Vegan Crystalized Buddha Hand Dark Chocolate Bread

Now most of you are probably saying to yourself: what the fuck is "buddha hand"? Now I'm going to show you a picture of it, it's incredibly sketchy and weird looking BUT it's addictive and delicious. My mom discovered this strange thing that I believe belongs to the citrus family (?) last year. She looked up recipes and made a simple syrup, and crystalized it. It tastes almost like a cross between orange peel, and ginger. I really can't tell you how to crystalize it but I bet you can google it (if you happen to find it in a store or online). Otherwise, you can absolutely sub in orange peel, crystalized ginger or really anything that you think resembles it--maybe even dry fruit!

Now here's what buddha hand looks like raw: 

 

It looks terrifying and scary but it's AMAZING. When ripe, the fruit opens up and turns yellow but when it is either cold or unripe, it closes up and is green. When crystalized, it's a delicious addition to salads, quinoa/rice dishes, stuffing, cranberry relish, ice cream, oatmeal--really anything. Now I decided  to steal the rest of the jar we had sitting in the fridge and make some vegan bread. Lately I've been heavily craving the fabulous combination of ginger and dark chocolate so I chose to change it up a little. This recipe is originally based off a cranberry hazelnut bread recipe but i changed around a bunch of things and made it my own.

Ingredients:
-1 cup (8oz/236ml) nondairy milk (I used almond)
-1 teaspoon lemon juice (I just used 1/2 a lemon squeezed and estimated)
-2 cups (256g) flour (I used white all purpose but I think you could also use whole wheat, buckwheat, oat and maybe some others that are as dense)
-1/2 cup (120g) coconut sugar (the recipe called for white but I decided to use coconut instead because I prefer it)
-1 1/2 teaspoons (6g) baking powder
-3/4 teaspoons (6g) baking soda
-1 teaspoon (6g) salt
-1/3-1/2 cup apple sauce
-1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla
-1/4 cup (2oz/60ml) coconut oil (you can also use vegetable or canola oil)
-1/4 cup dried fruit of choice (buddha hand, ginger, cranberries, figs, dates, raisins etc)-1/4 cup vegan dark chocolate/semisweet chips/chunks  (you can use normal ones if you don't need it to be vegan)
-1/4 cup nuts (optional, I chose not to)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or spray with nonstick cooking spray a standard 9x5 loaf pan (I used coconut oil spray)
2. In a small non-reactive bowl or glass measuring cup, combine milk and lemon juice. Set aside.
3. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add applesauce, vanilla, and oil to milk mixture and whisk together.
4. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. Gently stir ingredients until just combined. Fold in fruit, nuts (OPTIONAL)  and chocolate (also optional but why not). 
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, push it into the corners, and smooth the top. 
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until loaf is golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 
7. Allow loaf to cool 10-15 minutes in the pan before turning out to finish cooling on a wire rack (or slice and serve still warm).Wrap baked loaves tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Baked loaves can also be wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil and frozen for up to three months.