Each winter we receive a package on our doorstep…it’s a fun little box of sunshine! My parents spend the winters in sunny Florida…wonderful for them and not so bad for us either since we always have a place to stay! But while we wait for spring break to arrive we get that special treat in the mail…a little early taste of the sunshine state! The special treat I’m talking about is some tiny loaves of carambola bread. What’s carambola you might ask? Well you might recognize it by its more familiar name “starfruit”. That funny little yellow fruit that when sliced looks like tiny stars! Not only is it wonderful to receive the sweet treat but the story behind its special delivery is equally as fun! A friend of my parents has a carambola tree in her back yard. For the last several years it was becoming too much for her to keep up with the prolific production of fruit it would bear! So my parents stepped in, picked it until it was clean…then baked up a storm! There have been so many loaves baked that my parents, their friend, and all the other neighbors just couldn’t eat it all…this is when the special deliveries began! Sometimes, depending on how much fruit was produced, we would also receive more than we could eat…so I gave a couple away. Now I have some friends hooked on the stuff! The best part is that I too get to be a deliverer of some much anticipated “sunshine”! Let me share with you the recipe and a fun & easy way to dress it up as a gift!
special delivery…
even though the fruit for our special delivery was home-grown in Florida, the good news is that you can usually find carambola in the markets so it’s easy to give this delicious and unusual bread a try! i’ll share the printable recipe at the end of the post! since some of the breads in our package were intended for gifts i decided to create some simple, handcrafted tags to label what they were! paper tags, glue, glitter, and a pen are the only supplies needed…
i used craft paper and a white ink pen so the labeling would show up better (you can find these in most office supply stores)
with a paintbrush & glue i made the shape of a star that kind of mimics the sun…then topped it with yellow glitter. after shaking off the excess and letting them dry, i now have sparkly, little handmade tags to add to the simple packaging!
these loaves freeze wonderfully so i can keep them in the icebox until i’m ready to hand them out! just pop them in a cellophane bag tied with twine and they’re ready to bring some sunny smiles!
so if you feel like tasting something slightly tropical…bake up a batch of starfruit bread! fair warning, you might find it difficult to give it away…but you can always bake a double batch!
who might you make a special delivery to?
- 3 eggs
- 2 Cups sugar
- 1 Cup oil
- 2 Cups carambola fruit (star fruit) diced small, seeds removed, and ridges cut off. appx 10-12 large fruits
- 1 Cup craisens
- 1 Cup chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 Cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Beat the eggs until light and foamy. Add the sugar and oil and beat until mixed.
- Stir in by hand the carambola fruit, craisens, chocolate chips, and vanilla.
- Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a bowl and add to the fruit mixture. Stir by hand until blended. The mixture will be stiff.
- Pour mix into 5 small prepared loaf pans-sprayed well and bottoms lined with wax paper. Bake at 350 degrees until golden and no longer wet in the center. Cool on a rack for 20-30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely. Eat or freeze.
tammy
January 27
I love your mom’s bread. Julie and I are so lucky she sends us some loaves too! What a treat! 🙂
Lori
January 27
It’s so yummy! Do you ever try toasting it in a toaster oven? that’s pretty good too! I’m sure you both are enjoying yours as much as we are!