Let me first say, this bread is AMAZING!!! Seriously, Ambrosia Bread might be the best recipe I’ve created to date. (Usually I’m a pretty modest person, but HOLY CANNOLI, you have to try this!!!) The combination of the sweet cherries, light pineapple, crunchy pecans, and coconut is perfect. Whoever created ambrosia salad is a genius!

Now, please stay with me. You might think this recipe sounds pretty good. You might even consider making it (yes, please!). But, please, please, please keep an open mind. Once you hear what the “secret ingredient” is, do not wrinkle up your nose. Honestly, when eating this you don’t know it’s in there. I served this to my pickiest eater, and he liked it. (This is a child who doesn’t like chicken or cake, so if he likes it, I feel it deserves a little attention.) 🙂

OK, back story…In our garden this year we planted our usual stuff: green beans, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, spinach, herbs, watermelon, pumpkins, butternut squash, and summer squash. For some reason, I didn’t have any zucchini seeds this spring. I love to have zucchini for grilling, making zoodles, and most importantly, zucchini bread! It produces a HUGE amount of produce, and zucchini is so versatile. So I was very sad when I found out none of the plants that came up in the garden had those precious little green squash attached.

However, the yellow summer squash was going crazy. I wondered, Could I make bread with summer squash? I decided to find out, and oh my! The results speak for themselves. It’s been 24 hrs. since I baked three loaves, and I only have one left. It’s “hiding” in the freezer.

I checked the ingredients in both of my grandmas’ zucchini bread recipes, and I also found a recipe for pineapple and carrot bread. Between the two recipes, I worked up a ratio of flour to sugar and also determined how much of the other ingredients I’d need. This list of ingredients is not a short one! Sorry!

First, of course, you need the yellow squash. I grated mine into a large bowl and then measured out two cups (lightly packed). The large squash I used had 1 1/2 cups of shredded squash left. I stuck that in the ‘fridge and I’ll use it in an omelet.

The list of ingredients also includes the following: flour, sugar, oil, pecans, coconut, maraschino cherries, crushed pineapple, eggs, vanilla, salt, baking powder, baking soda, butter flavoring, and almond extract. Remember, the outcome is worth it!

After grating the squash (be careful!), set it aside and get the crushed pineapple draining. I used a strainer over a glass measuring cup to collect the juice. You will want to drain the pineapple until it yields one full cup of juice. If this means you need to press down on the pineapple to extract more juice, that’s fine. Do it. 🙂 The juice will be divided and the pineapple will be measured out separately. Like the squash, you will have some leftovers. That’s fine.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Next chop a 1/2 cup of pecans, quarter 1/2 c. of maraschino cherries, and measure out 3/4 c. of shredded sweetened coconut. Also, grease three bread pans. Mine measure 4×8 inches. If yours are larger or smaller, only fill the pan 2/3 of the way full.

Using a mixer, beat three eggs, 1/2 c. vegetable oil, 1/2 c. pineapple juice, 1 t. salt, 1 T. vanilla extract, and 1 1/2 c. sugar until combined and thickened, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and slowly add in 3 c. of flour, 1 t. of baking soda and 1 t. baking powder. DO NOT OVER MIX. Only mix until just combined.

Fold in 1/2 c. chopped pecans, 1/2 c. crushed pineapple (that has been drained), 1/2 c. quartered cherries, 3/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut, and 2 c. grated summer squash.

Divide the dough between the three greased bread pans and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. I would recommend turning the pans at about 30 minutes to promote even browning.

While the loaves are baking, mix together the glaze ingredients. This is brushed on the loaves after they are taken from the oven and before they are removed from the pans. The glaze includes 1/2 c. sugar, 1/4 c. pineapple juice, 1/2 t. butter flavoring, 1/2 t. vanilla extract, and 1/2 t. almond extract.

The glaze makes a shiny, crunchy topping that is like candy. It really puts Ambrosia Bread over the top! Once the bread has cooled slightly (15 minutes or so), remove the loaves from the pans and let them cool completely on a wire rack before wrapping tightly for storage.

Each loaf should yield 10-12 slices, though I’m warning you…I ate almost 1/4 of a loaf while taking pictures. 🙂 In my mind, it is best to make Ambrosia Bread if you will be having company. I did cut down on the amount of oil and sugar from the original recipe, but…use your own judgement. 🙂

In life, it’s funny how some of the best things we experience are total surprises. Ambrosia Bread went beyond my expectations. I think I’ll purposefully plant summer squash next year just so I can freeze a bunch of it for this recipe.

Enjoy the little surprises in your piece of the world, and please leave some comments and let me know what you think.