Friday, February 11, 2011

Blue Valentine

so today i baked again but also for some early valentines gifts for my aunt and father....

this is a half loaf all tied up with watercolor hearts.....

its called almond blueberry lemon loaf....actually i baked one last year but i tweaked it more this time....

here are the loaves out of the oven....it was a lovely scent in the house today....

here is the batter split in half....

big plump blueberries from chile....normally i dont buy chilean fruit because it never tastes right to me but they were discounted so here they are....

almonds....

buttered and floured loaf pans.....

butter....

here is jack jamming cake in his mouth....there was crying and yelling and even slapping and he was the one doing it....he couldnt get enough and when i cut him off....the you know what hit the fan....so this is a kind of recipe that came once again from pinecone camp....have you gone there yet? well the original is hazelnut and lemon....so i basically doubled the recipe and added 1 teaspoon of almond extract as well....i folded the blueberries in the batter at the end....i used almonds and the zest of six lemons....it made enough batter to fill mid way in 2 9x5in loaf pans....
recipe adapted from pinecone camp(click link for original recipe)
250g unsalted butter
2cups superfine sugar
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1tsp salt
1tsp almond extract
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 pint of blueberries
zest of six small and medium meyer lemons
preheat oven to 350 degrees and i buttered and floured 2 9x5 inch loaf pans
cream sugar and butter then add almond extract and eggs....then in a large bowl mix flour and salt....then alternatively add the flour and salt mixture and milk....you know dry wet dry wet dry etc.....when you are done with that add nuts and zest....then fold in 1 pint of blueberries.....divide mixture into pans....i baked both of these for one hour but check at the 40 to 45 minute mark....the tops should be solid and turning brown and pulling a little bit away from the sides of the pan....let cool in pans on racks....i used an offset spatula to pull the loaves away from the pans....also you can brush with a lemon syrup....i kind of just poured it all over so it would soak in but thats just me....lemon syrup.... the juice of one lemon 1\4 cup water and sugar....heat until dissolved...let cool....you can do this while the loaves are baking.....enjoy!

9 comments:

  1. Mmmmh! It looks so yummy! I need to try it!

    Xoxo ♥

    Rocio R.

    http://myfashiondolly.blogspot.com

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  2. Mmm this looks so delicious! I love almond flavoured desserts and blueberries are great in loafs or muffins because they have that nice pop when you eat them.

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  3. You have such a great array of recipes!

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  4. thanks rocio...your blog is cute and thanks for stopping by!

    marisa this would be perfect for you then....i love almond flavored things too...this past summer i also made a plum clafouti that had almond extract in it...good good it was!

    thanks taylor....this past year i had been trying to try out recipes from fellow bloggers...it just seems a little more personal

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  5. Thank you for your sweet comment. At the moment I'm in love with blueberries!

    Ruhvana

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  6. that bread looks HEAVENLY. I can't wait to try this one!

    xo
    kerri

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  7. The sad thing about reading about Jack's withdrawal issues is that I act that way too when I'm cut off from something. And I'm 25. :P

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  8. jack is adorable and this must taste like heaven!!! i love almond everything, especially marzipan. my mom is german and she makes amazing marzipan with almonds and rosewater.

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  9. marizipan with rosewater....that sounds wonderful....you should definitely try this if you love almonds...you can always give the second loaf to your mom!!!
    Christina you are so funny you cheeky girl....
    kerri....i still need to try your banana bread but jack eats them too quickly for me to do it!!!
    rhuvana dont those blueberries look too too gorgeous?

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