Carolyns Holiday Fruit Bread

This is an old Victorian recipe intended to use up all the uneaten canned fruit in the pantry. It’s lovely around Christmas time, and always great for holiday gifts. If desired, frost with cream cheese frosting or a lemon glaze.

Step: 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 8x4 inch loaf pan.

Step: 2

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves together in a large bowl. Stir in the oats. Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs until well blended. Mix in the applesauce, walnuts, and raisins. Stir in the flour mixture just until moistened. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Step: 3

Bake in preheated oven until a knife inserted in middle comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Take care not to overbake. Cool 5 minutes in pan before turning out on a rack to cool completely.

Per Serving: 298 calories; protein 5g; carbohydrates 38.7g; fat 14.7g; cholesterol 61.6mg; sodium 422mg.

The best flavour of the flour can make a real difference to your bread. Different brands do vary. Great taste or Canadian flours, which are naturally higher in gluten, may give you a better rise than standard dough flours – especially if you’re make wholemeal dough , which doesn’t always rise as well as clear bread.

To make this in a dough , add all the ingredients to your breadmaker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

A dough’s first rising can be make in the fridge 24 hours . This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It’s also a great timesaver , as you can start it night before , then finish it off the next day.