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Apricot, Dried Cherry and Almond Loaf

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This Apricot, Dried Cherry and Almond Loaf is somewhere between a cake and a bread with a delicious flavour similar to a Hot Cross Bun.

Ingredients

Scale

For the loaf -

  • 50g (1/2 cup) porridge oats
  • 300ml (10 1/2 floz) milk
  • 240g (2 cups) self raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 125g (4 1/2 oz) dried apricots, cut up roughly
  • 50g (2 oz) dried cherries
  • 75g (1/3 cup) soft, light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons runny honey
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 75g (2 3/4 oz) roughly chopped almonds
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

For the top of the loaf -

  • 25g (1 oz) roughly chopped almonds
  • 1 heaped teaspoon demerara sugar (optional)

You'll also need a 900g (2lb) loaf tin (size 23 x 12cm) and either baking parchment to line it or a non-stick paper loaf tin liner (I really like these from Lakeland - it's not an ad, rather a genuine recommendation)

Instructions

  1. Soak the porridge oats in the milk for 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/350°F (gas mark 4). Line the loaf tin with baking parchment.
  3. Sieve the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Now add all the remaining loaf ingredients to the bowl, along with the porridge/milk mixture, stirring well.
  4. Pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin and sprinkle the remaining chopped almonds over the top along with a heaped teaspoon of demerara sugar.
  5. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
  6. Allow to cool in the tin and enjoy sliced and toasted or sliced and spread with butter.

Notes

  • I only sift the flour and baking powder into the mixing bowl, if I can see it is lumpy. Otherwise, I just pour it in for ease and speed.
  • My soft brown sugar is always very lumpy (I think it's the humidity) so I crumble it between my fingers to rid of the lumps before adding it to the bowl.
  • The sprinkle of demerara sugar on the top before baking is optional but it does really add to the crunch of the top and the aesthetics too.

Keywords: breakfast, loaf, cake, satisfying

Find it online: https://marmaladeandme.com/apricot-dried-cherry-almond-loaf/