I love apples! I eat them almost every day at breakfast, but when I bought Granny Smith on a whim because they looked perfectly apple-y and were on sale...well let's just say I have discovered an apple that I don't like. Lol. Sorry but they are way too tart for me! BUT! In a moist, tender Fall loaf...perfect!
Granny Smith apples soften up just right while holding their structure and have a lovely soft apple taste when they are baked. And with a brown sugar and pecan glaze...this loaf is hard to resist. Just one more bite becomes one more bite etc until you're on a dangerous sugar high and you need to store that bad boy away!
It is a soft, dense bread that you will want to share. It bakes up to a large 9x5 loaf. Easy to portion up to 4 mini-size loaves. It reminded me of the flavour of an apple turnover or soft donut. What a treat! For dessert or breakfast...try this one out for yourself!
It stores really well when you slice it up and place a strip of parchment between the slices and freeze it. This way, when you just want a slice, you can pull one out and enjoy. If your family lets it make it all the way to the freezer that is!
Glazed Apple Loaf
Ingredients
Loaf
1/4 cup room temp butter
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 medium sized or 1 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
Glaze
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp whipping cream
1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and line a strip of parchment for easy removal. Set aside.
Cream together, using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, 1st four ingredients.
Add the eggs one at a time until combined. Scrape bowl as needed. Add vanilla and beat on medium until fully combined. For around 2 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add to wet using a spoon or spatula to mix. Batter is thick but do not overmix.
Add apples and 2/3 of the nuts. Stir until barely combined.
Pour into prepared pan and smooth.
Bake for 55 minutes. Tent with foil half way if darkening too much. Check doneness with toothpick. It will come out clean when done.
Let cool completely in pan.
Make glaze. Melt together 1st 3 ingredients in pan on stove top. Bring to a boil, stirring the whole time. Let it boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in icing sugar and remaining nuts. Let it cool for a few minutes.
Pour over loaf. I pour the glaze on while the loaf is still warm. It pools the glaze a bit around the edges in the pan and seeps into the bread. MMM!
After loaf is cool, run knife along the edges so it can lift right out. Slice and enjoy!
