Blackberry Limoncello Bread

Some months ago, a friend of mine had given me a bottle of her homemade Limoncello and I have been using it very frugally. I have used it in some recipes and have drunk little swigs of it every now and then and now I wanted to use the last remnants of it in something unusual. A couple of days ago I had also found some good ripe organic Blackberries at the supermarket, so I decided that a Blackberry Limoncello Bread was in order. I made a warm sauce out of Blackberry jam and Limoncello to go with it

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2. 1 teaspoon salt
3. 1 teaspoon baking powder
4. 8 ounces of blackberries
5. 1 cup sugar
6. 1/2 cup milk
7. 1 teaspoon of vanilla
8. 4 tablespoons of Limoncello
9. 1/3 cup butter, melted
10. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
11. 2 eggs
12. 1 lemon
13. 4 ounces of Blackberry Jam
14. 2 teaspoons of confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2. In a large mixing bowl mix the following ingredients: flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.

3. Add ½ the Blackberries (4 ounces) to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl

4. Add the melted butter to the bowl.
5. Add the olive oil to the bowl

6. Now add the vanilla to the bowl

7. Add the milk and the Limencello to the bowl

8. Add the eggs and the zest of 1/2 a lemon to the bowl and mix everything together with a whisk. Try to avoid mixing rigorously so that the Blackberries are not crushed.

9. Oil the inside of a loaf pan.
10. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and tap it gently so that the air bubbles are taken out of the batter.

11. Place the loaf pan in the oven and let it bake for 50-55 minutes (until the toothpick comes of dry).
12. Let the bread cool on a cooking rack before you cut it.

13. Sprinkle a little bit of confectioner’s sugar on top of the bread before cutting it.

14. To make the sauce – warm the Blackberry jam, two tablespoons of water and the juice of half a lemon, the zest of half a lemon and the remaining amount of Limoncello in a small sauce pan over very low heat. When the liquid starts to bubble, add the remaining amount of Blackberries (4 ounces) to the sauce and cook for another 1-2 minutes over very low heat. Stir constantly while the cooking process because the sugar in the jam can get burnt very easily. Turn the heat off.
15. To serve the bread, place a one inch thick slice of it on a serving plate and pour a little bit of the sauce on top (and if you’d like, also add a little bit of whipped cream). Enjoy!

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