I’ve been waiting for months and months to give you this recipe. Since I only make this at Christmas-time, I didn’t think it appropriate to share it when the temps outside were in the 90’s. Although this is not my original recipe, I will tell you I’ve been making this for about 40 years, and this is one of those recipes – if you’re a regular reader of my blog – that I say – “now, listen up! I’m about to share something important.” Hence it is. Important. My mother’s friend Mary gave me this recipe, back in about 1969 or 1970. We had a group of us – 4 women: my mother, Fay, and two of her friends, Esther and Mary, both near her age. And me. We played the Japanese version of Mah Jong about every 2 weeks or so, and one of us provided lunch. It had to coincide with when my daughter, Dana, went down for her nap, so more often than not, it was at my house. After eating the repast we’d then play the game for a couple of hours.

So, Mary brought this, one Mah Jong day, when it was close to Christmas. My mother (and dad both) liked fruitcake. But I never did. Still don’t. I’ve been known to try a nibble, with somebody’s prized recipe, thinking that maybe my taste buds have changed, that I’ve matured somehow. Or that somebody has found some unique new way to make fruitcake palatable. Sorry. No. I still don’t like fruitcake. I detest citron, and anything close to it. So, when Mary brought this over, explaining that it was something like fruitcake, I was suspicious. However, she quickly said she didn’t like fruitcake, either. Oh good. I became a bishop’s bread convert from the first bite. SO:

• I do like maraschino cherries. Certainly I don’t eat them 11 months of the year. I mean, where do we ever even SEE maraschino cherries anymore except on some caterer’s platter or in a Shirley Temple. I went through a stage in the 1970’s when red dye was an anathema, but that didn’t keep me from making bishop’s bread, I’m sorry to say. So much for my dedication to the shrine of a healthy body! But now they don’t use the bad red dye (supposedly), so I hope that since this is only consumed by me for these few, short weeks, maybe I’ll live another day.

• And, I like chocolate too. You all already know that. You can use Nestle’s chips, or cut up your own, or use some other brand. The better the brand the better the bread. You could use milk chocolate too, I suppose.

• And, I like walnuts.

• But, I don’t like fruitcake.

• Enter, ta da: Bishop’s Bread!

So, on to this recipe. If you’re going to be a stickler for detail, I suppose this does bear some resemblance to fruitcake – it has a similar consistency – chunks of goodies glued together with a basic cake recipe. Kind of like pound cake. But, instead of citron and dried fruit (lemon, lime, orange, red candied cherries, dates, figs, etc) this has nothing but chocolate chips, walnuts and maraschino cherries. The cherries maintain their moistness, and you combine them with walnuts and chocolate, and it’s a marriage made in heaven, I say. Yes, it’s a bread-like shape, and you slice it like fruitcake, but it isn’t. I promise. On my honor.

Here’s how it’s made:
There’s the walnuts, chocolate chips and masarschino cherries all mixed with all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt). The sugar goes into the egg mixture, which is added next.

You add in the eggs and sugar mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir with a spatula until everything is well coated AND you can’t see any white flour bits anywhere.

There’s the raw batter spooned into the pans – this time I used pretty paper pans, so I didn’t have to use the buttered waxed paper on the bottom because you tear off the “box.”

There they are, just baked and cooled. They make lovely gifts for people at this time of year.

You can bake it in bread pans, so you’ll have just one loaf using the recipe below. Or, if you’re a Bishop’s Bread lover, then you bake in large quantity. Today I made a quadruple batch. It would make 4 bread pans full, but I had some smaller, cute little cardboard ones that are perfect for giving away (picture above). I made seven of them and one loaf pan. I’ll keep the loaf sized one and very judiciously give away the others. Only to very special friends. You can interchange nuts if you’d prefer something different. And if you don’t like maraschino, then substitute apricots, perhaps, or dried cranberries maybe. But it won’t be the same.

Over the years I’ve tried to find out the history of this bread/cake. The internet hasn’t been of much help other than to give me several similar recipes (purportedly dating to the 1950’s) with candied cherries, sometimes almonds or pecans, chocolate, and dates. I did see a couple with maraschino cherries, so this must have been somebody’s interpretation. Obviously, the way-back origin must be religious in some way with the word “bishop” in the title. I did find this, though:

Any purchased or homemade cake decorated with the bishop’s name and a tiny mitre can be used on the feast of a bishop-saint, the traditional cake is Bischofsbrot or “Bishop’s Bread.” (this was from a Catholic Church website)

It probably did have candied cherries in it at one time. Whatever it is, I adore this bread. And if you’re a regular reader of my blog, and you like my recipes, then I sincerely request that you make this bread. Post Haste.
printer-friendly CutePDF
Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook 14 (click link to open in MC)

Tweet

Hello. My name is Carolyn. And I’m an oil, vinegar and dishes addict. I need a 12-step program, I think. They come out with some new flavored oil or vinegar and I’m a sucker. Hand it to me. Gotta have it. I’m embarrassed to say that I have way too many, and more often than not, when I’m making a complex salad dressing (I usually make my own, since I dislike most bottled dressings) I don’t even GO to my cabinets for these specialty oils or vinegars because I think the flavor will be wasted (as well as the money I paid for them) in the dressing.

So, now you know. I’m flawed. It’s a good thing I don’t really have a food budget. My DH probably wishes I did. I do remember the days when I really had to watch what I spent, but thankfully life has been good to us. I do look at prices, but if I want some kind of food item, I’ll usually buy it. The only time DH complains is when I buy dishes. I do love buying new dishes. I have to just slap my hands sometimes when I get into a TJMaxx store or Home Goods and I see some darling little set of 4 plates. No salad plates with them. Maybe 2 bowls. Or, maybe a couple more soup bowls would be nice. I just have to talk to myself. Where will I put them. Will I really, really use them? I walked in the door the other evening with a set of 8 salad plates. Since DH washes almost all of the dishes, I couldn’t fool him by hiding them somewhere and pulling them out in a couple of weeks. He’d know. So I confessed right up front. WHAT?, he said. This wasn’t a what, dear, kind of response. It was a loud WHAT? Then I reminded him that our little set of 4 dark green salad plates that kind of went with our everyday dishes now was a set of 3. We can’t use a set of 3 plates. They’re going out into the donation bag in the garage, I said. So these are to replace those. But why 8, he said? Well, because when I bought the other four, that’s all they had. The new ones had 8, so I bought them all. They were only $2.99 each, I said. As if that would make much difference. He sighed. And washed them. I reminded him that I don’t have many vices. Buying books and cookbooks maybe. Spending time on the computer, yes. And probably this blog too. I think I’m forgiven. I think.

So what brought this all to mind was making a salad dressing yesterday. I’d read about the dressing over at Culinary Fool, and thought it was so festive and holiday-ish. So I got out all the ingredients and went to my vinegar cupboard. You want to see?

Yup, those are ALL oils (mostly in the left two) and vinegars (mostly right). The shelf at top right is awry because it’s where DH stores his wine essentials (corkscrew, cap remover) so it sits cattywampus because I need the height for the bottles below.

When we had our kitchen remodeled there was this space at one end of the island, facing our family room. The cabinet maker was going to just put in blind ends there. They’d have looked pretty, but I knew there was about 4-5 inches of depth in there. Crying out for just the right things to store on shelves. Aha. Oils and vinegars. Perfect home for them. One cupboard is a bit deeper, so I can get 2 layers in there. I made the cabinet maker put in cupboards. I don’t want to know how much extra that was. I’m very happy with my oil and vinegar cupboards.

But, I’ve digressed; back to the salad dressing: Searching through the vinegar options, I found a citrus vinegar, a specialty one. Perfect, I thought, to go with the orange juice in the dressing and the cranberries. I like all the pretty shaped bottles they use for vinegars these days. I have a couple of balsamic bottles that are too tall for these cupboards, so they have to live in the walk-in pantry. But I forget about them in there.

This dressing isn’t appropriate for every salad. With the fruit (cranberries) and juice (orange) it’s best suited for a simple salad. I used half sugar and half Splenda, to keep the carbs down a bit. Apples, just a few, sliced in a simple salad would be nice. Or pears. Dried cranberries are so popular to toss into salads, but I think they’d be too sweet in this case. Certainly some toasted nuts would go well. I added walnuts. My salad came together, then, with arugula, head lettuce even, sliced apple and walnuts. Very yummy. Thanks to Culinary Fool for this one. It’s a keeper. It’s better used up immediately.
printer-friendly PDF

Tweet

Parsnips are a hugely under-rated vegetable. My mother never served them. In fact, until I was an adult I thought a parsnip was another one of those root veggies like turnips and rutabagas, i.e. round, globe shaped, which I didn’t like, really. But parsnips are a completely different animal. They look like anemic carrots, but they’re very firm. But also extremely tasty. I forget to buy them. But then, my local grocery store doesn’t carry them except on an occasional basis. Probably because lots of other people THINK they don’t like them, either. Or, they don’t know how to prepare them. Parsnips have a lovely, sweet taste when cooked, kind of like carrots do. They blend beautifully into soups, as a matter of fact, and add another layer of flavor if you’re making a carrot or potato soup. They also make a very nice vegetable (a carb, albeit) to serve with a roast or a grilled piece of meat. You can mash it just like potatoes once they’re cooked. Just peel well, simmer and mash with a little butter and salt and pepper.

I’ve had parsnips several times when I’ve visited places in the United Kingdom. The Brits know all about parsnips. I think our friend Pam once served us a parsnip soup as a first course for a lovely Sunday dinner. Sometimes you’ll see them in long quarters beside a big juicy roast – like we’d serve carrots.

So, when Cherrie and I were served this apple and parsnip soup the other day (at a cooking class at Our House, South County in San Juan Capistrano), we both did our best to lick the inside of the cups clean. We couldn’t quite, but we tried. It’s a simple soup, really, with a nice gentle undercurrent of curry powder (eliminate it if you don’t like curry). This would freeze well, except for the garnish, although you could toast the pecans and put them in a small plastic bag inside the soup bag.

Everyone at our table raved about the soup too. It was a stunner. The winner in my book, if there was one, of all the recipes in the class. It was served with a cheddar and apple panini (pictured with the soup, above). My hats off to Sarah, the chef at the cooking school (who reads my blog, she told me!). Well done, Sarah! I’ll be making this soup next week without a doubt.
printer-friendly PDF

Tweet