Soft Cherry Bread with Cherry-Almond Glaze — An EASY quick bread recipe that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Mother’s Day! Because you can never have too much pink!
Table of Contents
Grandma’s Sweet Cherry Bread
My grandma used to make the best cherry bread. I’d give anything to watch her make it again and write down what she did. But since that will never happen, I had about 17 emails up and back dialoguing with my mom about how she thought Grandma made it.
My mom pieced together some of her own notes and a recipe from a 1948 cookbook that she thinks is what my grandma used.
After reading it all over and brainstorming about this bread on multiple 8-mile runs, I made a few tweaks and finally made it.
This cherry almond bread is a soft, sweet, and an easy quick bread recipe to make. It’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, baby or bridal showers, and would be so pretty for a brunch.
My daughter inhaled this sweet, soft cherry bread and her slices were flooded with glaze. You can never have too much pink. Or glaze.
My grandma loved pink and it was her favorite color. I have a feeling she would have been thrilled seeing all this pink.
Refreshing an Old Recipe
This is a re-post from when I originally posted this recipe in 2014 and since that time it has been imitated and copied, the photos have been stolen on the internet, but that’s just a testament to how good it is and my readers who’ve made it know that!
Recreating Grandma’s Recipe
I know my grandma didn’t use an electric mixer, and since she would have made it by hand, so did I.
I have a feeling she used shortening, but I know the word shortening causes immediate clicking off the page by most modern bakers, so I went with a little canola oil instead.
I was tempted to add buttermilk or Greek yogurt to the batter because I do swear by them for keeping things lighter, softer, and moister, but I know my grandma wouldn’t have used them, so they were out.
My grandma didn’t glaze her bread, and it didn’t need it. But I couldn’t resist reserving a bit of the cherry juice and making a cherry-almond glaze.
Glazed Cherry Bread Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this cherry dessert recipe (I know it’s a quick bread, but trust me when I say this is a dessert!):
- Maraschino cherries (+ their juice!)
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Eggs
- Canola oil
- Almond extract
- Vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar
How to Make Cherry Bread with Almond Glaze
This is a quick and recipe for cherry bread. Check out the recipe card at the end of this post for full instructions!
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined (the batter will be thick).
- Before adding the cherries to the batter, give them a rough chop on your cutting board and sprinkle them with a little flour. It helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan while baking.
- Turn the batter into two greased and floured 8×4-inch pans, then bake until the bread is domed, set, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cherry bread loaves cool completely before glazing.
FAQs
There’s almond extract in the bread and also more in the glaze. It wonderfully complements the cherries and shouldn’t be missed. Look for it next to vanilla extract in the baking aisle.
If you love almond extract or are wondering what to do with the rest of the vial, make this cake. It’s unique and a keeper.
Of course, if you have an almond allergy in your family, you’re welcome to omit the almond extract altogether. Just note that your bread won’t taste the same as mine.
I used one 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries to make this bread. Look for them where ice cream toppings are sold.
No, maraschino cherries are a must in this cherry quick bread recipe. 
I baked the bread in two 8×4-inch loaf pans. You could probably get away with one 9×5-inch pan but I find things get a little too browned around the edges before the center fully cooks through in large loaf pans.
My mom made the recipe as 4 mini loaves with good luck, and I’m sure muffins would work. Just note that if you start tinkering with the pan sizes, you’ll have to start tinkering with the baking times.
Yes, this maraschino cherry bread will keep up to 6 months in the freeze. Do not glaze bread until ready to serve if you plan on storing long-term.
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Sweet Soft Cherry Bread with Cherry-Almond Glaze
Ingredients
Cherry Bread
- one 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries, divided
- 1 ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- cherry juice, reserve 1/4 cup
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cherry-Almond Glaze
- ¼ cup reserved cherry juice
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- about 1 1/2 cups+ confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
Make the cherry bread:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 8×4-inch loaf pans with floured cooking spray or lightly grease and flour the pans; set aside. (Recipe may be baked in one 9×5 pan, as 4 mini loaves, or as muffins, although I have not tested it that way. Adjust baking time accordingly.)
- Remove cherries from jar and place on a cutting board. Roughly chop them.
- Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour (prevents them from sinking during baking) and toss to coat evenly; set cutting board aside. Set jar with the cherry juice aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add 1 3/4 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, optional salt, and whisk to combine; set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl or glass measuring cup, combine eggs, oil, all the cherry juice from the jar except 1/4 cup to be reserved for the glaze, almond extract, vanilla extract, and whisk to combine.
- Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients and stir to combine; don’t overmix. Batter will be very thick.
- Gently fold in the chopped cherries.
- Turn batter out into the prepared pans, smoothing the tops lightly with a spatula. Strategically place a few cherries on top for visual appeal.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, or until bread is domed, set, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow bread to cool in pans on top of a wire rack for about 15 minutes before removing and allowing to finish cooling completely on rack. While bread cools, make the glaze.
Make the Cherry-Almond Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup reserved cherry juice, almond extract, about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, and whisk to combine until smooth and satiny. Add sugar until desired consistency is reached.
- Glaze the bread prior to serving. After the photos were done, I glazed much more liberally, spreading the glaze like butter on the interior of the slices.
Notes
- Bread will keep airtight at room temp for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Do not glaze bread until ready to serve if you plan on storing long-term.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Cherry Dessert Recipes:
Cherry Cream Pie — An old-fashioned pie with homemade scratch crust topped with NO-BAKE layers of sweetened cream cheese along with juicy cherry pie filling!! If you like cherry pie, you’re going to LOVE this amped up version!!
Mini Cherry Oreo Cheesecakes – EASY mini cheesecakes loaded with cherries and an Oreo cookie crust!! The hit of your Valentine’s Day party! Mini food is IRRESISTIBLE!!
Glazed Cherry Pie Bars — The cherry bars are like cherry pie but easier. There’s a buttery, soft, tender crust topped with cherry pie filling before being baked and glazed.
Chocolate Chip and Cherry Blondies — These cherry bars use my favorite blondie base and turn out perfectly every single time! You can use fresh or frozen cherries, or a blend of mixed berries. These bars are seriously so good!
Glazed Cherry Bonbon Cookies — These cookies are just so fun. Soft, buttery, pink cookies with the surprise of a juicy, sweet maraschino cherry in the middle that also helps keep the cookies moist.
Cherry Turnovers with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze — The turnovers are so good that people will think you bought them from a local bakery, but they’re so easy, ready in 20 minutes, and you’ll never need to settle for store-bought turnovers again!
Maraschino Cherry White Chocolate Cookies — These cherry bars use my favorite blondie base and turn out perfectly every single time! You can use fresh or frozen cherries, or a blend of mixed berries. These bars are seriously so good!
Triple Chocolate Cherry Cake — This cake is loaded with juicy cherries and topped with an easy homemade chocolate frosting. I used a few shortcuts in this recipe to save time, but this cake tastes completely homemade!
Originally published February 11, 2014 and republished with updated text May 8, 2020.
Should this have baking soda also? Did every thing correct and not rising. I used my baking powder two days ago so I know it’s not that.
No baking soda in this one, only baking powder. Not sure what happened for you but thanks for trying the recipe.
I just made this for my kids and they devoured it! Thanks for another fantastic recipe ?
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad the kids went to town on it!
I made this loaf the other day and it turned out amazing! I am making two more for a wedding reception and I was wondering, can I double up on the recipe to make two loafs at the same time, or will it affect the turnout ?
Thanks,
Tracey
Making a double batch and baking in two pans will probably be okay but because it’s for a wedding and such an important event you may just want to make/bake one at a time just in case.
Hi! In the middle of making this, and I only have 1/3 cup of juice total from my cherry jar. How much juice do you think the batter needs?? Is that small amount enough? Thanks!
By now I’m sure you’ve carried on with the recipe. Hopefully everything works out great for you!
I just made this tonight but the outsides burned before thencenter is done. i filled the pans about 1/2 full. i doubled the batch because i was making it for a group tomorrow but now wont have it. any suggestions on what i could habe done differently so i can try again?
I would say that cooking a double batch of things in one oven can sometimes lead to uneven cooking. I would also tent the pan at about the 25-30 minute mark with foil which can help dramatically. Also sounds like your oven is running hot – you may consider turning it down 10 – 25 degrees and seeing if that helps. Thanks for trying the recipe.
Thanks for the recipe! I just made this and it tastes wonderful! However, both of my loafs fell…I was wondering if you have any tips to avoid this or what I might have done wrong?
Sometimes if you underbake quickbreads, just slightly, and the internal temp doesn’t reach quite high enough to ‘set’ the bread, they can fall upon cooling.
Make sure baking powder is fresh and use King Arthur brand flour. It has a slightly higher gluten content than other flours, giving a bit of structural insurance. Glad the bread tasted great!
I used new baking powder and same size pans. They didn’t rise much and the middles sank, which I think may be from placing some cherries on top before baking like you suggested. They sank and took the batter with it. Haven’t tasted them yet.
It’s always hard to say why things don’t turn out cosmetically perfectly when it comes to baking. It could be the weather (humidity, moisture, tend not to be a baker’s friend), your oven temp and calibration, the way you measured the ingredients…not sure. I have made this recipe many times and always with great success. Thanks for trying the recipe.
I used new baking powder and bread pans, I also experienced the middle not cooking completely – 3 separate occasions
Not sure what to tell you or what else to suggest. Maybe your oven is baking a little on the cooler side, that can contribute to things not cooking through completely, or you think they are, but they’re not quite there. Thanks for trying the recipe.
What a great story about your grandma, and I can’t wait to make this with mine!
Made this in advance of Valentine’s Day. Surprisingly I did not have the recommend loaf pan size, but it still turned out beautiful and delicious. Every bit was gone before I could get around to making the glaze. It will be a part of pink occasions to come. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you even without the rec. loaf pan and that it was gone before even getting to the glaze..that’s great to hear!
This bread turned out so wonderfully delicious! Thank you for sharing :) I just cut some slices for our dessert and am trying to resist going back for more! Mine was actually done around the 30 minute mark. I’m not sure if it was my oven but thought I’d share for others to check on their bread early :) next time, I think I will add some walnuts or pecans.
Oh I am so glad to hear it came out great for you and you’re happy! My grandma would be so happy to hear that :) And good tip about checking early!
Fantastic looking recipie. I love Cherries and almond. Christmas treat coming up. God Bless you Grand-ma. Thank you
I have gallons of donated maraschino cherries that were donated to our food pantry. So to make this bread I need to know how much cherry juice is in a 10 oz bottle…..after the 1/4 cup for the glaze is removed. Thanks…if the sample turns out I will be making dozens of loaves!!!!
Just guessing here but if in a 10 oz jar, half is juice/half is cherries, that’s about 5 oz of juice. Remove 1/4 c for glaze, so we’re at a bit under 4 oz which is a bit under 1/2 c juice. So I’d go with between 1/3 and 1/2 cup, you’ll have to use your judgment.
I was so excited to make this, but I messed it up terribly and don’t know how. My bread was dark brown all the way through. I checked it, and when I finally pulled it out, the batter still wasn’t done in the center. I used the size of pans you recommended (I don’t own bread pans, so I just bought the foil ones from Walmart). The bread also didn’t rise at all. In fact, it dips down in the center of each. I went back and made sure I had the oven set right, and used the right ingredients. I have no idea what I did :(
I don’t own bread pans, so I just bought the foil ones from Walmart = you use a cheapie foil pan that will basically cause anything in it to scorch and burn horribly around the sides and edges. Invest in a bread pan, even a $8-10 one from Walmart would be fine! That is the source of every single issue – from the burnt sides, center not cooking through, and while you’re at it pick up new baking soda and baking powder which may have contributed to the fallen center but I believe that is also due to a wobbly, cheap pan that is bouncing and shimmy’ing around so the batter never really can ‘grip’ the sides of the pan to rise properly.
Can replace vegetable oil with coconut oil? :)
I will definitely try this recipe out, thank you for sharing it with us :)
I haven’t tried it that way but it would probably work (and taste) great!
I love the idea of adding almond and vanilla extract to the batter. I’ll have to try that in mine next time! Your photography is gorgeous, as always!
Thanks for the compliments, Julie, and for stopping by to check out the bread. The almond (and vanilla) extract are so good with the cherries!
Is it normal for there to not be much batter per loaf pan? It wasn’t as full as it normally would look batter-wise when I make bread. And it didn’t rise much…and fell after taking it out of the oven :( It tasted pretty good, though. We had ice cream with it.
Depends what size pan you used. I prefer to bake 2 loaves in a 8×4 than 1 big 9×5 loaf, and yes, there isn’t tons of batter per pan in my pans, but sizes to vary slightly. It rose about what you’d expect a quickbread to rise. I’m thinking if yours didn’t rise well and then fell, you may have underbaked it a bit (internal temp not quite hot enough for full rising) or your baking powder could be not as fresh as possible. Glad you enjoyed the flavor of the bread!