Chocolate Chip Cherry Fruitcake Loaf

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (measure after chopping)
• 1 cup chopped dates (get the moist kind on a tray and chop by hand) or 1 cup raisins or 1 cup sultana
• 1 cup candied red cherries, halves (also known as glazed fruitcake cherries)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 5 -6 extra candied red cherries, halves,to taste,for garnishing the top of the loaf

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 325 f and have ready a greased 9x5" loaf pan.
• 2 beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl until well combined.
• 3 in another large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
• 4 add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix well.
• 5 add nuts, dates or raisins, 1 cup cherry halves,& the chocolate chips and stir gently to combine.
• 6 pour into a greased 9x5" loaf pan(mixture will be very thick).
• 7 garnish top with a row of cherry halves down the center of the batter- press gently so they stick.
• 8 bake in a preheated 325 f oven for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean (there will be streaks of melted chocolate but not gobs of beige batter) - do not overbake or it will be as hard as a rock.
• 9 let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely.
• 10 usually i slice the loaf after it has cooled and seal it in a plastic zip-top bag, which helps keep it from hardening up.