My Fall days will not be complete without this delicious loaf of Apple Cinnamon Bread. This vanilla-infused moist bread/cake is filled with juicy apple pieces, a cinnamon brown sugar swirl, and topped with lots of cinnamon crumbles.
Apple season here we come!!
As a food blogger, some recipes come together in a snap. But for this one, that wasn’t the case. I worked real hard on this bread. I made it almost a dozen times to get it to the right consistency and taste, make sure it’s simplified enough to put together, but yet tasty enough to blow your socks off.
My sweet husband ate every single loaf like a champ.
I have been dreaming of a delish Apple Cinnamon Bread recipe and I’m proud to say, I did it. This is a keeper.
And a lot of sweat and blood throughout the process. 😉
Why you need this Apple Cinnamon Bread
Fall equals all things apples.
I’m starting to feel that Fall loveliness in the air, my friends, and I’m excited to start making all my favorite Fall foods, from my Easy Apple Crisp to Brown Sugar Pecan Roasted Sweet Potatoes to Beef Stew. Or my friend Tania’s Apple Cinnamon Pancakes. YUM.
Adding to the list of Fall favorites is of course this lovely Apple Cinnamon Bread.
And here’s what I like about it:
- Oh so tasty!
- Easy to make
- When it bakes, it fills your home with the heavenly scents of baked cinnamon and apples
- It is not too sweet, but sweet enough.
- We are generous with the apples so you betcha every bite will be apple-filled
- It makes breakfast so so easy (grab and go! or, grab and eat!)
- It’s a celebration of Fall 🧡
Let’s Make It!
There are really two main parts in this recipe:
- Apple bread mixture
- Cinnamon brown sugar crumble
I find that when I break down the parts, the process gets less intimidating.
Apples bread mixture
First, dice apples into thin slices.
I find that if the slices are too large or too thick, it will not soften completely when baked, so make sure to slice them thinly.
Mix together these ingredients to form the apple bread mixture:
- unsalted butter – I always prefer to bake with unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- 2% milk – 1% is fine too, avoid low fat.
- eggs
- vanilla extract – pure vanilla extract is the best and gives it more vanilla flavors.
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt – a small pinch is always highly recommended in baked goods!
- apples
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Crumble
As for the crumbles, here’s what you need:
- cold unsalted butter – cold is the key here! Keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use. Cut it into small cubes (see picture below)
- all purpose flour
- brown sugar
- ground cinnamon
Start by bringing cubed butter to a bowl, then add the rest of the crumble ingredients.
Using a pastry cutter, cut ingredients to combine.
Alternatively, you can also combine by pulsing everything in a food processor until small butter pieces are formed.
Layer it!
Next we will bring half of the apple bread mixture to a bread pan that is lined with parchment paper or greased for easy removal. Parchment paper is the safest way to go. It is hard to remove bread from most bread pan even with greasing.
Then top it with half of the brown sugar cinnamon crumble mixture.
Top the crumble mixture with the rest of the apple bread mixture, and then finish off with the rest of the crumble mixture.
By doing this we will create a brown sugar cinnamon layer in the middle of each slice of Apple Cinnamon Bread!
Send the Apple Cinnamon Bread into the oven to bake for 1 hour 10 minutes at 350, and get ready to have your kitchen smell like apples and cinnamon and Fall.
It is quite glorious.
When bread is done, insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf to make sure toothpick comes out clean. If it doesn’t, bake it for an increment of 3 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
Because every oven is different, bake time will differ slightly, that is why the toothpick test is important!
When the loaf is done baking, let it sit for 10 minutes before lifting it out of the pan, and let it cool for another 30 minutes or so before cutting into it.
What type of apples to use
Any apples would work! Fuji, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Honey Crisp etc. I know they say to use Granny Smith for baking but I’ve done this with many different apples and they all work great. In fact, I tend to like sweeter apples in this to give it more flavor.
Tips and Tricks
We are not quite done yet! Here are a few other tips and tricks that will help you make this Cinnamon Apple Bread recipe a success!
- Line bread pan with parchment paper for easy cleanup! Parchment paper is a baker’s best friend.
- Use softened butter for the apple bread mixture and cold butter for the crumble mixture.
- The crumble is significantly sweeter than the bread/cake itself, so reduce brown sugar in the crumble if you want it less sweet.
- When done baking, let the apple bread cool for 10 minutes before lifting it out of the pan, and cool for 30 minutes before cutting into it.
- Highly recommend serving with a cup of hot coffee or tea. Yum…
Fall is here. Apple season is here. October is (almost) here.
Make this delicious bread for yourself and welcome Fall with an open arms.
Happy happy baking!
Other Breakfast Baked Goods!
- Banana Date Muffin
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones
- Blueberry Bread with Crumb Topping
- No Knead Cranberry Bread
Love this recipe? Comment below and give us a 5-star rating! Also, take a picture of your creation and tag me on Instagram, because I WANNA SEE!!
Apple Cinnamon Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups apple sliced thinly into small pieces
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Crumble
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter cold, cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F
- Prepare apples by removing skin and slicing into small thin pieces
- To make bread mixture, mix together softened unsalted butter with granulated sugar, then add milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
- Add dry mixture – all purpose flour, baking powder, salt. Mix well. Then fold into apple pieces.
- To make crumble mixture, cube cold butter into small cubes, then add the rest of the crumble ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to cut and combine crumble mixture until butter are mixed in and cut into small pieces. Or pulse mixture in food processor to combine.
- Line a 9" x 5" bread pan with parchment paper or grease bread pan (See Note 1). Add half of the apple bread mixture, then top with half of the crumble mixture. Add the rest of the apple bread mixture, and then finish off with the rest of the crumble mixture.
- Bake in the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes. When done, insert a toothpick into the center of the bread, if toothpick does not come out clean, bake for a few more minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let bread cool in bread pan for 10 minutes. Then remove bread from bread pan and let it cool on a cooling rack for another 25-30 minutes.
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
