Have you ever had days where you want to bake something, but you don’t want to think too hard about it? I was having one of those days, and this recipe came about because of it.
I baked this a few nights ago and literally just decided on the ingredients as I opened the cupboards to see what I had on hand. I had the pecans from the previous post. I knew I had some blueberries in the fridge that were on the verge. The chocolate was a surprise!
Ben took the whole loaf to his work, and said his coworkers loved it, so I decided to make it again. I think it turned out a little better today, because I added less sugar this time. (Last time I think I added one and a half cups of sugar, as well as the agave nectar!)
A sign that you may have added too much sugar, is that the top of the bread gets really brown! I think the one I made this time around is just the right amount of brown. It’s plenty sweet, so it doesn’t really need a glaze, but you can probably add one to make it look purty.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy. You can probably substitute any nut for the pecans, as well as any berry, or even any other fruit(as long as it’s cut up), for the blueberries, and any type of chocolate, or chocolate chips, for the coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate. I think I made the right call with the bittersweet, because I think chocolate chips tend to be milk chocolate, or semi-sweet chocolate, and this was already plenty sweet.
Blueberry Pecan Chocolate Chunk Bread
ingredients
1 + 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup agave nectar, dark
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped coarsely
1 cup blueberries, fresh
zest of one lemon (optional)
1 cup pecan pieces
method
Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl and stir with a whisk. Set aside. Grease a 9-inch by 5-inch rectangular loaf pan. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In another bowl, add the softened cream cheese and butter, and cream with a hand held mixer for a minute. Add the sugar and agave nectar. Cream more. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until incorporated.
Add the vanilla extract. Beat again until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl again. Add the flour and mix on low until the flour is just wet from the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the chocolate chunks, pecans, lemon zest(if using), and the blueberries. Do not over mix.
Scrape into the prepared pan and level the top with an small offset spatula, or the back of a spoon. Place in the center rack of the oven and bake for about an hour. Use a toothpick test at the center of the loaf to make sure it is not undercooked in the middle, but don’t over bake, or it will get dry.
Cool for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely before wrapping in plastic or storing in a plastic container at room temperature.
DAVE BAKES 
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