1/2 c Walnuts — coarsely chopped
2 1/4 c All-purpose flour
1 ts Double-acting baking powder
3/4 ts Baking soda
1/4 ts Salt
1 1/4 c Sweet cherries in juice —
Drained
8 tb Unsalted butter — softened
3/4 c Sugar
1/4 c Honey
2 lg Eggs
1/3 c Fresh orange juice
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Toast the chopped walnuts in a baking pan in
the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Raise the oven
temperature to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and
salt together into a bowl. In a second bowl, combine the cherries and the
nuts. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until it is light
and fluffy; add the sugar and honey gradually, beating the mixture until it
is very light. Add the eggs, one at a time. With mixer at lowest speed, add
the flour mixture (reserving 1/4 cup), alternating it with the orange
juice. Toss the cherry-nut mixture with the reserved 1/4 cup of flour, and
fold it into the batter. Turn the batter into a buttered and floured loaf
pan, approximately 9 x 5 x 3 inches.Bake the bread in the centrer of the
oven for 1 hour. Cool the loaf for 15 minutes in the pan; unmold the bread
on a rack to cool completely. Wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it a day
before serving.
Yields
8 Servings