4 vanilla base quick breads flavored with strawberry and rhubarb jam, raspberry, pecan and candied pears, lemon for a delicious afternoon tea with friends.
These 4 quick breads are really delicious, they’re soft, fluffy and will remain so at least 4 days. Look at that beautiful vanilla cake!
I have this Wilton 4 cavities bread mold that I found on Amazon and it’s very useful and interesting since, with the quantities for one standard bread or quick bread, you can divide it in four and make little loaves that you can flavor differently. You don’t get mini or individual loaves, but hotel style loaves, I would say.
So here, with the ingredient quantities I am giving, you can choose to make 1 standard sized loaf and decide on the flavor: plain vanilla, vanilla + raspberry, vanilla + strawberry/rhubarb jam, lemon or pecan and pear. Or, if you have the 4 cavities Wilton mold, follow the recipe.
No mixer or food processor involved in this recipe.
Since I could not showcase my 4 cakes in one picture because of my site’s photo format, I duplicated this recipe, so here’s the picture for the Lemon & Pecan and Pear loaves.
You can see the pictures for the Raspberry & Strawberry/Rhubarb following this link click here .
Vanilla Cake Base:
3 large eggs
1 cup (200 g.) granulated white sugar
1 cup (8 oz.) (200 g.) greek yogurt
1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Raspberry loaf:
About 10 raspberries
Glaze:
1 cup (115 g.) confectioners' sugar
3 tbsp. water, or more if needed
1/4 tsp raspberry or strawberry extract
1 drop of red food coloring
For the Strawberry/Rhubarb Jam loaf:
About 6 to 8 tsps. of Strawberry/Rhubarb Jam (homemade or store-bought)
Glaze:
1 cup (115 g.) confectioners' sugar
3 tbsp. water, or more if needed
1 tsp jelly from the jam
For the Lemon loaf:
The zest of 1/2 a lemon
Glaze:
1 cup (115 g.) confectioners' sugar
3 tbsp. lemon juice, or more if needed
About 1 tsp lemon zest to sprinkle on top of glaze
For the Pecan and candied pears loaf:
About 10 to 12 pecans, chopped
About 1/4 cup (115 g.) candied pear chunks, chopped (can be replaced by raisins, etc.)
Glaze:
2 tbsp. quince jelly or apricot jam
3 tbsp. pearl sugar
Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C)
Spray molds with floured spray or butter and flour
Into a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, vanilla and yogurt, whisk until all the ingredients are well incorporated
Add the oil and whisk to incorporate
Into a small bowl, quickly combine flour, salt and baking powder
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and incorporate with a spatula until you get a soft batter, do not overmix, a few remaining lumps is ok
At this stage, the standard sized vanilla cake is ready to bake
Now your batter should weigh about 31.74 oz. (900 g.), remove 1/4, about 7.94 oz. (225g) and add it to another bowl
Pour 1 layer of batter (try to make 3 layers in all) into one cavity, distribute 5 or 6 raspberries, repeat the process, and cover with the last layer
When the cake is baked and cooled, assemble the glaze ingredients and apply in the fashion you like best
Remove another quarter of the batter and add it to a smaller bowl (I used the same bowl for all 4 loaves)
Again try to make 3 layers and distribute a few teaspoons of jam here and there on the first two layers and cover with a third layer of vanilla batter
When the cake is baked and cooled, assemble the glaze ingredients and apply in the fashion you like best
Remove another quarter of the batter and add it to a smaller bowl
Add the lemon zest and stir to distribute, pour the batter into a cavity
When the cake is baked and cooled, assemble the glaze ingredients and apply in the fashion you like best
Grate a few lemon zests on top of the glaze
Remove the last quarter of batter and add it to a smaller bowl (it will be easier to work with)
Stir the pecans and pear chunks together with a tablespoon of flour until well coated
Again, try to make three layers and distribute a few mixed pears and pecans onto the first two layers, cover with a layer of batter
When the cake is baked and cooled, microwave the 2 teaspoons of jelly for about 15 to 20 seconds, with a kitchen brush, brush the top of loaf with the melted jelly, distribute the pearl sugar
Into the oven for about 25 minutes or until the loaves start to shrink from the sides of mold and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
Let cool into the molds on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes
If you are going to make one standard sized loaf, double or triple the flavoring ingredients
To bake a standard sized loaf: I would bake it for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it starts to shrink from the sides of mold and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
Hello! All photos and content are my property. Please do not use my photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to 4 Quick Breads Epis. 2: Lemon & Pecan/Pears