Julie Clark
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Cherry Bread
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A simple quick bread with maraschino cherries in every bite. Don’t forget the almond cherry glaze on top this simple cherry bread.
I remember when Kinslee was just starting to read on her own, we got the Pinkalicious books from the library. Have you seen them? They’re super cute. They’re so fabulous for little girls who want to be a princess.
So when this pinkalicious cherry bread popped into my mind, I knew I needed to make it now. This bread would be great at Christmas time, since maraschino cherries pop up all over the place at the holiday season (hello merry cherry cheesecake bars). And it would also be fitting for a Valentine’s Day treat, being so pink-y. This Cherry Bread is delicious enough for special occasions but easy enough for every day.
Cherry Bread Ingredients
This quick bread is your traditional quick bread recipe. Sugar, milk, oil, egg, almond extract, flour, salt and baking soda and powder. I wanted every bite to be loaded with cherries, so I used two jars of maraschino cherries (for a total of 20 ounces).
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How to Make Cherry Bread
Before you begin, prepare the cherries. Drain the juice, but reserve about ⅓ cup of the juice for the glaze. Chop the cherries either in a small food processor or with a knife. We used our Ninja Express Chop for this. It worked like a charm and took about a total of 3 seconds.
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9″x5″ loaf pan with baking spray, or grease with shortening, then dust with flour.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, milk, oil, egg and almond extract.
- Mix dry ingredients, then combine. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Add the cherries. Drain the maraschino cherries, reserving the juice for the glaze. Coarsely chop the cherries in a food processor or with a knife. Gently fold the cherries into the batter.
- Bake. Pour the batter mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze. Combine the powdered sugar, melted butter, cherry juice and almond extract in a small bowl. Whisk until it is smooth. Once the bread is cool, spread the glaze on top of the bread. If you spread the glaze on while the cherry bread is still warm, it will melt and run off.
Baking Tip
As with any quick bread or muffin, it’s important not to overmix the cherry bread batter. It’s OK if there are still lumps or a tad bit of flour in the batter. It will all bake together so perfectly in the end.
Can I use fresh cherries in this recipe?
Yes, if you have fresh cherries, you may use them in this recipe. Pit the cherries and dice them, just as you would the maraschino cherries.
Can you freeze cherry bread?
My family each tested a small slice of this cherry bread, then we put the rest in the freezer for a later treat. I’ll have to say that I ate a slice or two while it was frozen and I think I liked the bread frozen more than fresh from the oven for some reason. That makes it a deliciously cool treat for spring and summer.
Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap, then freeze for up to 6 weeks.
Other Cherry Recipes
And then after our cherry bread, try our cherry hot chocolate, cookies, cherry almond cake and Amish cherry rolls.
Cherry Bread
A simple quick bread with maraschino cherries in every bite. Don’t forget the almond cherry glaze on top!
Servings 10 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar 150 grams
- 1/2 cup 2% milk 4 ounces
- 1/2 cup canola oil (or vegetable or melted coconut oil) 4 ounces
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract* (or vanilla extract) 5 grams
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 260 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 5 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 3 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 grams
- 2 jars maraschino cherries** (10 ounces each)
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar 130 grams
- 1 tablespoon melted butter 14 grams
- 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice 30 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 2 grams
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9"x5" loaf pan with cooking spray, or grease with shortening, then dust with flour.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, milk, oil, egg and almond extract. ¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup 2% milk, ½ cup canola oil, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon almond extract*
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Drain the maraschino cherries, reserving the juice for the glaze. Coarsely chop the cherries in a food processor or with a knife. Gently fold the cherries into the batter. 2 jars maraschino cherries**
- Pour the bread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes***. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, melted butter, cherry juice and almond extract in a small bowl. Whisk until it is smooth. 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice, ½ teaspoon almond extract
- Once the bread is cool, spread the glaze on top of the bread. If you spread the glaze on while the bread is still warm, it will melt and run off.
- Slice and serve. Store any leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container. The bread freezes well, too.
Video
Notes
*I often add an extra teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract to the bread batter (along with the wet ingredients) for an extra boost of flavor. I do this especially if I’m not putting the glaze on top. The bread has the most flavor when you add the cherry glaze!
**Many maraschino cherry brands come without red dye in the cherries. If you pick up a jar like this, your bread will not be pink. If you want pink bread, be sure that the cherries you use actually have red coloring in it. You can always add additional red coloring if you want the bread to have more of a pink flavor.
***The exact baking time will depend on the exact type of pan you use. If it is smaller, it will take longer to bake. I have used a metal pan that is just slightly smaller (8.5″x4.5″) and it takes about 60-65 minutes to bake. Glass/Ceramic/Stone pans will all bake different. The bread is done when the inside of the bread is about 200ºF.
**The calories shown are based on the bread being cut into 10 pieces (and all of the frosting used), with 1 serving being 1 slice of bread. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.
Nutrition
Serving: 155g | Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 92mg | Potassium: 130mg | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1.3mg
Can I use candied cherries, instead of maraschino? I have a small bowl unopened and sealed from Christmas time when I bought them for a fruitcake that I never made (they are still in date)
Fantastic!
Could I add white chocolate chips to this?
I have made this bread numerous times everyone loves it.
Can I make this in a large Bundt pan? If so, will this change the temperature or baking time?
I’m going to try to make this in a small bundt pan today! Hope this works out it’s so pretty
I made this for friends (didn’t use as many cherries as you did though) and they loved it! Thanks for sharing! Going to try the Shirley Temple cake next!!
I made this last night and while it is too sweet for me, my husband was quite in love with it. The recipe is SUPER easy, I have to say, and very pretty! I cut back on the glaze topping by half because 1 cup of glaze is PLENTY. I will definitely make this again, probably for when we have company some post-covid day.
WONDERFUL! I followed the recipe exactly except I gradually added in the cherry juice until it was a consistency I was happy with because I read a couple people had trouble with theirs being too liquid. I did find that about 1/3 was perfect though! I had no trouble with it baking all the way through in 50 minutes! Also, it’s only been a day since I made it, but it’s been in the fridge over night and it is still SO good out of the fridge, I think I ever prefer it cold. Thanks so much, a wonderful Valentine’s… Read more »
We LOVED this bread! It was so incredible and would highly recommend it. Although I only had a few slices left after my teen boys gobbled most of it, I popped the rest in the freezer. And have to agree that eating it a few minutes out of the freezer is the best!
Maybe I was expecting something different, but this is just “OK”. It has a light flavor and the only thing that really says “cherry” is the pieces that were added. The glaze tastes like powdered sugar, even with extra cherry juice added in. This is a nice recipe, there’s nothing that makes me say “yuck”, but at the same time there’s nothing that makes me want to make this again.