Cantaloupe Tea Cake

I can only promise this will taste the way it’s intended IF you use Pecos cantaloupes. They’re far sweeter, have a thinner rind, the seed pocket is more compact and easier to remove in comparison to cantaloupes from other regions. If you’re using an inferior melon, you may need to adjust the sugar and vanilla in your recipe.

One tool that will help with this recipe is a Filipino melon scraper and I highly recommend getting one for your kitchen arsenal. I also use a hand mixer but an immersion blender would work okay as well. You’ll need two 5x8 loaf pans, greased and floured, or you can use the baker’s spray. You also need three medium-sized mixing bowls.

This recipe makes two loaves. It stores on the countertop for a couple of days, a week in the fridge, or you can freeze it for at least 6 months (maybe longer, but I’ve never had one last that long before being eaten). It’s especially good if you put it in the toaster oven or microwave and add some butter. Prep time is probably about 30 minutes and cook time is about an hour.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1½ teaspoon salt

  • 1½ teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 2 cups sugar

  • 3 large eggs

  • 1 cup vegetable oil

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • flesh from 1 cantaloupe, grated with melon scraper

Steps:

  1. Grease and flour two 5”x8” loaf pans

  2. Cut your melon in half, scoop out the seeds with a spoon, and grate the flesh into one mixing bowl. (I strain off the juice and freeze it for later use)

  3. Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, ginger, baking soda, and baking powder in another mixing bowl.

  4. In the third bowl, mix the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla with a hand mixer until well-blended. It might get a little frothy too. Fold in the drained cantaloupe by hand.

  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and fold by hand just enough to blend it together. Do NOT overmix or it will adversely affect the texture.

  6. Divide the batter between the 2 loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour. Check with a cake tester. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

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Two glass loaf pans sitting on an electric cooktop, both containing baked cantaloupe bread