To Try Tuesday - Blackberry Streusel Quick Bread

Did you know that the term streusel comes from the German word streuen meaning 'something scattered or sprinkled'?  I love baked goods that have streusel on top, so when I saw this recipe on the San Jose Examiner website I just knew that streusel times two had to be good.

We have been really lucky to have blackberries at our local Costco for the past few months.  Usually they are eaten before I can use them in my baking, so this time I made sure that everyone knew to leave half of the container for me.




I decided to use pecans in my bread because I like the taste of them more than walnuts, and I still have a big bag of them that I need to use before they go stale.  Rather than chop the nuts separately I just put them in my mini food processor and gave them a rough chop.  I then added the remainder of the streusel ingredients and gave it another quick whirl and it was ready.

The smell of the quick bread baking quickly spread throughout the house, and everyone was soon asking when they could have a piece.   I have to say that it was delicious warm from the oven.  It would be great made with raspberries too, or maybe even a combination of  oth blackberries and raspberries.

Blackberry Pecan Streusel Quick Bread

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

Streusel:

• 1 cup lightly toasted pecan halves, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Quick Bread: 

• 2 cups fresh blackberries, divided
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon), at room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup sour cream

Preparation

Make the Streusel: 

1. Toss the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. 
2. Add melted butter and stir until combined. 
3. Divide mixture in half into two bowls; set aside.

Make the Quick Bread: 

1. Arrange oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Coat a 9”x5” loaf pan with nonstick spray; thoroughly coat with flour, removing any excess.
3. Chop 1 cup of blackberries and toss them with half of the reserved streusel; set aside.
4. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to aerate and combine; set aside.
5. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. 
6. Add sugar and brown sugar and beat until combined. 
7. Beat in vanilla extract. 
8. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
9. Add the dry mixture in three additions, alternately with the sour cream. Begin and end with the dry mixture and beat briefly until just smooth.
10. Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly with a small offset spatula. 
11. Top with streusel/chopped blackberry mixture, forming an even layer. Scrape remaining batter on top, spreading carefully to cover center streusel layer. 
12. Top with remaining streusel and place remaining whole blackberries evenly over top, pressing gently to help adhere.
13. Bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs when removed. 
14. Cool pan on wire rack for 15 minutes, then unmold directly onto rack, right side up, to cool completely. 
15. Wrap in aluminum foil to store at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 1 9x5” loaf.

 

Recipe adapted from a recipe by Dede Wilson