Cherry Bread

 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup of oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (or almond extract)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 2 jars of maraschino cherries* (10 ounces each)

Icing :

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, milk, oil, egg and vanilla. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well blended.
Drain the maraschino cherries, reserving the juice for icing. Coarsely chop the cherries in a food processor or with a knife. Gently fold the cherries into the batter.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan 9″x5″. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes, then remove the bread to a rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, mix powdered sugar, melted butter, cherry juice and almond extract in a small bowl. Mix until smooth.
Once the bread has cooled, spread the icing on top of the bread. Cut into slices and serve. Freezes well!

Notes
*I often add an extra teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract to the bread dough (along with the moist ingredients) to give more flavour. I do this especially if I don’t put frosting on top. The bread has the most flavour when you add the cherry frosting!
*Many brands of maraschino cherries do not contain red dye in the cherries. If you take a jar like this, your bread will not be pink. If you want pink bread, make sure the cherries you use are colored red. You can always add an extra red dye if you want the bread to taste more pink.
**Calories shown are based on bread cut into 10 pieces (and all the icing used), one serving being one slice of bread. Because different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories listed are only an estimate.