This Berry Breakfast Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting is more a cake pretending to be a bread – and any day that starts with ‘cake’ is going to be a great one in my opinion!
My partner’s brother and sister in-law run a guest house on the coast and they say you can always spot the casual visitor from the long-term guests. Those on a short weekend retreat will generously guzzle at breakfast, taking in the full experience of foods on offer. The longer-term guests start out as such, but sustainably move on to a solitary Weetabix and mug of coffee once the novelty wears off. Afterall, enough is always as good as a feast.
I know some people love having a full English breakfast cooked for them when they go away. I, however, always gravitate towards the continental items – buttery, flaky croissants, yoghurt, fruits and Danish pastries.
No matter how many different recipes I have attempted to recreate the indulgence of a sweet European treat, I have always been disappointed with the results. Either the recipe commands the use of an inexcusable amount of butter, or the dough will turn tough and unyielding mere hours after it emerges from the oven.
This berry breakfast bread recipe is therefore one of my proudest achievements. It has the texture of a soft bread yet remains light and soft for several days afterwards. It also produces two significantly large loaves, making it perfect for an occasional treat when you have guests staying over. With no yeast involved in proceedings, it is great to make quickly when time is short.
I use my Pumpkin Spice Mix in this breakfast bread recipe, but any mixed spice mix would work just as well… Alternatively, use 1tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2tsp ground ginger and a good grating of nutmeg.
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Berry Breakfast Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 100g Maple Syrup or Honey
- 125g Natural Yoghurt
- 140ml milk
- 75ml Sunflower Oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 700g Self Raising Flour
- 2tsp Baking Powder
- 2tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2tsp Mixed Spice or Pumpkin Spice Mix
- 80g Porridge Oats
- 80g Brambles/Blackberries
- 80g Blueberries
- 140g Apricot Jam
- 200g Icing Sugar
- 100g Unsalted Butter (room temp)
- 150g Cream Cheese (room temp)
- 1 tbsp boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/ Gas Mark 5. Line two large baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
- Separate two of the eggs, placing the whites into a medium sized bowl. Lightly whisk the whites with a fork until they are slightly frothy. Add 1tsp of mixed spice, 25g of the maple syrup and whisk again to combine. Finally fold through the porridge oats, brambles and blueberries with a spoon. Place to one side while you make the dough.
- Measure the milk, yoghurt, sunflower oil, yolks and the third egg into a new bowl. Add 1tsp of vanilla extract and the remaining 75g of maple syrup before whisking briefly to combine.
- Sift the self-raising flour, 1tsp of mixed spice, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Pour the liquid mix into a well in the centre and bring together with a wooden spoon. Turn the dough out onto a floured worksurface and lightly knead it for around a minute.
- Whisk the fourth egg with a tbsp of cold water in a small bowl. Divide the dough into two and roll each piece out to form a rough rectangle shape, measuring about 40cm by 25cm. Brush the long edge with a little of the egg wash. Divide the oat/berry mix into two and gently spread it out across the middle of each rectangle. You may need to place the berries across the dough to ensure they are roughly spread out. Try and take the oaty mix up to the short edges of the dough. When complete, roll the dough into a sausage from the long edge, pinching the seams together to seal.
- Place each dough sausage onto one of the baking sheets, sealed seam side down. Using a sharp knife, cut both sausage in half lengthways, leaving a piece of approx. 3cm dough attached at the top. Separate the two cut parts and carefully twist one over the other to form a rough plait shape. Pinch the two cut ends together and fold underneath to form a seal. Once both loaves have been shaped, carefully brush all over with the egg wash before placing into the oven for 30 minutes.
- When there is 5 minutes left on the timer, measure the apricot jam into a small pan and melt over a medium heat. You want the jam to slacken off and begin to steam, but not boil.
- Once the cooking time is up, remove the loaves from the oven. Remaining on their baking trays, generously brush the apricot jam over the loaves while they are still piping hot. I use a silicone brush for this, making sure I work the jam into all the folds of the bread. Continue brushing until both loaves are covered and there is no jam left in the pan.
- Allow the loaves to cool on the baking sheets for around ten minutes before carefully lifting off onto a cooling rack.
- Once the loaves have cooled, make the cream cheese frosting. Place the butter and cream cheese into a bowl and beat together until well combined. Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 1 tbsp of water from a freshly boiled kettle and mix to combine. Finally, sift in the icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy – similarly to loosely whipped cream. I find it easiest to use an electric beater for this.
- Share the frosting by splodging teaspoons of the mix along a centre line lengthways down each loaf. The frosting will start to fall down the sides of the loaves by itself, but I like to use the prongs of a fork to gently swirl it around.
- Slice like a loaf cake into generous wedges and serve at any time of the day. This bread stores well in an airtight container, placed into a cool place and will keep for several days. Best eaten at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Category: BAKING, BAKING WITH CHILDREN, BREAD, BREAKFAST
Keywords: Breakfast, Baking, Bread, Blueberries, Cream Cheese Frosting, Baking with children, make with children, family time
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