Use Candied Fruit for Cakes and Instant Cooking
Many quick breads (such as banana) and cakes (such as carrots) require small amounts of pecans or walnuts. I usually take pecans because they are tasty walnuts, but this weekend I will further enhance palatability, adding candied pecans in a carrot cake that I prepared for another.
I don’t know why I don’t do this all the time I bake. Candied nuts give your pie or quick bread (which is also a pie, to be fair) a little more flavor, a little more spice, and a little more sugar. You can add them to the dough in the same proportions as regular nuts, but they also make a delicious decorative filling as sugar makes things shiny and beautiful.
You can buy the nuts already candied (which I did), or you can cook them yourself in a slow cooker , which gives you a little more control over the final flavor profile. If you do decide to dye the nuts, just make sure you allow them time to dry completely before adding them to the dough to keep them as crisp as possible. Then just add the recipe’s amount of nuts and set aside a little more for the decorative filling. They look great with a cream cheese frosting, but you can toss a few cute halves right on top of the unbaked banana bread if you’re feeling cocky.