Apple. Fritter. Bread.

I love breakfast.  My favorite kind of day starts out with a nice, slow morning over a large cup of coffee.  I decided I wanted to make something sweet to go with my coffee in the morning, and I came across this recipe for an irresistible looking apple fritter bread.  It looked exactly how it sounds: like a warm, gooey apple fritter donut had been put into bread form.  This bread is a treasure trove of cinnamon swirls and chunks of fresh apples topped off by a light glaze, and is surprisingly quick and easy to make. For the full recipe click here.

The first thing I did was peel and cut the apples into small chunks. The recipe is unspecific about what kind of apple to use, so I chose to use one Granny Smith, a tart apple probably most popular for baking, and one Gala, for a balance of sweet.  


I then dusted the apples with two tablespoons of sugar and one teaspoon of cinnamon, and mixed that up in a small bowl.  (This is the part where you get to reward yourself with a taste test).

Next, my sister, Emma, helped me mix together the dry and wet ingredient in separate bowls, which we then combined in a stand up mixer.  As with most baking, the dry ingredients should be added in increments into the wet mixture.  This ensures that everything mixes together smoothly with the added bonus of no spray of flour in your face! 

The last step before you're ready to assemble your bread is too mix one third cup brown sugar with another teaspoon of cinnamon in a separate small bowl.

Now it's assembly time! Half of the batter goes in the dish first followed by half of the apple mixture.  Sprinkle half of the brown sugar, cinnamon mixture on top of the apples, and then repeat.

Voilá! Look at the pretty layers! Make sure to stand back and appreciate your creation for a moment because the next step is to mess up those nice layers (don't worry it's worth it). To get the cinnamon swirl into the bread, you take a butter knife and draw swirly patterns down into the batter.  Don't go too crazy mixing it up.  There should still be some layering, but the cinnamon and apples should be blended down into the batter.



When you're done, the only thing left to do is put the bread in the oven and wait.  The recipe says to bake it for 50 to 60 minutes.  Ours took about 70.  You want to make sure that the middle of the bread is cooked all the way through.  To do this, stick a toothpick inside. If it comes out with wet batter on it, cook for another few minutes before checking again. When you get a clean toothpick, you know its done!

Behold the deliciousness.  It made the whole house smell like warm apples and cinnamon.







The glaze is a quick mix of powdered sugar and milk.  This is the finishing touch on the bread that really helps sell the apple fritter idea.

The texture of the bread is fluffy and cake-y like a muffin, but the glaze, apples, and cinnamon are all reminiscent of an apple fritter donut.  It can be eaten warm or cold, and is not too sweet.  My dad, a lover of apple fritter donuts, said he felt like he had eaten one after eating a slice of our bread.  This bread is definitely going to have a number of reshowings in our kitchen from now on!