Looks Delic
This Apple Cinnamon Bread is possibly the best bread recipe I know. It is one of those recipes that could potentially be breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert. Eat it with your coffee or tea in the morning for a sweet wake up treat. OR you could scoop up some spicy curry chicken with it for dinner because the apples and cinnamon compliment Indian flavors incredibly (like in this Chicken Mulligatawny Soup recipe.)
Apple cinnamon bread is unbelievably easy to make. Get out your electric mixer because it will do all of the work for you. Just add the ingredients in order and mix as you go until the batter is ready. Then fill your loaf pan and bake.
About the Ingredients
Butter – 1 stick at room temperature. Just leave it on the counter for an hour or longer. It won’t spoil so don’t worry about leaving it out overnight or for too long.
Sugar – most of it will get creamed (fancy for beaten until fluffy) with the butter but some will be used to coat the apples. And leave a little for sprinkling on top at the end.
Eggs and vanilla – 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons to be beaten in with the creamed sugar.
Dry Ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Be careful measuring these (no estimating here!) because this is where most baking goes wrong and texture becomes a problem.
Cinnamon – most of it will go straight into the batter but a little will be used to coat the apples.
Buttermilk – an easy substitute for 1 cup of buttermilk is 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar in a 1 cup measuring cup then fill the rest of the way with milk. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes or until you can see it begin to curdle.
Sour Cream – this is instead of using oil or fat. It keeps the bread a little lighter and not so dense.
Apple – about 1 large or 2 small apples, peeled, cored and diced into little cubes.
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Bread
Begin by prepping the apple and chopping it. Place the diced apple in a small bowl with sugar and cinnamon and set it aside. It will begin to create its own sauce which is exactly what you want.
Cream the butter and sugar together using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. Once it is fluffy, add the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until combined. Now add your dry ingredients including the cinnamon and mix again.
Stir in the butter milk and sour cream until the batter comes together and is consistent throughout. Pour in the apples including the sugar syrup at the bottom of the bowl and fold them into the batter.
Spray the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with cooking spray and pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the top of the batter with a little bit of sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Here’s the hard part because the delicious smell will be making you impatient at this point… let the bread cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. This will help you remove it from the pan without it falling apart. Then transfer it to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations
If you like a little crunch in your bread try adding chopped walnuts to the batter just before transferring it to the loaf pan. Alternatively you could swap the apples for some Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal that is roughly broken up into bits.
Want to sweeten up this Apple Cinnamon Bread? Try adding a crumb topping before baking or vanilla glaze as it cools.
How to Make Crumb Topping
Make your crumb topping before you bake the apple bread loaf. To make a crumb topping, combine all of the dry ingredients listed below in a bowl. Pour the melted butter and vanilla in and mix it with a fork until it forms a medium size crumble. Using your hands, spread the crumb topping over the bread batter. Bake your bread as directed in the recipe.
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
How to Make Vanilla Glaze for Bread
Pour your vanilla glaze over the bread after the bread has been baked and removed from the pan. Place the loaf on a wire rack with a piece of parchment paper beneath the rack (the paper goes on the countertop.) Then drizzle your glaze over the bread.
To make the bread glaze, mix the ingredients below in a small mixing bowl. Start with only 1 tablespoon of milk and add more if needed.
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk, varies for desired consistency
- 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
FAQ’s & Recipe Tips
You can store this apple cinnamon bread at room temperature in an airtight container because it has a lower moisture content. Higher moisture content breads are better off in the refrigerator to prevent mold from growing.
Yes! I suggest slicing the loaf and wrapping individual pieces in cling wrap. That way you can defrost one piece at a time and enjoy it over time. If you prefer to eat the whole loaf at once you can certainly freeze it whole and defrost the loaf overnight when you are ready.
Granny smith apples are the best apples for bread, and really all baking. They are a little more tart than other varieties and will get sweeter as they bake. They will also keep their consistency best too.
Too much moisture can make this happen. If your bread falls apart try reducing the milk in the batter by 1 tablespoon.
The Recipe for Apple Cinnamon Bread
The recipe is attached below for easy downloading and printing. If you test it out be sure to leave a note in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you thought and whether you preferred to eat it from breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert. Enjoy!
Apple Cinnamon Bread
Equipment
- 1 9×5 loaf pan
- 1 electric mixer
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp butter at room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar divided
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¼ tsp cinnamon divided
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 cup apple peeled, cored and diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Peel, core and dice the apple. Place in a small bowl and toss with ¼ cup of granulated sugar and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon. Set apple aside.1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup apple, 1¼ tsp cinnamon
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter, remaining sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed using an electric mixer until combined.8 tbsp butter, 2 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and remaining cinnamon to the bowl and mix again.2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, 1¼ tsp cinnamon
- Pour in the buttermilk and sour cream and mix with mixer one last time. Fold in the apples.1 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup sour cream, 1 cup apple
- Pour batter into a 9×5 loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle top with a pinch of sugar and then bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack to room temperature before storing.
Notes
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