A moist quick cherry bread recipe perfect for any time of the day. A one-bowl bread or loaf cake recipe that can be made with fresh, frozen, or canned cherries.
Are you looking for more cherry recipes? I know I do… We have a glut of cherries this year; I feel like I’ve not done anything other than pitting cherries during the last week. This tender and delicious cherry bread is just one of the many cakes I’ve baked.
Check out this Cherry and Almond Cake, the Cherry Coconut Cake, or the readers’ favorite Fresh Cherry Loaf Cake. You can also make Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream or an easy Cherry Sauce to serve with waffles or pancakes.
Table of contents
The best thing about this easy cherry bread recipe?
- The batter is so easy to make. All you must do is mix all the ingredients (except the fruit) in a large bowl for about one minute. There is no need to separate the eggs or cream them with sugar, butter, and so on. Just dump everything in the bowl and mix. Pour batter into the prepared pan and top it with the juicy cherries. A super easy, quick bread recipe!
- Versatile: You can serve it for breakfast, as an afternoon snack, as a dessert, or pack it into your lunch box.
Expert tips
- Use a digital kitchen scale; baking is a science, and measuring the ingredients correctly guarantees for best results (Amazon affiliate link).
- Use a cherry pitter; it’s cheap and makes pitting much easier (Amazon affiliate link).
- Ensure that the ingredients (eggs, oil, sparkling water) are at room temperature. When you beat them together, they will create a smooth emulsion that traps the air in the batter. This air will expand during baking, making the cherry bread light and fluffy.
- Don’t substitute the oil with butter or the sparkling water with plain water. An oil-butter substitution will not work 1:1, and using plain water won’t have the same effect as sparkling water on the batter.
- Immediate baking: Bake the quick bread immediately after stirring the batter. Make sure that the oven is preheated and the pan is prepared. If you leave the batter waiting, the baking powder will lose its power, and the loaf cake will not rise nicely.
Recipe ingredients
What kind of cherries do I need for the bread?
- Fresh, canned, or frozen. Sour or sweet cherries are both okay.
- You will need about 250 g/ 9 oz cherries weighed after pitting. I checked, and 250 g are about 1 ¾ cups of pitted cherries.
- If you buy them, get about 300-400 g/ 10.5-14 oz, so you know you have enough. If you have leftovers, you can always eat them as they are.
- Fresh cherries: Wash, dry, and pit them.
- Frozen: Defrost and pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Canned: Drain them well and pat them dry with paper towels.
Dry ingredients:
- Cake or all-purpose flour. I often use cake flour (it makes cakes even more tender), but all-purpose is fine.
- Baking powder, granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Wet ingredients:
- Oil: I love baking with oil; it makes the baked goods moist and helps them stay moist for longer. Another bonus is that you don’t have to remember to get the butter out of the fridge in time so that it can get soft.
- Sparkling water: It helps the cherry bread rise better and makes it fluffier. Don’t replace it with plain water; it won’t work.
- Eggs: Three large eggs at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract for a bit of extra flavor.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preparations: Preheat the oven. Grease and flour a loaf pan of about 20x10x7 cm/ 8x4x3 inches.
- Cherries: Pit fresh cherries (1). Defrost and pat dry frozen ones or drain and pat dry canned ones.
- Batter: Place all the other ingredients (except the cherries) in a large mixing bowl (2). Mix well for 1 minute with an electric mixer (3).
- Bake: Pour the bread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Place the cherries on top of the bread (4).
- Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. The baking time depends on your oven. Check the bread after about 40 - 45 minutes; if the top seems too dark already, cover the bread loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Cool in the bread pan for about 15 minutes, remove carefully and let the bread cool on a wire rack.
Optional toppings
- Glaze: You can make glazed cherry bread if you like. Mix 75 g/ ¾ cup/ 2 ½ oz icing sugar (powdered sugar) with 3-4 teaspoons lemon juice, orange juice, or cherry juice (if using canned cherries, use some of that juice). The glaze should be thick yet slightly pourable. Pour over the cherry bread and let set shortly.
- Icing sugar: The quickest topping that’s enough for us most of the time. Lightly dust the top of the cooled bread before serving.
Recipe FAQ
A bread made without yeast but with another leavening agent such as baking powder or baking soda. That means the bread is quicker to make than yeast bread because it will not need extra time to rise.
Absolutely, most anything you like. Red or black currants, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, apples, plums, and so on.
You can add a bit of lemon zest for extra flavor. Alternatively, replace the vanilla extract with a little almond extract for a slightly different flavor.
If you like chocolate, fold in a small handful of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate into the already mixed batter.
Room temperature: Wrap it in a clean towel; it will stay moist for at least 2 days.
Refrigerate in an airtight container to store it for longer, about 5 days.
Freeze it for about 3 months. You can freeze the whole bread (wrapped in plastic wrap and then in foil), or you can freeze individual slices. To do that, freeze the pieces in a single layer on a baking tray or similar. Once solid, wrap them in plastic or foil and place them in freezer bags or airtight containers.
Defrost in the fridge or on the counter.
More loaf cake or quick bread recipes
The Easiest Cherry Bread
Equipment
- Loaf pan of about 20x10x7 cm/ 8x4x3 inches
Ingredients
- 250 g cherries fresh, frozen, or canned 9 oz/ 1 ¾ cups (pitted), Note 1
- 250 g all-purpose flour 9 oz/ 2 cups
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 200 g granulated sugar 7 oz/ 1 cup
- 3 eggs large room temperature
- 115 ml oil neutral-tasting like canola oil 3.8 fl.oz/ ½ cup, Note 2
- 115 ml sparkling water 3.8 fl.oz/ ½ cup, Note 3
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 375°F. Grease and flour the cake pan.
- Cherries: Pit fresh cherries. Defrost and pat dry frozen ones or drain and pat dry canned ones.
- Batter: Place all the other ingredients (except the cherries) in a large bowl. Mix well for about 1 minute with an electric mixer.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Place the cherries on top.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cherry bread comes out clean. Check after 40-45 minutes; if the top of the bread seems too dark already, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
- Cool the loaf cake in the tin for about 15 minutes, remove it carefully, and let cool on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
- Optional glaze: Mix 75 g/ ¾ cup/ 2 ½ oz icing sugar with 3-4 teaspoons lemon juice or cherry juice (if using canned cherries, use some of that juice). The glaze should be thick yet slightly pourable. Pour over the cherry bread and let set shortly.
Notes
- Use a digital kitchen scale; it guarantees for best results (Amazon affiliate link).
- Weigh the cherries after pitting. If frozen, defrost them and pat them dry with kitchen towels. If canned, drain them and pat them dry as well. If using canned cherries, save a little canning juice to make a cherry glaze if you like (optional).
- Don’t substitute the oil with butter; it will not work 1:1. Don’t use olive oil; it has to be something that’s neutral tasting.
- Don’t replace it with plain water; sparkling water will cause the bread to rise nicely and get fluffy.
Bonnie T says
The recipe does not state what the oven temperature should be. It just says "preheat the oven."
Adina says
Sorry about that, Bonnie. Thank you for letting me know. I've added the temperature.