This is the Apple Cinnamon Sweet Bread I’ve been talking about for like a week now, and if you’ve been keeping up to date with me on my daily life through Instagram you’d know I can’t get enough of this bread! It screams fall with warming spices like ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, of course in season apples. Not just any type of apple, but the ones that you pick off the tree because they’re perfectly ripe and ready to be eaten, type of apples. I love using fruit as a natural sweetener just as I’m using apples in this bread recipe for a natural sweetener but also to provide the bread with volume, moisture, and a one of a kind flavor.
This bread was a result of a chaotic morning, but far from chaotic in developing the actual recipe. I had been having some car issues for the past couple of days, thought they were resolved, and went to leave one of my favorite workout studios here in Nashville when my car didn’t start! Any other day, it wouldn’t have phased me, I would’ve let it roll off my shoulder effortlessly and have taken the next steps to solve the problem; but today was a special day, it was cooking video shoot day. Fast forward to texting and making calls, I had a friend swing by to fix my car just enough to make it home, thank goodness. And in true McKel fashion, my form of a “thank you” was in sharing food!
Since I had heaps of ingredients that were supposed to be used for about 5 recipes I was going to shoot, I had to improvise and use them in some way. I had so many varieties of apples that I was inspired to make a delicious, comforting, yet healthy spin on a fruit bread (like banana bread) and so this Apple Cinnamon Sweet Bread was born. Note, I had never made or attempted this recipe before and was truly winging it like many of my recipes on the first go, and it came out beautifully the first round! I tested it again to make sure it wasn’t luck, and it was golden. So now, I present to you my “thank you” bread that you can bake anytime you want to share a little love from your kitchen to your friends and family!
An apple is just an apple right? I strongly encourage you to make a trip out to your nearest apple orchard this fall season or farmers market to soak in every last bite of fall apples you can- there’s something so special about using fruits when they’re in season rather than just “some apple” you pick up at the grocery store. The difference of the two can make or break this bread. Since the apple serves as the sweetener in this recipe, you need the best quality apples you can get your hands on. If you’re wondering how to pick them, remember, the nose knows! Your nose is the best indicator of how ripe and sweet an apple is just by smelling the fragrance- look for apples that are rich and bold in smells. My favorite apples to use for this recipe are Fuji, Pink Lady, or Jonathan. All of the other gluten free ingredients for this bread can easily be found in your pantry, such as oats, almonds, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
Serve with | I love serving this bread warm right out of the oven with coconut butter or my favorite of all time, Raw Caramel! It’s a seriously good combination and one that will leave you feeling confused whether or not you just ate breakfast or dessert (those are my favorite types of breakfasts). The Raw Caramel is incredibly sweet and decadent, so keep in mind to use just a little bit. Another way I’ve been enjoying this is toasting a slice at a time with the leftovers, which you’ll keep chilled in the fridge, with a cup of hot tea, coffee, or a glass of homemade nut milk like my Vanilla Cashew or Hemp Seed Milk.
- 5 small (about 520g) Fuji apples
- 2 whole eggs + 2 egg whites ([url href=”https://nutritionstripped.com/vegan-egg-replacers/” target=”_blank”]vegan: 2 chia eggs)[/url]
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 cup rolled oats, ground into a fine flour
- 1 cup raw almonds, ground into a fine flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger root, peeled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- dash of fresh nutmeg
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a high speed blender, combine apples, eggs, ginger, maple syrup, and coconut oil and blend until smooth.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ground flours (oat, almond, and coconut flour) with baking soda and baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Pour wet ingredients from the blender into the dry mixing bowl. Stir until combined into a dough. Coconut flour will absorb much of the water, the desired consistency will allow the dough to stick from the sides of the bowl when stirred (i.e. holds its shape).
- In a well greased bread pan, 9 x 5in., pour the batter and spread the mixture evenly in the pan.
- Bake for 40 minutes, checking at 20 minutes for doneness using a knife- if it comes out clean it’s done.
- Let set at room temperature to cool before cutting into.
- Store in the fridge for leftovers or freeze individual slices for later use.
- Enjoy and serve with Raw Caramel sauce (recipe on NS).
I hope you all enjoy this one as much as I’ve been! Tag #nutritionstripped so I can see how you’re enjoying it! I promise, when you use the Raw Caramel with it… your world will change (it’s THAT good).
xo McKel
