I was recently contacted with an opportunity to try out Truvia Baking Blend and knew instantly which recipe I'd like to use. I saw this Cherry Nut Bread recipe in a Lion House cookbook of mine and as much as I adore Lion House, the recipe was just begging me to make a few changes.
I've never used anything but sugar or honey to sweeten baked goods so I was excited to try out Truvia. It's a combination of real sugar and natural sweetener from a stevia plant. It has 75% fewer calories than sugar and you only use half as much in recipes. It looks like sugar, it tastes like sugar and I was anxious to see if it would act like sugar in baked goods.
The verdict? Looks like it did well to me! This quick bread is so good- it's not as sweet and moist as other quick breads which was what I was aiming for. The flavor is just incredible too- I love the sweet cherries and subtle almond flavor. If you don't have sliced almonds to garnish the top, be sure to add them to your grocery list. I'm the queen of "eh, just leave it out" but don't go without the almonds. They're so pretty. And they taste good too.
Cherry Nut Quick Bread
- 1/2 cup Truvia sweetener {or 1 cup sugar}
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 cup flour {I used bread flour}
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup chopped dried cherries
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a large bread pan and line with parchment paper if you'd like. I like lining the bread pans with parchment when I bake sweet breads- it seems they never want to come out very well!
Combine the Truvia, oil, eggs and milk and whisk until smooth. Add in almond extract and salt. Add the dry ingredients and stir well to combine. Fold in the walnuts and cherries.
Transfer mixture to the prepared bread pan and sprinkle with about 2 TBSP sliced almonds.
Bake for 55-60 minutes at 325 degrees. Top of bread should be lightly browned.
If you're dying to make this bread sweeter, drizzle with a vanilla glaze made from 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 TBSP melted butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1-2 TBSP milk.
Enjoy! Thank you to Truvia and All You magazine for sending me a package of Truvia to try out!
{Be sure to check the Butter with a Side of Bread Facebook page today for a chance to win a bag of Truvia yourself!}
