Snapping out of lazy mode....

Cherry & Almond LoafNo way my loaf will stick to the pan with this

All ready to be baked

Cherries

And voila....

Too much work = not so much cooking or baking. I have been feeling so lazy these days, after coming back from work all i wanna do is shower and get into bed. Plus it doesn't help that here it is starting to get cold now in the evening. Snapping out of the lazy mode ..... even more difficult! I am sure a lot of bloggers feel that way sometimes. But i cannot keep on neglecting my blog, so this is what i decided to make a simple yet delicious "Cherry & Almond Loaf" that i got on the dailymail website. This loaf was moist and not too sweet, it makes a perfect tea time treat.

I didn't use as much cherries as was required, it is too sweet for my liking but i found that the ground almonds reduces the sweetness. I also coated the cherries with flour so that they do not sink, not that it helped, they were right at the bottom of the pan. Enjoy..

Cherry and almond loaf
• 175g unsalted butter softened plus extra for the tin
• 175g caster sugar
• finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon and
• juice of ½ lemon
• 3 medium eggs beaten
• 225g glacé cherries rinsed and halved
• 75g self-raising flour sifted
• 75g plain flour sifted
• pinch of salt
• 75g ground almonds
• splash of milk (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/375F/gas 5. Butter a large (about 1kg capacity/1 litre volume) loaf tin, then line it with greaseproof paper (see tip, below).
2. Cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest and juice, using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer or by hand (see secret, below). Add the eggs a little at a time, beating after each addition.
3. Toss the cherries in a little of the flour to help them cling to the cake mixture instead of dropping to the bottom. Next, mix together the flours, salt, almonds and cherries and add to the batter, stirring well until the cherries are evenly distributed. The cake mixture needs to be fairly stiff, but add a splash of milk if you feel you need to. Transfer the mixture evenly to the tin.
4. Bake for 45-55 minutes, then test for doneness by inserting a skewer in the loaf’s centre; if it comes out clean, it is done. If you find the top is browning too much before the loaf is ready, simply cover with foil and let it carry on baking.
5. Remove the loaf to a wire rack, leaving it in the greaseproof paper until cooled.