This is a nice autumnal bread, full of sherried dried fruits and walnuts, hearty and very flavorful. I had the first slice this morning (I baked it last night but it tastes best if you let it sit overnight before slicing it) toasted and smothered in mascarpone, which melted some from the heat of the bread and made a gooey, creamy, fruity mess.
[img]http://img450.imageshack.us/img450/2847/bars3vs.jpg[/img]
Ingredients
about 3-4 cups mixed dried fruits--I used a mixture of mangoes, apricots, prunes, apples, peaches, pears, cranberries, currants and raisins
about 4 or 5 Tbsp candied ginger
a little more than 2/3 cup good sherry
grated zest of one orange
2 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temp.
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
a little more than 3/4 cup milk
2 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 heaping tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
a little fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup walnuts, or a bit more, lightly toasted (stir often in a dry pan over med-low until they smell/taste toasty)
Cut the larger fruits into smaller pieces. The pieces of fruit in the bread can be as large or as small as you like. Place all the fruits in a saucepan with the ginger, sherry and orange zest. Bring this to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat, cover and let it steep for about 30 minutes.
Butter and flour a loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, then add the egg, then the milk.
Combine the flour, baking powder, spices and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet mix. Fold the mixture together, being careful not to overmix. Stir in the walnuts, the macerated fruit and its liquid. Spoon or pour the batter into the loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until a knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Wrap the bread in plastic or foil once it's completely cooled. It tastes better if you let it sit for a day before slicing. It is especially good toasted and spread with butter or cream cheese.
i was pretty shocked, too