For the morning of Valentine’s Day, you need to make a statement. A simple card could do it, but this Lover’s Loaf says more than words ever could! Just look at the swirls of bright, tart cherry in each slice! Or the rosy, romantic pink glaze with notes of nutty, sweet almond on top! Or that tender, cake-like loaf itself! You can just see how sweet and scrumptious the Lover’s Loaf is… just like everyone can see how much you and your partner love each other!
Ingredients
For the bread:
- cooking spray with flour, to taste, for greasing the pans
- 1 (10-ounce) jar maraschino cherries, plus the juice
- 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- salt, optional, to taste
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cherry-almond glaze:
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more, to taste
- red food coloring, optional, to taste
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –Coat two (8×4-inch) loaf pans with the floured cooking spray.
Step 3 –Transfer the cherries from the jar to a cutting board. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the juice for the glaze, and reserve the rest of the juice for the bread.
Step 4 –Roughly chop the cherries.
Step 5 –Sprinkle the chopped cherries with 2 tablespoons of the flour and toss to evenly coat.
Step 6 –In a large mixing bowl, add the remaining flour, the granulated sugar, the baking powder, and the salt, and whisk to combine.
Step 7 –In a small mixing bowl or a glass measuring cup, add the eggs, the canola oil, the cherry juice reserved for the bread, 1 teaspoon of the almond extract, and the vanilla extract and whisk to combine.
Step 8 –Pour the wet ingredients mixture into the dry ingredients mixture and stir until just combined. The batter will be very thick.
Step 9 –Gently fold in the chopped cherries.
Step 10 –Pour the batter evenly into the prepared loaf pans, smoothing the tops lightly with a spatula.
Step 11 –Bake until the loaves are domed on top, are set, are springy on the top, and until two toothpicks inserted into the centers come out clean or with a few moist crumbs clinging to them, about 40 minutes.
Step 12 –Allow the loaves to cool in the pans for 15 minutes.
Step 13 –Transfer the bread loaves from the pans to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 14 –In a medium bowl, add the reserved 1/4 cup of the cherry juice, the remaining almond extract, and 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whisk until smooth and glossy. Optionally, add some of the red food coloring, one drop at a time, to make the glaze more pink or red.
Step 15 –If the glaze is too thin, add more of the extra powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency.
Step 16 –Drizzle the glaze over one or both of the loaves. The bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Do not glaze the bread if you are going to store it instead of serving it immediately.
Step 17 –Slice and serve.
