This tender and scrumptious tea bread is bursting with bright flavor, thanks to a medley of citrus, dried apricots, and ground cardamom. Pictured with our Mojito Cheesecake Bars and Marzipan-crowned Lemon-Thyme Shortbread.
Apricot-Orange Tea Bread
Serves: 3 loaves
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced dried apricots
- 1⁄2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
- 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
- 1⁄2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1⁄2 cup whole buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°.Spray 3 (5 1⁄2x3-inch) loaf pans with baking spray with flour. Line pans with parchment paper and spray again.
- Place apricots in a small heat-proof bowl.
- In a small saucepan, heat orange juice until steaming. Pour hot orange juice over apricots; let stand for 15 minutes. Drain excess liquid.
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg, oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and orange zest. Whisk in buttermilk.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and baking soda. Whisk flour mixture into egg mixture just until combined. Fold in apricots. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Using an offset spatula, smooth tops of batter, pushing batter into corners and sides of pan as necessary.
- Bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into the centers comes out clean, approximately 45 minutes, loosely covering pans with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning.
- Let bread cool in pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pans, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Just before serving, slice bread.
Notes
Kitchen Tip: This recipe also works in a 9x5-inch loaf pan. If using this size pan, bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, covering for the last 20 minutes of baking.
