Strawberry Tea Bread Is a Sweet Summer Treat

Serve this delicious tea bread at breakfast or afternoon tea, or offer it as dessert after a meal. (Diane Rossen Worthington/TNS)

In the world of Seriously Simple cooking, complicated cakes and confections are only for special occasions. For everyday treats, I am a fan of quick breads and cakes, since they offer sweet flavor, moist texture, and quick preparation time.

I’ve played around with many different varieties but never made a strawberry-flecked tea bread before this one. I happened to be at my friend’s house in the later afternoon, and she offered me a slice of her just-cooled strawberry bread along with a cup of English tea. It was a lovely combination. I asked her for the recipe and then developed my own, which I think you will love.

It’s the height of strawberry season right now, so you are bound to find sweet, succulent ruby-red strawberries at your market. I opt for organic ones, because I was told it’s difficult to remove pesticides from regular strawberries.

Loosely tossing the berries with flour keeps berries from dropping to the bottom of the bread. And when you add the strawberries to the batter, pulse them to mix, making sure there are small pieces intact. Of course, you can use an electric mixer, but I like the ease of this food processor method.

You’ll notice there is both baking powder and soda in this recipe to help the bread rise. Baking soda is usually added when buttermilk is in the recipe.

Make sure to cool the cake completely so it will be easy to slice. I found the cake to be just sweet enough. A drift of powdered sugar atop is all it needs for an appealing finish.

While I have enjoyed this as an afternoon tea break, I have found it is also lovely for breakfast with a frothy cappuccino. It also makes a quick dessert with the addition of sliced strawberries and vanilla yogurt.

Strawberry Tea Bread

Makes 1 loaf, about 12 slices

• 1 and 1/2 cups coarsely chopped strawberries
• 2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Toss the strawberries in 1 tablespoon flour in a bowl until evenly coated. Reserve.

Sift the 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a bowl. Reserve.

In a food processor bowl, combine the egg, granulated sugar, brown sugar, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla and process until well-blended.

Add the dry ingredients slowly into the food processor bowl and process until batter is smooth. Add in the strawberries and pulse a few times just until strawberries are well-distributed and in small pieces. Transfer the batter into the greased loaf pan.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Check every few minutes after 55 minutes so it does not overbake. Place the bread on a wire rack and let cool. When cool, invert onto the wire rack. When cool, dust with powdered sugar and with a spatula transfer to a serving plate.

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