Apple Bread
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This apple bread recipe is so nice for Fall! Ribboned with sweet fruit, cinnamon-spiced, and crowned with a buttery crumb topping.
I originally published this post on October 9, 2023. Since then I have improved the recipe and added new photos and a video tutorial.
Table of Contents
- What is Apple Bread?
- Here’s Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- Tools and equipment
- In Photos: How to Make Apple Cinnamon Bread
- How to Serve
- Expert tips
- Frequently asked questions
- More Quick Bread Recipes
Today I’m bringing you another amazing apple recipe: apple bread!
This is a slightly sweet quick bread, bursting with seasonal fruit and topped with buttery cinnamon streusel and salted caramel icing.
Add it to the ever-growing list of apple recipes you can find here!
So many of us love to go apple picking at this time of year. It’s a fun family activity that gets us out in the beautiful weather, gives us plenty of photo ops, and provides us with a bounty of seasonal fruit to bake with.
So I’m always looking for ways to use that gorgeous bounty. Over the years I’ve made Dutch apple pie, homemade applesauce, apple dumplings, and of course, apple butter. Among many other things!
And now we can add this apple bread recipe.
I really think you’re going to love it!
What is Apple Bread?
This is a quick bread recipe, so it’s leavened with baking powder and it comes together according to that classic formula: mix up the dry ingredients, mix up the liquid ingredients, then fold everything together.
This version is lightly sweetened with warm brown sugar and loaded with tender apples, then capped with a thick layer of cinnamon streusel.
You can enjoy it for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or as an afternoon snack. I especially love it toasted and slathered with soft butter!
Here’s Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Seasonal: It’s so perfect for this time of year, especially if you like to go apple picking!
- Tastes wonderful: It’s just sweet enough, with tons of fruit and a cinnamon-y crumb topping.
- Layered: With layers of cakey bread, chunky fruit, buttery streusel, and sweet icing, each bite is a little bit different from the last.
- Versatile: Serve it for breakfast, brunch, snack, or dessert! And swap in any kind of fruit!
Ingredients You’ll Need
The complete list of ingredients with the amounts you’ll need to make the recipe is located in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Apples: Peeled, cored, and cut into about a one-inch dice. There’s more info on what kind of apples to use below, under the FAQ’s heading.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is my go-to, but you can swap it out for any kind of whole-grain option if you like. You may need slightly less if you go that route. A gluten-free flour blend that can sub 1:1 for regular flour should also work just fine, if you’d like to make a gluten-free apple bread.
- Sugar: Sugar adds sweetness (obvs!) but it also aids in browning and keeps things moist, since it’s hydrophilic (this means it loves water, in other words, it draws moisture in). I used dark brown sugar for the apples and bread, granulated sugar for the streusel, and powdered sugar for the icing. You you could easily swap for other types of sugar in the bread, filling, and crumb topping if you prefer.
- Baking powder: This recipe utilizes baking powder to leaven (or “lift”) the loaf. Baking powder is a double-acting leavener, so it starts things rising both when liquid is added to it, as well as when it hits the hot oven. Make sure you grab baking powder and not baking soda.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon flavors the bread with that warm spice flavor that’s so ubiquitous when baking with apples. You could use another kind of spice (such as nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, allspice, ginger, Chinese 5-spice powder, or chai) in addition to or instead of cinnamon, if you’d like.
- Salt: Salt carries the flavors and intensifies them. The end result won’t taste salty, but it will make everything so much more flavorful! I like kosher salt best because it doesn’t have any additives (table salt usually contains iodine which can leave a bitter taste), so the flavor is pure. It’s also inexpensive and easy to find in a regular grocery store.
- Sour cream: Sour cream adds moisture to the bread batter, resulting in a softer and more tender loaf. It helps prevent the bread from drying out during baking. If you don’t have sour cream you could also use the same amount of plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt or buttermilk, or your favorite plant-based substitute. As long as it swaps for dairy sour cream 1:1 it should work just fine.
- Butter: Melted butter keeps this apple loaf bread moist and adds richness to the taste. I like to use unsalted butter because it lets me control the amount of salt in the dish. Different brands of butter can contain different amounts of salt, so this way you get a more consistent result. For a vegan or dairy-free apple bread recipe, use a plant-based butter that can substitute for dairy butter 1:1.
- Eggs: Eggs act as a binding agent and provide structure. They also contribute to its moisture and tenderness. Use large chicken eggs here, or a plant-based egg replacement than subs 1:1 for chicken eggs. It’s best if the eggs are at room temperature, but I don’t find this to be critical.
- Vanilla: Vanilla extract adds a subtly sweet flavor without being at all sugary. For a more pronounced flavor, try using vanilla bean paste. You could also split a vanilla bean down the center lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add those.
- Caramel Sauce: I used a couple dollops of my homemade salted caramel sauce in the icing, and it gives the most incredible flavor! You could also just use storebought. If your caramel sauce is very thick, you may need to thin the icing to the proper consistency with a little bit of milk as well.
Tools and equipment
Here are the kitchen tools you’ll want to gather together.
- Measuring cups & spoons: To measure out the ingredients.
- Large mixing bowl: In which to make the batter.
- Whisk: For blending the ingredients.
- Peeler: To peel the apples.
- Knife & cutting board: For cutting the apples into bite-sized pieces.
- Silicone spatula: So you can get every drop of batter out of the bowl.
- Small pot: You can melt the butter and mix up the streusel topping right in there.
- Fork: For stirring up the streusel.
- Non-stick spray: So the loaf doesn’t stick to the pan.
- Loaf pan: A standard-sized, 9×5-inch, 5-cup capacity loaf pan.
In Photos: How to Make Apple Cinnamon Bread
Step 1: Make the Apple Filling
Start by placing the chopped apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a skillet and tossing them together.
Cook these ingredients together over medium-low heat until glazy and slightly softened, then set the filling aside to cool.
Step 2: Make the Crumb Topping
Melt the butter and add the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
Toss everything together with a fork to get it combined. It may seem doughy at first but it will go crumbly as it cools.
You can read lots more about this streusel recipe here: Basic Streusel Recipe.
Step 3: Make the Bread Batter
Whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
Then make a well in the center, and add the sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla.
Starting in the center and working your way outwards, whisk these wet ingredients together, gradually drawing in a little of the dry ingredients as you go.
Mix this batter together until it’s just barely combined. If you overmix, your bread could come out tough.
Step 4: Assemble the Loaf
Spread about 2/3 of the batter in the bottom of a standard-sized, greased loaf pan. Then layer the apples on, and about half the crumb topping over the apples.
Top with the remaining bread batter and streusel, and bake the bread all the way through.
Step 5: Icing
While the bread is baking, combine your powdered sugar and caramel sauce in a small bowl.
Stir these together until smooth, working in a few drops of milk at a time, if needed.
Once the bread is done baking you can drizzle this icing overtop. It adds a complex, toasty-sweet flavor and it helps to adhere the crumb topping to the bread.
How to Serve
This loaf is great for breakfast, brunch, or dessert, or for an afternoon snack.
I love to toast it up and top it with soft butter, jam, apple butter, marmalade, or lemon curd. So extra!
It’s also really good with cinnamon sugar, creamed honey, peanut butter, or maple cream.
Expert tips
- Measure accurately: Follow this guide to be sure that your ingredients are measured out precisely: How to Measure Ingredients. Baking is a science!
- Don’t overmix: Once the flour meets the liquids it’s really important not to overmix, or your bread could come out tough. Use as few strokes as possible, and don’t worry if there are lumps!
- Keep an eye: Bread loaves take a long time to bake. Sometimes the streusel starts to get too brown before the loaf is done in the center. Keep an eye on things as the bread bakes. If the topping looks like it could burn, cover it loosely with foil.
- Cool: This bread will slice much more easily and cleanly once it’s cool. Allow it to cool in the pan, so it stays moist.
Frequently asked questions
Use any variety of firm apple that’s good for baking, such as Granny Smith, Cortland, Fuji, or Honeycrisp. I used Honeycrisp here. Red or Golden Delicious and Gala apples are not great because they tend to go mushy when baked.
Absolutely! I think this would be fantastic with peaches or diced bananas. Or rhubarb! Really any kind of stone fruit would be fantastic. Plums, apricots… Pears would be really nice too!
If you’d like, this recipe could be baked as muffins instead. Divide the batter equally between 24 wells of a muffin pan, and adjust the bake time as needed (check them at around the 15-minute mark). Also, think about adding nuts to the streusel topping! I think almonds, walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts would be delish!
A serving is equal to one slice of apple bread, if you cut the loaf into 10 equal slices. The nutritional info in the recipe card below reflects a serving of 1/10th of the whole loaf.
This will keep, tightly wrapped, at room temperature for a day or so, in the fridge for around a week or two, or in the freezer for a couple of months. It can be thawed at room temperature and warmed for a few seconds in the microwave, or in a 170 degree F oven or toaster until heated through.
More Quick Bread Recipes
- Homemade Waffle Recipe
- Maple Scones
- Southern-Style Buttermilk Biscuits
- Easy Pancakes from Scratch
- Pumpkin Bread
- Irish Soda Bread
- Blueberry Muffins
- Moist & Sweet Cornbread
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Apple Bread
Ingredients
For the Apple Filling
- 2 (364 g) apples, (medium), peeled, cored, and roughly chopped (I used honeycrisp apples)
- 3 tablespoons (36 g) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon (0.75 g) kosher salt
For the Cinnamon Streusel
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.5 g) kosher salt
For the Quick Bread
- 2 1/2 cups (312.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (220 g) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder
- 2 teaspoons (4 g) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) kosher salt
- 1 cup (230 g) sour cream*
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 (88 g) eggs, large
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
For the Salted Caramel Icing
- 1/2 cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons (40 g) salted caramel sauce
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) milk, (any kind) optional- you may only need if your caramel sauce is very thick
Instructions
To Make the Apple Filling
- Place the apples, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and salt in a small skillet over medium-low heat.
- Cook, stirring, until the apples have softened slightly (approx. 3 to 5 minutes).
To Make the Cinnamon Streusel
- Toss the melted butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together with a fork until combined (the mixture may seem doughy when warm but it will become more crumbly as it cools).
To Make the Apple Bread
- Whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- Create a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla.
- Starting in the center and working your way outward, whisk the liquid ingredients together, gradually drawing the dry ingredients into the mixture.
- Continue to mix until the batter has just barely incorporated (do not overmix or your bread could come out tough).
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and generously mist a 9×5-inch metal** loaf pan with non-stick spray.
- Spread about 2/3 of the bread batter into the bottom of the pan.
- Top with the apple filling, then layer on about half the streusel.
- Spread the remaining bread batter over the streusel, then top with the remaining streusel and bake for 10 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake until a skewer inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs (approx. 1 hour and 15 minutes). Lightly cover the top with foil if the crumb topping is becoming too brown before the bread is fully baked in the center.
- Drizzle the salted caramel icing over the top of the bread.
- Cool completely before slicing.
To Make the Salted Caramel Icing
- Stir the powdered sugar and salted caramel sauce together until smooth, adding milk as needed to get a drizzly consistency.
