Fresh Strawberry Bread (with a hint of cardamom)

Fresh Strawberry Bread is a tender quick bread loaded with fresh strawberries, pecans, and just a touch of cardamom. It's a fabulously tasty bread to enjoy with that morning cup of coffee, or as an anytime snack.

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With strawberries in the height of their season, I found a recipe for fresh strawberry bread while browsing a church cookbook from my mother-in-law's bookshelf. I quickly jotted down the recipe, all excited to make it with the gorgeous, fresh strawberries appearing around our area.

As soon as I got my hands on some beauties, I gave the recipe a whirl. -- And was terribly disappointed.

I had envisioned a light, moist, beautifully-risen bread that let the flavor of fresh strawberries shine. What I got was a dense, somewhat dry, dark bread overly-flavored with cinnamon to the point that the strawberries were ... well ... pointless. It was not what I wanted at all.

And now I had strawberry bread on the brain, determined to bake up the loaf I had envisioned in my mind.

The flavor of fresh strawberries does indeed shine, with just a hint of cinnamon and cardamom that beautifully compliment the strawberries rather than drown them out. 

So, back to the drawing board I went, making and re-making strawberry bread to find and create the recipe result I'd wanted. I've worked through several iterations of this bread -- more iterations than I'd like to admit. And am now very happy with it.

This version of Fresh Strawberry Bread is indeed a moist, beautifully-risen loaf studded with diced strawberries throughout.

The flavor of fresh strawberries does indeed shine, with just a hint of cinnamon and cardamom that beautifully compliment the strawberries rather than drown them out. And the crumb is what I would call a medium-density -- not completely light and airy, but not overly dense either. The texture of the loaf needs to have a little heft to support the juicy fresh berries.

It's a delicious recipe result I'll happily enjoy with that morning cup of coffee or as a perfect anytime snack.

Fresh Strawberry Bread Ingredient Highlights:

In addition to the baking basics of butter, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, to whip up a loaf of Fresh Strawberry Bread you'll need:

• Fresh strawberries - The star of the bread. One and a half cups of diced fresh berries bring wonderful strawberry flavor to the bread.

• Buttermilk - The liquid component of the batter, buttermilk helps the bread bake up moist and tender. Substituting regular milk will not create the same result.

• Ground cinnamon - Just a hint of cinnamon beautifully compliments the strawberries, rather than drowning them out. 

• Ground cardamom -  While ground cardamom is an optional ingredient, it brings a nice background flavor to the bread that beautifully enhances its deliciousness. If you're not a fan (which I know some people are not), by all means leave the cardamom out. -- This Strawberry Bread is certainly still tasty without it.

• Pecans - Coarsely chopped pecans add flavor and a nice textural element to the finished baked bread.

How to Make Fresh Strawberry Bread:

To make a tasty loaf of this strawberry quick bread, start by dicing some fresh strawberries. Sprinkle them with a tiny bit of sugar to help bring out their sweetness, and set the berries aside while you prepare the rest of the batter.

Then mix up your bread batter, following the creaming method. -- First cream your butter and sugar, followed by beating in the eggs, and then add your dry ingredients alternately with your liquid.

I use buttermilk as the liquid in this recipe, because our family just loves the moistness and richness buttermilk adds to baked goods.

I also add a dash of ground cardamom to this loaf, which compliments the strawberries just wonderfully. Cardamom is an interesting and unique flavor, for sure. With an almost floral-peppery taste, it's like like no other spice. If you're familiar with chai tea, it's what gives chai tea its distinct flavor.

You do have to be careful with cardamom because it's such a strong flavor. And it did take a few tries to figure out the "right" amount of cardamom for this strawberry bread. If you're not a fan (which we know some people are not), by all means leave the cardamom out ... fresh strawberry bread is certainly still tasty without it.

Once the bread batter is prepared, gently fold in the sweetened diced strawberries and some coarsely chopped pecans.

Bake up the bread for about an hour until it's golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the bread to cool completely, then you're ready to dive in to its strawberry-studded deliciousness.

The result? Exactly what I was looking for in fresh strawberry bread -- a moist, beautifully-risen loaf that lets the flavor of the strawberries shine.

Check out these other super tasty quick breads:

• Buttermilk Banana Bread
• Hummingbird Banana Bread
• Buttermilk Blueberry Bread
• Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Pumpkin Banana Bread
• Snickerdoodle Bread
• How to Make Beer Bread
• Apple Currant Bread
• Glazed Poppy Seed Bread
• The BEST Zucchini Bread (from That Skinny Chick Can Bake)
• More breads and muffins

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strawberry quick bread, fresh strawberry bread recipe, recipes with cardamom, recipes with fresh strawberries

Breads

American

Yield: 1 loaf

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Fresh Strawberry Bread

Fresh Strawberry Bread is a tender quick bread loaded with fresh strawberries, pecans, and just a touch of cardamom. It's such a fabulously tasty bread to enjoy with that morning coffee, or as an anytime snack.

Prep time: 20 MCook time: 1 hourTotal time: 1 H & 20 M

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 3/4 c. granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/16 tsp. ground cardamom (optional)
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1 1/2 c. fresh strawberries, diced
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 c. pecans, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

1. Dice strawberries and place in a small bowl. Sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons sugar; set aside while you prepare the rest of the batter.
2. Beat butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternately, starting and ending with flour. Mix only until just combined; do not over mix.
6. Gently fold in the strawberries and pecans.
7. Scrape batter into a regular-sized (9x5x3") loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
8. Bake at 350℉ for about 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in the pan for about 15 minutes, then remove bread loaf from the pan and cool completely.

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