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Dried
Fruit and Nut Loaf: Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F (150
degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray
with a vegetable oil spray, a 9 x 5
inch (23 x 12 cm) (8 cup) loaf pan, and line the bottom of the pan with
parchment paper.
In a large bowl,
whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar. Stir in the
chopped nuts and dried fruits. Use your fingers to make sure that all the
fruits and nuts have been coated with the flour mixture.
In the bowl of
your electric stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (or with an electric
hand mixer) beat the eggs and vanilla extract until light colored and thick
(this will take several minutes). Add the egg mixture to the fruit and nut
mixture and mix until all the fruit and nut pieces are coated with the batter.
Evenly spread into the prepared pan, pressing with the back of a spoon or offset
spatula.
Bake for about 65
to 80 minutes, or until the batter is golden brown and
is just starting to pull away from the
sides of the pan. (If you find the loaf over browning, cover with
foil.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely in the pan. When
cool, remove from pan. To store, cover with plastic wrap or
foil. This loaf is best after being stored for a couple of days. Will keep for
about 2 weeks at room temperature or for a couple of months in the refrigerator.
It can also be frozen.
Makes one - 9 x 5
inch (20 x 13 cm) loaf.
View comments on this recipe on YouTube
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Dried Fruit and Nut
Loaf:
3/4 cup (95 grams) all purpose
flour
1/4
teaspoon (1 gram) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon
(1 gram) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon
(1 gram) kosher salt
3/4 cup (160 grams) firmly
packed light brown sugar
3 cups
(300 grams) coarsely chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts,
and/or almonds)
3 cups
(400 grams) dried fruits (dried
cherries, dried cranberries, raisins, dried apricots, dried mango,
currants, dates, prunes, and/or figs (pits removed and cut into quarters))
3 large eggs,
at room temperature (150 grams out of shell)
1 teaspoon
(4 grams) pure vanilla
extract
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It's an excellent recipe and the only change I made was instead of giving
exact quantities of each dried fruit and nut, I just give the total
amounts. That is, 3 cups (400 grams) of dried fruits and 3 cups (300
grams) of chopped nuts. That way you can vary the dried fruits and nuts to
your individual tastes. There are a few things to keep in mind when buying
dried fruits. First, try to buy in bulk from a grocery store or natural
food store that has a high turnover. Not only will the fruit be fresher,
but you can see, smell, and feel, the fruit to make sure it is fresh and
of high quality. Pre-packaged fruit can also be excellent but it is harder
to tell the quality of the fruit through the plastic bag. Make sure to
check the expiration date on the bag. Always look for dried fruit that is
plump, moist, and has good color. Never buy fruit that is dried out or
moldy. There is a debate about whether to buy 'sulphured' or 'unsulphured'
dried fruits. Some like to buy 'sulphured' which means that it has been
treated with a sulphur dioxide solution. This preserves the fruit's bright
color and makes the fruit very soft and moist. Of course, 'unsulphured'
means it has not been treated before it is dried and some say the flavor
of untreated dried fruits is far superior.
