Raspberry Almond Quick Bread

John had a slice of this and said "I think this is the best thing you've ever made" awesome!!!!

So I mentioned the other day that November 17th is National Bread Day, and the people at Driscoll's asked if I'd like to try a recipe featuring their berries (bonus they would send me a coupon to buy their berries) Of course I said yes!! But you all know I can't follow directions... at all... The recipe is by Dede Wilson. Dede, I'm positive your recipe would be over the top delicious, and I'm going to post her original recipe at the end of the post... but I kinda... ok TOTALLY remade the recipe...


The blackberries were swapped for Driscoll's raspberries (come on raspberries kick butt) the walnuts tossed to the side in favor of almonds, all butter taken away (I replaced the melted butter in the streusel with agave!), whole wheat flour replaces white, and reduced fat sour cream stands in for the full fat variety. Dede I really mean no disrespect, I hope you don't mind that I healthed up your recipe, it had great bones so I knew it would translate well! This loaf was super tasty, the coworkers were amazed there was no butter in it, it's super moist!

Want to see the nutrition stats side by side? This is for 1/10th of the loaf:
We dropped over 150 calories and more importantly took out 17.5 g of fat along with 9.4 g of saturated fat per serving!!! I used calorie count recipe analysis for both my version and hers, Driscoll provided stats with her recipe and the ones I calculated are pretty close to what they said. But the most important part is this loaf tasted DELICIOUS!!!


Raspberry (or blackberry) Almond Streusel Quick Bread
recipe redo by steph chows
Makes 1 9x5” loaf

Streusel:
1 cup lightly toasted almonds, finely chopped
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons agave nectar

Bread:
2 cups fresh Driscoll’s Raspberries (or blackberries), divided
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
dash fine grain sea salt
½ cup unsweetened apple sauce (I used Musselman's)
1/3 cup granulated organic zero (or granulated splenda or white sugar)
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup reduced fat sour cream

Make the Streusel: Toss the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. Add agave and stir until combined. Divide mixture in half into two bowls; set aside.

Make the Quick Bread: Arrange oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9”x5” loaf pan with nonstick spray.

Chop (I just used my fingers and pulled them apart gently) 1 cup of Driscoll’s berries and toss them with half of the reserved streusel; set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to aerate and combine; set aside.

Beat together apple sauce and sugars. Beat in vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 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.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly with a small offset spatula. Top with streusel/chopped berry mixture, forming an even layer. Scrape remaining batter on top, spreading carefully to cover center streusel layer. Top with remaining streusel and place remaining whole blackberries evenly over top, pressing gently to help adhere.

Bake for about 55 minutes or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs when removed. Cool pan on wire rack for 15 minutes, then unmold directly onto rack, right side up, to cool completely.

Original recipe by Dede Wilson:
Blackberry Walnut Streusel Quick Bread

This quick bread is very easy to make with the additional benefit of being a very good keeper; it stays moist for days at room temperature.

Makes 1 9x5” loaf

Streusel:
1 cup lightly toasted walnut 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

Bread:
2 cups fresh Driscoll’s 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

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

Make the Quick Bread: Arrange oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9”x5” loaf pan with nonstick spray; thoroughly coat with flour, removing any excess.

Chop 1 cup of Driscoll’s Blackberries and toss them with half of the reserved streusel; set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to aerate and combine; set aside.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Add sugar and brown sugar and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 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.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly with a small offset spatula. Top with streusel/chopped blackberry mixture, forming an even layer. Scrape remaining batter on top, spreading carefully to cover center streusel layer. Top with remaining streusel and place remaining whole blackberries evenly over top, pressing gently to help adhere.

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. Cool pan on wire rack for 15 minutes, then unmold directly onto rack, right side up, to cool completely. Wrap in aluminum foil to store at room temperature for up to 4 days.