strawberry lemon pistachio cardamom gf/sf

 

Strawberry Lemon Pistachio Cardamom Tea Bread

GF • SF • 4 × 4 × 12-inch Tea Bread

WET

115 g butter, melted and cooled slightly
4 large eggs
200 g allulose or sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
120 g sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

DRY

120 g almond flour
110 g tapioca flour
60 g oat flour
20 g brown rice flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum or 1 1/2 tsp psyllium powder 
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
1½ tsp ground cardamom

STRAWBERRY–LEMON–PISTACHIO FILLING

225 g fresh strawberries, finely diced
Zest of 2 large lemons
75 g toasted pistachios, roughly chopped
85 g sugar-free white chocolate chips

Optional finishing sprinkle

15–20 g chopped pistachios
A few extra white chocolate chips

METHOD

Prepare the pan

Heat oven to 350°F.

Line your 4 × 4 × 12-inch tea-bread pan with parchment, leaving enough overhang to lift the loaf out.

Prepare the strawberries

Dice the strawberries fairly small.

If they are particularly juicy, spread them on a paper towel for a few minutes and gently blot the excess moisture. Don't squeeze them dry—we want strawberry flavor and little juicy pockets, just not a puddle of strawberry juice.

Mix the dry ingredients

Whisk together:

almond flour, tapioca flour, oat flour, brown rice flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and cardamom.

Set aside.

Mix the wet ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, eggs, allulose/sugar, vanilla, and almond extract until smooth.

Whisk in the sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Add the lemon zest and mix well.

Make the batter

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Stir just until completely combined.

Let the batter sit for 5 minutes so the oat flour and xanthan can hydrate.

Add the good stuff

Gently fold in:

diced strawberries
toasted pistachios
white chocolate chips

Don't overmix. The batter should be thick and scoopable.

Fill the pan

Spoon the batter into the prepared 4 × 4 × 12-inch pan.

Smooth the top.

Scatter a few extra pistachios and white chocolate chips over the top if desired.

Bake

Bake at 350°F for approximately 65–80 minutes.

Start checking around 60 minutes.

The loaf is done when:

the center is set,
the top is nicely browned,
a tester inserted into the center comes out without wet batter,
and the internal temperature is approximately 200–205°F.

If the top is browning too quickly, loosely tent with foil for the remainder of the bake.

Cool

Let the tea bread cool in the pan for 15–20 minutes.

Use the parchment to lift it out and transfer to a rack.

Cool completely before slicing. The crumb continues to set as it cools.

LEGRANDLAB NOTES

Flavor profile: strawberry first, bright lemon second, warm cardamom underneath, with toasted pistachio and creamy white chocolate.

The important architecture: This loaf uses the established LeGrandLab tea-bread flour/wet ratio. The oat flour is increased from 45 g to 60 g to give the batter a little more body for the fresh strawberries.

Strawberries: Small dice works better than large chunks in this long, narrow loaf. It distributes the fruit without creating giant wet pockets.

Pistachios: Toast them first if you have time. It makes a surprisingly big difference.

Cardamom: 1½ teaspoons gives it a noticeable presence without turning the loaf into a spice bread.

For GF/SF: Use certified GF oat flour and sugar-free white chocolate chips as appropriate.