A Noel Quick Bread Recipe Your Family Will Love

Noel Quick Bread is a pound cake-style bread that is a perfect dessert for the holiday season. This is less dense than traditional fruit cake with a festive look fit for Christmas. Adding fruit to holiday desserts is a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, but the sweetness of this Noel Quick Bread is lighter and palatable for modern taste buds.

If you are looking for a delicious snack, Noel Quick Bread is an excellent choice. You can make it at home and keep it on hand for a quick snack or after-dinner dessert.

Prep Time

• 20 minutes

Cooking Time

• 60 minutes

Servings Size

• approximately 8

Required Equipment

• Large bowl
• Medium bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Electric mixer
• Mixing spatula
• Knife
• Paper towels
• Toothpick
• 9 x 5 inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan
• Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

• One 6 oz (170 g) jar of maraschino cherries (red)
• One 6 oz (170 g) jar of maraschino cherries (green)
• 1/2 cup (1 1/8 dl) softened butter
• 1 1/3 cups (3 1/8 dl) sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (3 1/2 dl) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup (1 1/8 dl) sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar for plating

Preparation Directions

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
• Drain cherries and chop finely, absorbing any excess moisture with paper towels, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
• Gradually add sugar to the butter, beating until fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time to the butter and lightly beat until just combined.
• Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl.
• Stir chopped cherries into the flour mixture.
• Beating at low speed, add part of the flour mix to the butter.
• When the flour is incorporated, add the sour cream, continuing to beat at a low speed.
• Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat until thoroughly combined.
• Stir the vanilla in with a mixing spatula.
• Grease and flour a 9 x 5 inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan and pour in the batter.
• Bake for about 60 minutes. The cake is fully baked when a toothpick stuck in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
• Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, remove the loaf and finish cooling on a wire cooling rack.

Plating

• Sprinkle on a dusting of powdered sugar, reminiscent of snow, and garnish with a few maraschino cherries or fresh cranberries.

Cook’s Notes

• An additional option for this recipe would be to sprinkle the top of the cake before placing in the oven to bake with about ¼ cup of walnuts or my personal favorite pecan nuts. Then, there’s no need to sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar.
• Also, you can reduce the Marciano cherries to 4 ounces each and add 4 ounces of soaked golden raisins to add a little extra character.
• As a last option, you can reduce the Marciano cherries to 3 ounces each and add nothing to make it look a little less like a fruitcake but still have some color in it.

Looking For More Holiday Recipe Ideas?

• Holiday Recipe Ideas