This cherry bread with cherry glaze is a soft and delicious sweet cherry bread packed with fresh cherries. This easy fresh cherry bread is the perfect cherry quick bread and a simple cherry bread recipe for using up a summer cherry harvest.
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This cherry bread with cherry glaze is sweet, moist, and bursting with fresh cherry flavor. This easy cherry bread recipe walks you through every step so you can have a beautiful loaf of sweet cherry bread ready to enjoy in no time. Made as a simple cherry quick bread, there is no yeast or complicated rising required. To finish it off, a sweet, smooth, perfectly pink cherry glaze takes this fresh cherry bread to the next level—with a cherry on top!
Follow along and let’s make some cherry bread!
Cherry Bread with Cherry Glaze Recipe Tutorial
The Cherry Bread Ingredients
- Fresh cherries or 20 oz jar of cherries, drained and chopped. Reserve the liquid for the glaze.
- Sugar.
- Oil.
- Milk.
- Vanilla extract.
- Egg.
- Flour.
- Baking powder.
- Salt.
The Cherry Glaze Ingredients
- Powdered sugar.
- The reserved cherry juice.
- Melted butter.
Prepare the Cherry Bread Batter
For the Bread Batter: Mix the wet ingredients for your cherry bread until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until you have a smooth batter for your cherry quick bread.
If using fresh cherries, pit about 40 cherries, wash them, and chop them into smaller pieces. Soak the chopped cherries in cold water for a few minutes to create some cherry juice to reserve for the glaze. If you’re using a 20-ounce jar of cherries instead, drain them and reserve the juice in a separate bowl. You’ll use that beautiful cherry juice later to make the pink glaze for your cherry bread with cherry glaze. Chop the drained cherries and set them aside.
Before adding the cherries to the batter, lightly toss them in a little flour. This helps keep the pieces suspended throughout the fresh cherry bread rather than having them all sink to the bottom of the loaf pan while it bakes.
Gently fold the flour-coated cherries into the batter until they are evenly distributed. Try not to overmix. Now your sweet cherry bread batter is ready for the loaf pan and one step closer to becoming a delicious homemade cherry bread recipe!
Baking the Cherry Bread
Bake the Cherry Bread
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Pour the cherry bread batter into a well-greased loaf pan, spreading it evenly before placing it in the oven. Bake your sweet cherry bread for about one hour, or until it passes the toothpick test. I actually use a butter knife to check mine! It leaves behind a tiny slit that is barely noticeable and makes it easy to tell when the center of the cherry quick bread is completely baked.
Once your fresh cherry bread is finished baking, remove the loaf from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack. Allow it to cool completely before trying to remove the bread. This is important because removing a warm loaf too soon can cause the soft sides or bottom to tear.
Once cooled, gently run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the loaf. Carefully tip the pan over and allow the cherry bread to release onto your cutting board. Now your cherry bread with cherry glaze is ready for the best part—adding that beautiful sweet cherry glaze!
Making the Cherry Glaze
Make the Sweet Cherry Glaze
For the Cherry Glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar, reserved cherry juice, and melted butter until the glaze is smooth and creamy. Set it aside until your fresh cherry bread has completely cooled. Once poured over the loaf and chilled in the refrigerator, this beautiful pink glaze will set right on top of the bread.
I absolutely adore this perfectly pink, sweet, and smooth cherry glaze! It is so delicious drizzled generously over the top and really turns a simple cherry quick bread into something special. Honestly, the glaze might be my favorite part of this entire cherry bread recipe.
This is probably my favorite glaze I have made so far! Since I have my own cherry tree, I already know I’ll be making this sweet cherry bread again when I have plenty of fresh cherries to use.
And next time, I think I’m going to experiment with adding cream cheese to the glaze. A loaf of cherry bread with cherry glaze topped with a perfectly pink cherry cream cheese frosting? Yep, that sounds like another bread dessert I definitely need to make!
Add the Cherry Glaze
Once the loaf has completely cooled, it is time to add that gorgeous pink glaze! Drizzle it generously over the top using a small pouring cup or a spoon. There really is no wrong way to do this—the glaze will naturally run down the sides and make the loaf look absolutely delicious.
You could even use a small ladle and spoon the glaze right over the top! I like letting some of it drip down the sides because it gives the bread that beautiful homemade, bakery-style finish.
After adding the glaze, place the entire loaf in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. This gives it time to chill, set, and become slightly firm instead of running everywhere when you slice the bread. I simply leave mine right on the cutting board and place the whole thing in the refrigerator.
Once the glaze has set, your cherry bread recipe is officially ready to slice and enjoy!
Slicing the Cherry Bread
Slice and Serve Your Cherry Bread
Once the glaze has hardened and the loaf is completely cool, it is finally time to slice into it!
Using a serrated bread knife, carefully cut the loaf into individual slices. You can serve it immediately or store the slices in an airtight container or bread bag. I sliced the entire loaf, tucked the slices into a bread bag, and popped it into the refrigerator to keep everything fresh.
I served it to my family for breakfast the following morning. I warmed a couple of slices in the microwave for just a few seconds, added a little butter, and drizzled maple syrup over the top. Everyone got a couple of slices, and it disappeared quickly!
And you know what else I think would be amazing? Turning the leftovers into French toast! Can you imagine warm cherry French toast topped with that sweet pink glaze? The possibilities keep forming in my head, and having my own cherry tree makes experimenting with different ways to use fresh cherries even more fun.
Storing Your Bread
As mentioned previously, you can store this bread in a bread bag or an airtight container and leave it in the fridge. I mean, you can have a slice whenever you want, but it should stay in there until it is devoured!
How to Store Cherry Bread With Cherry Glaze
This cherry bread with cherry glaze should stay fresh for up to one week when stored covered in the refrigerator—if it even lasts that long! The sweet glaze helps make every slice of this cherry bread recipe feel like a special little treat straight from the fridge.
You can enjoy your sweet cherry bread cold, which is especially delicious during the summer, or warm a slice in the microwave for just a few seconds. Warming it slightly brings back that soft, fresh-from-the-oven texture and makes this fresh cherry bread taste like you just baked it.
Just be careful not to microwave your cherry quick bread for too long since you only need a little warmth to soften the bread and glaze.
Cherry Bread with Cherry Glaze
Equipment
- 1 loaf pan
Ingredients
Cherry Bread Ingredients
- 40 fresh cherries or 20 oz jar of cherries, drained and chopped. Reserve the liquid for the glaze.
- ¾ cups cups sugar.
- ½ cup cup oil.
- ½ cup milk.
- 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- 1 large egg.
- 2 cups flour.
- 2 tsp baking powder.
- ¼ tsp salt.
Cherry Glaze Ingredients
- â…” cups powdered sugar.
- 2 tbsp of the reserved cherry juice.
- 2 tbsp melted butter.
Instructions
For the Bread Batter
- Mix the wet cherry bread ingredients well.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix until a smooth consistency.
- Pit 40 fresh cherries and wash and chop them. Soak the chopped fresh cherries in cold water for a few minutes to form a juice to reserve. If using a 20-ounce jar of cherries, drain the juice, reserve it in a separate bowl, and set aside. This will be used for the cherry glaze recipe. Chop the canned cherries.
- Lightly coat the chopped cherries in flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the bread pan during the baking process. Fold in the flour-covered chopped cherries in the bread batter and combine well.
Baking the Cherry Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the cherry bread batter into a well-greased bread loaf pan and bake for one hour. It will be done once it is able to pass the toothpick test. I use a butter knife to check if the bread is done. It leaves a small slit that is barely noticeable.
- When the loaf is done baking, pull it out and place it on a cooling rack. Once the pan is completely cool, take a butter knife and run it around the edges to loosen the bread from the pan. TIP: Never try to remove bread from a hot or warm pan because the bread will tear and rip out the sides and bottom. Tip the pan over and allow the bread to carefully fall out. Place the bread on a cutting board for the next step.
Making the Cherry Glaze
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, reserved cherry juice, and melted butter until a smooth consistency and set aside. This cherry glaze will harden on the bread in the fridge.
- Once the bread is cool, drizzle the pink cherry glaze over top of the cherry bread. You can easily do this with a pour cup, ladle, or a spoon. It does not matter how you do it since it will turn out perfectly every time!
- After the cherry glaze has been drizzled on the cherry bread, place it in the fridge for thirty minutes to cool and allow the glaze to harden on a cutting board.
Slicing the Cherry Bread
- When the glaze is hardened and the bread is cool, it is time to slice this delicious loaf!
- Using a serrated bread knife, begin slicing the loaf into individual slices. You can serve this immediately or store it in an airtight container or bread bags.
Storing Your Bread
- Store this bread in a bread bag or an airtight container and leave it in the fridge.
- This bread should stay fresh for up to one week in the fridge if it is able to even last that long. It is good cold straight from the fridge or even better popped in the microwave for just a few seconds to get it back to that fresh just-out-of-the-oven warm taste!
Summary
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Here are some more of my bread-making inspiration posts to check out!
Artisan Bread: How to Make Artisan Bread
White Bread: How to Make White Bread
Sweet Bread: How to Make Sweet Bread
Blessings,
The Off Grid Barefoot Girl
