Berry & Poppyseed Bread

I was debating whether or not to bake/cook something Valentine's Day specific. I wasn't really in the mood to brainstorm so I was leaning towards 'not.' But then, I realized we had a bunch of strawberries in the refrigerator that were starting to get past their prime. We also happened to have a few blueberries and raspberries and blackberries. And then, this recipe was born. It's not an obvious V-Day recipe but berries are sweet and romantic so I think it still works.

I wanted to bake something bread-ish that could still be a dessert so this is a multi-tasker. The bread can be eaten warm - either fresh from the oven or toasted - with just a smear of butter for breakfast or with a scoop of ice cream and maybe some chocolate syrup and it would make the perfect dessert. It's not overly sweet, the berries burst in your mouth, and the poppy seeds give great texture.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated apple (about 1 medium apple)
½ cup almond milk (or regular milk)
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2½ cups fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Chop the larger berries into bite-sized pieces and then pour the vanilla extract over the berries and set aside.

Peel and grate the apple on the coarse side of a box grater.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the grated apple, almond milk, brown sugar, olive oil, salt, and eggs. Whisk to combine.

Dump the flour, baking soda, and baking powder into the wet ingredients. Whisk just until the flour is incorporated. The batter will be quite thick.

Switch from a whisk to a rubber spatula and fold in the berries and poppy seeds.

Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray (I use a coconut oil cooking spray) or some butter.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Spread it evenly into the pan and bake at 350F for 1 hour, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes before running a knife around the edge and flipping it out.

Slice the bread into 1/2" pieces. Use a serrated knife and a sawing motion so you don't squish the bread.

Like I said above, you can do almost anything with this bread - top it with chocolate sauce, ice cream, sweet cream butter, even some ricotta cheese. This time around, I decided to spread a little butter on the still-warm pieces, drizzled a little honey over the melted and soaked-in butter, and then plopped on a generous dollop of barely sweetened whipped cream.

Delicious!

Here's the recipe page: