This Vegan Cherry Bread is a type of quick loaf cake that is prepared with glace cherries and a few other every-day ingredients. It has all the flavours of Battenburg cake but has less sugar, and does not require butter or margarine so is added fat-free as well as egg and dairy-free. It is delicious spread with dairy-free butter or margarine, and a dollop of fruit jam.
Cherry bread is the perfect alternative to a slice of cake as it has less sugar compared to cake, and is added fat-free as no butter, margarine or oil is required for the recipe.
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Origin of sweet quick breads
Sweet breads or loaf cakes are a type of quick no-yeast bread that can be flavoured with a variety of additions such as honey, syrup, fruits, candied or glace fruits, dried fruits, almond paste [marzipan], and spices. Quick breads, along with gingerbread and fruit cake have their origins in medieval cookery.
Modern quick bread or loaf cake recipes can be more cake-like than bread-like, while some recipes also use yeast, baking powder or bicarbonate of soda to give the bread a boost while rising in the oven. Many countries have their own traditional sweet bread such as the Irish Barmbrack, the Italian Pandoro or Panettone, the English Lardy Cake, the Hungarian Kolack, the American coffee cake, the Scottish tea bread or fruit loaf cake, and the Welsh tea bread also known as Bara Brith.
Other types of bakes that can be considered as part of the sweet bread family include scones, teacakes, waffles, banana bread, gingerbreads, muffins, some cornbread's, and hot cross buns.
Ingredients
The ingredients you will need for this cherry bread are:
- plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- baking powder
- bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- salt
- granulated sugar (or caster sugar)
- almond extract/essence (or vanilla)
- plant-based milk (we use unsweetened soya but you can use your usual milk)
- golden syrup (or replace with maple syrup, brown rice syrup, date syrup, or your choice of syrup)
- glace cherries (candied cherries)
- flaked almonds
How to prepare
This is an easy quick sweet bread with no complicated steps or fancy ingredients. It freezes beautifully, and is ideal for pulling out a few slices whenever required as it thaws quickly. We like it toasted for breakfast.
Step 1: Sieve the flour, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl.
Step 2: Add the salt, sugar, almond extract, glace [candied] cherries, and golden syrup (or your preferred syrup).
Step 3: Pour in the milk and mix.
Step 4: Pour the loaf mixture into a lined loaf pan.
Step 5: Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the mixture.
Step 6: Bake for 55-60 minutes.
Step 7: Cool on a cooling rack.
Step 8: Serving suggestion: Slice and spread with vegan butter or margarine, and a dollop of fruit jam.
Recipe notes
Storage
Cherry bread will be at its freshest for 1-3 days and can be stored wrapped in kitchen foil or baking paper, or within a bread bag or container. Older slices can be refreshed by toasting or warming for a few minutes within an air-fryer or oven.
Cherry bread can be frozen either in slices or as a whole loaf, wrapped in food-safe wrap or within a freezer container or bag. Defrost to room temperature. Slices will thaw quickly and if your toaster has a defrost setting you can use that to defrost and toast the slices at the same time.
FAQ'S
Glace cherries, also known as candied cherries, are fresh cherries that have been cooked in a sugar-syrup solution. Fresh cherries lose their vibrant colour during processing so they are usually treated with food-grade red dye, which depending on the cherries purchased may be an artificial dye or a natural one made from fruit [most commonly derived from grapes]. Glace cherries can also be purchased coloured with burgundy, green, or yellow.
Usually glace cherries are suitable for vegans but with every ingredient where dietary restrictions are an issue, do check the ingredient list just to be 100% sure. Many glace cherries contain the natural colour Anthocyanins [E163] which is vegan as it is derived from plant pigments.
Glace cherries are a popular British baking ingredient that can usually be sourced within the baking aisles of most supermarkets and small grocery stores. In the US, glace cherries may also be known as candied cherries and can be found in most stores such as Walmart. In Australia, glace cherries should be able to be found within the dried fruit or candied fruit section of grocery stores. Or online at the nutmarket.com.au. For other countries if candied cherries are hard to find then have a look on Amazon, or at your local international store, or health food/wholefood store.
Yes, if you can't source candied cherries or you would prefer to make your own then you can with a jar of maraschino cherries or cocktail cherries. Have a look at this easy method for candied cherries over at the kingarthurbaking.com website.
The answer would depend on the recipe that the cherries are being used for. Some recipes may require the cherries be washed to remove the stickiness, whereas for some recipes it may not matter. For our cherry bread recipe there is no need to wash the cherries.
More sweet quick bread & loaf cake recipes
We love sweet quick bread recipes as they can be just as satisfying as a slice of cake but without the extra sugar. Quick breads & loaf cakes also tend to have less added fat and some do not even require a fat or oil for the recipe, although some do taste amazing sliced and spread with dairy-free butter or margarine.
A few of our favourites are this Vegan Banana Bread and this Vegan Peanut Butter Bread. We also love this Old-fashioned Golden Syrup Loaf and this Old-Fashioned Malt Loaf for breakfast or morning snack along with a cup of tea.
***please note: for US measurements click the 'US customary button' within the recipe and the measurements will switch to tablespoons, cups, and ounces.***
📖 Recipe
Vegan Cherry Bread
Equipment
- Baking paper.
- Mixing bowl
- mixing spoon
- sieve
- cooling rack
Ingredients
- 400 grams plain flour [all-purpose flour]
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 85 grams granulated sugar [or caster sugar]
- 170 grams glace cherries [candied cherries] [slice some of the cherries into halves and some into quarters]
- 1 teaspoon almond extract/essence [or vanilla]
- 375 millilitres soya milk [or your usual milk]
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup [or your choice of syrup such as maple syrup, date syrup, brown rice syrup, etc]
Topping [optional]
- 40 grams flaked almonds [or any chopped nuts]
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) / 355°F / Gas Mark 4.
- Grease the loaf pan with a little oil or margarine and line with baking paper.
- Sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl.400 grams plain flour, ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Add the salt, sugar, chopped glace cherries, almond extract, and golden syrup.1 pinch salt, 85 grams granulated sugar, 170 grams glace cherries, 1 teaspoon almond extract/essence, 2 tablespoons golden syrup
- Pour in the milk and stir everything together until just combined.375 millilitres soya milk
- Scoop the mixture into the loaf pan.
- Scatter the flaked almonds evenly over the top.40 grams flaked almonds
- Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45-60 minutes, until the loaf has risen, is firm to touch, and a skewer popped in the centre comes out clean.Check fan ovens at the 45 minute mark as they tend to bake quicker.
- Cool in the loaf pan for 5-10 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack.
Notes
- Cherry bread will be at its freshest for 1-3 days. Older slices can be toasted or warmed through in the oven or air-fryer for a few minutes.
- Slices can be frozen for 2-3 months. Wrap up with food-safe wrap or place into an airtight food container/freezer bag.
- There is no need to wash the glace cherries before using in the recipe.
- Glace cherries can be replaced with 1 cup [140 grams] of dried cranberries, dried blueberries, or dried cherries.
- The flaked almonds are optional but do add a nice crispy, toasty texture. They can be replaced with any chopped nuts.
- If nut allergy is an issue replace the almonds with sunflower or pumpkin seeds, or simply omit.
- Line the loaf pan with baking paper and try not to use a ready-made loaf pan paper insert as this cherry bread recipe may stick to it! We have tried and found best results with baking paper or parchment paper.
- Cherry bread is delicious enjoyed with a nice cup of tea, coffee, or chilled plant-based milk, and is a good cake alternative as it contains less sugar and no added fat or oil.
- Using almond extract/essence and flaked almonds with the glace cherries gives the cherry bread a batenburg cake flavour, but you can replace the almond extract with vanilla extract/essence if preferred.
Nutrition
Comments
We would love to know how you got on with the recipe so do drop us a comment below. We appreciate all feedback and comments. Thanks so much. Jacq x
Carol Price says
Quick to make , tastes good, freezes well ,a good all rounder.
Jacq says
Hi Carol, Thanks for your lovely review of the cherry bread. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Cherry bread is such a nice quick vintage bake. Jacq x