xo amys

Slow mornings and cherry bread

My favourite part of the day is the morning when nature awakes and there is a feeling of calmness in the air. The countryside particular has a spectacular start to the day as the soft hues push through the woods and gleam across the summer greenery. You can hear the wild animals making noises and it’s that first sip of coffee across my lip that gives me pure pleasure. The sun is low as it rises making it the perfect time to sit outside of the house and let it warm my sleepy cheeks.

Before coffee, I had a swim to make the most of the refreshing lake water, which is the ultimate way to start the day. The mirrored water feels soft against the skin and does wonders in softening the body and hair.

I decided to wake up the rest of the family with the smell of fresh cherry bread as we had lots of cherries leftover in the fridge. Fresh cherry bread makes the perfect summer time breakfast or subtle treat that I enjoyed on the edge of the pier.

Summer Cherry Bread

• 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and diced
• 1 ¾ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
• about 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4cup fig jam
• 1 zest of lemon
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ cup chopped almonds

Garnish: mixture of seeds/nuts/cherries brushed with a bit of oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 185 degrees Celsius. Butter the bread tin base and set aside. Pit and dice the cherries and place into a bowl. In another bowl mix together the dry ingredients; flour, almonds, salt, baking powder & soda. In another bowl, mix together the melted coconut oil and sugar with a hand mixer. Once the texture is smooth, mix in the egg. Pour in the vanilla, lemon zest and fig jam and continue whisking with the handheld mixer.

Add the cherries to the dry ingredients and then mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Gently stir together. (If the consistency looks too dry, you can add a splash of oatmilk or apple juice to liquefy it. The moistness of the cherries or jam can vary, so this tip will help) Pour into the bread tin and garnish the top of the bread. Add some halved or whole cherries and nuts/seeds of choice on top. I used cashews, chia, pumpkin seeds and almonds. Brush a bit of oil on top of the garnishing and bake in the oven for about 50minutes. Once ready, let it cool for about 15minutes and enjoy with some fig jam and fresh cherries.