Papaya Bread–12 weeks of Christmas Treats

I received a papaya in my Bountiful Basket last week and didn’t know exactly what I’d do with it. But experience has taught me that the best way to get unfamiliar fruit eaten at my house is to bake it up as a quick bread. I wasn’t sure this was possible for papaya. But I checked and VOILA!

I enjoyed this bread more than anyone, because it reminded me of the fruitcake my grandmother used to make every year. As a youngster, I wasn’t fond of fruitcake. I didn’t like those big old candied cherry chunks. But over the year I came to appreciate my grandma’s fruitcake as much for the flavor as for the love and effort I knew she put into this annual endeavor.

I had a couple of my unwilling participants ask for no walnuts. I also have a boy who doesn’t like raisins, but I didn’t make a special raisin-free loaf just for him, because I didn’t really think he’d like the bread anyway. He did like it though *fall on the floor in shock* when I broke off a piece without raisins.

I recommend keeping the raisins and the nuts. Together they added to the overall fruitcake-like experience. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and be sure to hope over the Meal Planning Magic, out blog hop host, or follow the links at the bottom of this post for more great baking ideas.

Papaya Bread

makes 2 loaves; oven 350°

2 cups shredded papaya—I halved it lengthwise, scooped out the seeds, peeled it with a potato peeler, split each half lengthwise again and shredded the meat with my handheld box grater. Then I drained it by squeezing inside a washcloth and leaving it in my colander till I was ready to add it to the bread. If you end up with a little more than 2 cups, just use it all anyway.

Beat together: 1 cup oil, 2 cup sugar, 4 eggs

Add dry ingredients: 3 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon each salt, cinnamon, and ginger, ½ teaspoon allspice

Stir in the shredded papaya, along with 1 cup raisins and 1 cup chopped walnuts

Divide into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake for an hour or more till a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. This was a little crumbly when I cut it. So do whatever trick you have to make pretty slices.

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