Sweet Wholewheat Nut Bread

A quick and easy bread loaf with a delicious nutty texture.

Vegetarian. Hands-on time: 15 mins. Total time: 55 mins.

Contributed by Mike Lewis (April 2003).

This is one of several excellent quick bread recipes from Mollie Katzen's delightful book, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. It is easy to make, and produces a nice, firm loaf with a delicious nutty texture.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup (1½ oz, 40 g) cashew nuts
• 1 cup (8 fl oz, 240 ml) water
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (if available)
• 1/3 cup (2 oz, 50 g) white sugar
• 1½ cups (5 oz, 150 g) white flour
• 1½ cups (5 oz, 150 g) wholewheat (wholemeal) flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• A pinch each of ground ginger and ground nutmeg
• 1/3 cup (2½ oz, 60 g) minced (ground) almonds
• 1/3 cup (2½ oz, 60 g) minced (ground) pecans or walnuts

Method

Oven: Pre-heat to 350F (180C)

Lightly toast the cashews until brown. Then place them in a blender with the water, and make into a smooth purée. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix well.

Put the sugar into a bowl. Sift in the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Add the cashew purée and the remaining nuts, and mix thoroughly to form a fairly stiff batter.

Transfer to an oiled loaf tin. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for about ten minutes, then remove from the tin and cool for a further half hour before serving.

Note on quantities and temperatures:
Quantities are given in American (cups), imperial (oz, fl oz) and metric (g, ml) units. Do not mix the units - use one or other system throughout the recipe.
See also How much does a cup weigh?
oz = ounces, fl oz = fluid ounces, g = grams, ml = milliliters, tsp = teaspoons, tbsp = tablespoons.
Oven temperatures are given in degrees F (Fahrenheit) and C (Celsius).
For fan-assisted ovens, reduce the temperature by 20F or 10C.