Apricot and Candied Walnut Bread
Enjoy this lightly sweetened loaf filled with fresh, tangy apricots while apricots are in season. Brown sugar candied walnuts add a sweet, nutty flavor to this beautiful, moist bread.
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 9 x 5 inch loaf 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 a stick)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, loose
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup pureed apricots (12-13 very small apricots)**
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk***
- 1/2 cup chopped apricots (4-5 very small apricots)
- generous 3/4 cup crushed candied walnuts, divided****
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, and grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan or line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Beat in pureed apricots and vanilla until evenly incorporated. With mixer on lowest speed, slowly pour in milk and mix until combined.
- Add dry ingredients to wet and mix at lowest speed until just combined. Using a spatula, fold in chopped apricots and 1/2 cup of the crushed candied walnuts. Reserve the remaining generous 1/4 cup for garnishing top of loaf.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and smooth the top with the spatula. Sprinkle reserved crushed candied walnuts (generous 1/4 cup) evenly over the top of the dough.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool about half an hour before slicing. The bread is delicious fresh from the oven, but I found that the next day I liked it better cold than warmed up. Enjoy :)
Notes
*If you don't have whole-wheat flour, just use another 1/2 cup of all-purpose.
**I found that the easiest way to puree the apricots is in a food processor. The more apricots you puree at once, the better they will be pureed.
***I used 2% milk. Feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
****It couldn't be easier to make your own candy walnuts. Here is the way I did it. Using a mortar and pestle is an easy way to crush the candied walnuts.