Strawberry-Cream Cheese Quick Bread...With Strawberry Whipped Butter

It's safe to say that strawberries are my absolute favorite fruit...I'm a very happy gal when spring comes and the red, juicy berries are back in season!! Michael loves them too...so much that he came home from work one night this week with three containers of strawberries. I had also picked up a container on my home that day, so we suddenly had a LOT of strawberries on hand at Casa Garcia. A fridge full of strawberries meant we enjoyed eating a lot of strawberries this week. Good thing they're healthy as well as delicious!!

Some made their way into the salad featured on my Newman's Own video post, while others were added to breakfast cereal and on top of yogurt. Despite eating strawberries every single day this week, I still had most of the last container in the fridge this morning. I decided to use them to bake up a little treat. After thumbing through cookbooks and looking online, I decided on a strawberry quick bread recipe from the King Arthur Flour website. 

Never being one to leave well enough alone, I decided to add a layer of strawberry-infused cream cheese to the middle of the loaf. Then I had another idea! I also made some delicious whipped strawberry butter to serve on the side. The combination is pure strawberry goodness...call it Love at First Bite if you will! This bread is very easy to whip up, and your kitchen will smell heavenly while the loaf bakes. It's sweet enough for a snack or light dessert, but is just healthy enough for a take-along breakfast.

Strawberry-Cream Cheese Bread with Strawberry Whipped Butter

adapted from King Arthur Flour's website

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour a 9x5 loaf pan. Make the cream cheese layer by using a mixer to combine the following ingredients: 6 ounces softened cream cheese, 2 tbs. strawberry jam, 1 egg, and 1/3 cup sugar. Set aside in the fridge while you make the batter.

Step 2:  Combine the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl: 1 stick melted butter, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, the zest of two lemons, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Whisk well to combine.

Add 1/3 cup milk, 1.5 cups flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cinnamon to the wet mixture. Whisk well to combine. Carefully fold 1 cup chopped strawberries into the batter.

Step 3:  Add half of the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Pour the cream cheese mixture down the center. Top with the remaining batter and smooth carefully. Use a butter knife to swirl the batter and cream cheese.

Step 4:  Bake for 55-60 minutes, until the loaf is golden and a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean. While the bread is baking, make the strawberry butter. Combine 1/2 stick softened butter, 2 tbs. whipped cream cheese, 2 tbs. strawberry jam, 2 finely chopped strawberries, and 1/3 cup powdered sugar in a bowl. Whip with a mixer until well combined and fluffy. Spoon it into a small ramekin and refrigerate to firm up.

After the bread has cooked, let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on a rack for at least an hour. To serve, slice with a sharp serrated knife. The bread is moist, with pieces of strawberry and a ribbon of strawberry-flavored cream cheese.

Serve the bread with the whipped strawberry butter on the side. The bread is delicious without it, but the flavored butter takes it over the top. And sometimes? That's just what you need...

And other times? Something is so tempting that you just have to have a bite...or two...even if you're setting up your shot! Yes...those are my bite marks in the slice of bread on the plate. At least I took time to wash my hands before taking the pic...

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