christmas time.

Merry Christmas!

It's weird being on a tropical island where it's always the same temperature all year round. At least when I was living in San Diego, there was *some* climate change. Here, the only way that i can tell that the seasons are changing is by the amount of rain fall that we have. Speaking of San Diego, it dawned on me that this will be the very first time in my entire life that I'm away from my family during the holidays and I have to say that it sucks! And to put the cherry on the cake, this would've been the very first Christmas that the hubby and I would have as a husband and wife except that he has work today...meaning I won't see him until *after* Christmas. *que charlie brown sad song here* Lol.

Well, that won't do. Today's itinerary? Take that cherry and bake it in a bread! :D

I wanted to make something festive and this recipe caught my eye. It's just so nice and *pink*! When I actually started to make the cake, however, I spied the box of dark cocoa on the shelf and thought, "Hn....chocolate cherry bread....". So I decided to experiment and tweaked the recipe a little bit to add the cocoa. Then I saw cream that was going to expire within the next few days, and I threw that into the batter too (I rationalized with myself that cream was needed since i was using skim milk, lol).

So what did I get? A lesson in glazing, first of all. My technique leaves much to be desired. Next time, I think I'll do a little less juice so that i'll have a nice thick glaze. Following the recipe gave me a runny glaze that I had to pour on the bread over and over again. Taste-wise...rich, decadent, and almost cake-y. The glaze adds a nice touch of almond flavor without having the crunch of the almonds. Since I only had one bottle of cherries, I found that I really wanted it to stud the bread a little bit more. Definitely 2 bottles next time. And the chocolate? Who doesn't like chocolate??

Chocolate Cherry Almond Bread
(adapted from Tastes of Lizzy T's)

Bread:
1/2 cup milk*
1/4 cup cream*
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder 1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
2 (10 oz) jar maraschino cherries

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 to 1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together the milk, cream, oil and egg. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips (if using). Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined (little streaks or clumps of flour is okay).

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.

Pour the bread batter into a greased or parchment lined 9"x5" bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes 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, and almond extract in a small bowl. Add just enough cherry juice to make a thick glaze. Mix until it is smooth. Once the bread is cool, spread the glaze on top of the bread. Let stand 15 to 30 minutes to set then slice and serve.

*You could probably substitute half and half or all milk. I haven't tried it so I don't know how that'll come out. More experimenting! :D