butter
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon cloves
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup raisins, optional
1 cup broken walnuts or pecans, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper, crossing them so the paper comes up the sides. Spray the parchment with cooking spray; set aside.
In a mixing bowl pour in the melted butter and apple butter, stirring to combine. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl whisk together the brown sugar and spices. Whisk this mixture into the apple butter mixture. In the same bowl (now empty) from the brown sugar, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir into the apple butter mixture until almost completely incorporated. Add the raisins and nuts if using and finish mixing in the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55 - 65 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.
NOTES: Due to recent difficulties with getting my dessert loaves to come out of the loaf pans whole (as with the Lavender Nut Tea Bread, or the Zucchini Tea Bread, both below), I am now using parchment lined pans. This loaf came out cleanly and perfectly.
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This last quick dessert loaf is sweet - sweeter than normal. It is a riff on my Apple Fritter Loaf, but done with peaches. I tried this first with my Spiced Pickled Peaches, but forgot to add the eggs to the recipe. 😒 While it tasted great, it sunk in the center and was anything but pretty as a picture. So, I made it once more, this time using peaches in heavy syrup from a can, being more readily accessible to most people.
Just Peachy Loaf
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| Just Peachy Loaf |
Makes one 4 x 8 or 5 x 9-inch loaf
CAKE:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup pecans, chopped
1½ cups peaches in heavy syrup, drained, chopped
SUGAR TOPPING:
¼ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
GLAZE:
½ cup confectioner's sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
water, to make glaze consistency
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf pan, or line it with parchment and spray the parchment. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the Sugar Topping ingredients and set aside.
Make the Cake: In a bowl, whisk together the first 6 ingredients and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and ¾ cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating until thoroughly combined before adding the next. Stir together the sour cream and vanilla, then fold in, alternating with the reserved dry ingredients. Once completely combined, pour half the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Top with half the peaches and nuts, then sprinkle on half the Sugar Topping. Carefully place the remainder of the batter over top, then repeat the topping with remaining nuts and peaches, then the Sugar Topping. Using a knife, run a figure -8 pattern through the loaf, but do not over mix.
While loaf is baking, make the glaze. Combine the confectioner's sugar and vanilla, then drizzle in milk or water to make a medium pouring consistency.
Bake the loaf for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the loaf tests clean when inserting a toothpick down the center. Set the pan to cool on a rack. Pour over top half of the Glaze. Set the loaf aside to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and continue to cool on the rack. Once cooled, drizzle on the remaining Glaze and allow to dry.
NOTES: If perchance you have in your kitchen some peach flavoring and / or caramel flavorings, these can be substituted for the vanilla, or use each of the three in equal amounts.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
I do not make dessert loaves too very often, but I do make them, and enjoy them. The oldest favorite of mine is Banana Bread, though as a child, Mom made hers with Bisquick®. I used Bisquick briefly when I first returned to the US back in the early 1980s, but after a 12 year hiatus, it just tastes too salty to me, so I do not use it. And now, everything is as "from scratch" as I can make it.
Of course if banana bread is good, then I had to tinker with it, and made Rhubarb Banana Bread. 😁
Then of course, when zucchini comes into season, and sometimes one ends up with a gigantic zucchini (my Dad was always so proud of his huge zucchini!), what can we do with it? Zucchini Bread, of course. I am not at all wild about zucchini, but it makes great Zucchini Bread, and then, as previously stated, I have to tinker. I just can never leave well enough alone. I guess ultimately that is a good thing, as it gives me the curiosity and ideas for new recipes. But thus was born Zucchini Tea Bread.
All these are old recipes of mine, and aside from Banana Bread, I haven't made them in some time. So, I am revisiting these recipes, here.
Banana Bread
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| Banana Bread |
Simple and delicious!
Makes one 4 x 8-inch loaf
¼ cup shortening
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
*¼ cup sweet milk + ¾ teaspoon baking powder OR
*¼ cup sour milk/buttermilk + ¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup nuts, ground
Cream together the shortening and brown sugar, then add in the eggs, beating well after each addition. Add in the bananas and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder or baking soda (depending on which kind of milk used) and salt. Add in half the dry mixture, blending till combined, then the milk, and the rest of the flour. Add in the nuts and combine.
Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow it to rest 10 minutes before turning out of pan.
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Rhubarb Banana Bread
Makes three (9 x 5-inch) loaves
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| Rhubarb Banana Bread |
3 cups light brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups sour cream
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon pistachio flavor (or use all vanilla)
2 over ripe bananas, mashed lightly
5½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ of a whole nutmeg, grated
2 cups rhubarb, thinly sliced
1 cup shelled pistachios, or other nuts of choice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 325 on Convection). Lightly grease or spray with cooking spray three (9 x 5-inch) loaf pans. Set aside.
In a mixer bowl beat together the brown sugar and melted butter. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, flavoring(s) and bananas; add to the mixer bowl and beat to combine. In another bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add these ingredients to the mixer on very low speed to just moisten, then increase speed to just combine. Add in the rhubarb and nuts and mix to combine.
Divide batter evenly between the three prepared pans. Batter will be quite thick. Spread evenly in pans, and then bake for 55 to 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out fairly clean. Allow the loaves to rest in the pans for at least 10 minutes before removing from pans. If they stick, run a knife around the edges of the pans. Cool completely on racks.
NOTES: These loaves, as with most fruit and nut loaves, freeze well. Once cooled completely, wrap in foil or place into zip top bags to freeze.
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Zucchini Bread
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| Zucchini Bread |
Makes two 4 x 8 or 5 x 9-inch loaves
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3 - 3½ cups all-purpose four
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ cup raisins
½ - ¾ cup chopped nuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat together the eggs, sugars, oil, vanilla and zucchini. Sift or whisk together the cinnamon, salt, flour and baking powder. Stir into the zucchini mixture. Stir in the raisins and nuts.
Grease two loaf pans and divide batter between the pans. Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
NOTES: I substituted melted butter for the oil one of the times I made this, and another time I used melted coconut oil. All of these come out great! The amounts for the raisins and nuts is fluid - you decide how much to use, or IF to use. My mother-in-law left that optional in her recipes, writing in only "Raisins" and/or "Nuts". I added in the amounts here that I used, as a guideline.
GLUTEN FREE: This recipe, as well as most dessert loaf recipes I have tried, can easily be made Gluten-Free! Substitute your preferred gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, and add in 1 - 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum to the rest of the dry ingredients.
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| Zucchini Tea Bread |
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Zucchini Tea Bread
Makes 2 larger loaves or 3 smaller; 5 x 9-inch pans
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs
2 cups grated fresh zucchini
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
½ teaspoon lemon oil (such as Boyajian brand) or grated lemon zest, to taste
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Matcha Green Tea Powder, optional
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup raw, shelled hemp seeds, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two or three loaf pans with cooking spray, then line them with parchment. Do not omit this step, as these loaves will stick to the pans. Set aside
Place the melted butter and sugars in a mixer bowl and beat to combine. Add in the sour cream and eggs and beat well. Add the zucchini, ginger and lemon oil or zest (extract could also be used) and beat. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, green tea powder, baking powder and salt, then add in to the wet ingredients on low speed to moisten, then on medium to combine completely. Add the nuts and hemp seeds, if using and mix well.
Divide the batter between the pans evenly and bake for 50 minutes for three pans, an hour or more for two pans, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to rest in pans for 8 to 10 minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
NOTES: I was given a few yellow squash by a friend, and used one to make this same bread. I left out the green tea powder completely and used the grated zest of a whole lemon, instead of the lemon oil. The result was just fantastic - similar, but just that little bit different. Since yellow squash are as available as the zucchini, this is just another way to use them, when they are in abundance.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
