Strawberry Shortcake Quick Bread – Recipe!

This year seems like another great strawberry season and this Straberry Shortcake Quick Bread is a wonderful way to enjoy them while they are super ripe and delicious.

Quick breads are easy to put together and taste like a combination of a bread and a cake.  What I enjoy so much about baking quick breads is the ability to add all different kinds of ingredients, and this time around, I went with fresh seasonal strawberries. Strawberries should be folded into the vanilla batter in a gentle fashion — by hand, so they don’t break apart.  The berries will add moisture to the batter, so initially it might feel stiffer than usual, until the strawberries are added, but when the bread is baked, the cake has one soft crumb.

This strawberry loaf isn’t too sweet, even though it does have sugar, which makes it great to enjoy almost any time of day.  I personally like a slice in the afternoon with some iced tea, or another cup of coffee, but you could always enjoy this for dessert after dinner with some vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries

8 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1/3 cup buttermilk, or whole milk with 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, sliced thinly

(Makes 1 Loaf)

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
3. In a food processor or blender, pulverize freeze dried strawberries, until a powder.  Set aside
4. In a stand mixer or large bowl, cream together butter and sugar for 3 minutes.  Scrape down sides of bowl.  Add vanilla and mix for 1 minute.  Add strawberry powder and mix on low for 1 minute.
5. Add eggs one at a time, mixing in between additions.  Add flour in thirds, alternating with buttermilk.
6. Remove bowl from stand and mix in strawberries by hand.  Spoon into loaf pan and smooth out on top.
7. Bake in oven for 60-65 minutes, or until toothpick comes clean.  Remove and let cool in pan for 20 minutes.
8. Loosen with knife around edges and invert onto rack.  Slice and serve when room temperature.  Enjoy!