Apple Fritter Bread is a delicious quick bread that’s jam packed with chunky, fresh apples and a comforting swirl of brown sugar and cinnamon. A sweet glaze tops it off and brings back memories of your favorite apple fritter.
I have always loved apple cake. It’s like taking a bite of fall. We had a neighbor across the street from us when I was growing up that used to send over the most delicious apple cake.
I think it was the first apple cake I had ever had. My whole family LOVED that apple cake and always looked forward to the treat. I wish my younger teenage self would have thought to get the recipe.
That lead me to trying to find an apple cake that I liked just as much. Cinnamon Apple Cake has been a favorite of mine for years now. I ended up reducing the sugar in that cake and the result was a cake that had more apple flavor.
My love for apple cake lead to recipes like Dutch Apple Pie Muffins, Apple Pie Bundt Cake and a super easy Applesauce Spice Cake.
Years ago, I noticed apple fritter bread recipes popping up everywhere. I had to try it, so I chose a popular recipe and got to baking.
I was really looking forward to the bread. How could I not love it?
It was good, but honestly? It was way too sweet for me. Many of the recipes I found were so sweet that it was difficult to appreciate the apples.
I definitely wanted an apple forward recipe.
I knew I’d work on a recipe for it one day that better suited my tastes. Turns out, it took awhile to get back to it, but that day is today.
I tested this recipe a few times until I got it right. And really, for me, it could even be less sweet, but I’ll give you easy options for that as we go along.
Reducing the Sugar Allows the Apple Flavor to Shine
I started with a cake doughnut batter based on my Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins. This recipe has a little less sugar than some of my other muffins, so I thought this would be a good start. Plus, today’s recipe is inspired by a classic doughnut shop treat, so this batter made sense.
The Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins get dipped in butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar, so that adds to the sweetness. Knowing I would likely add a layer of cinnamon sugar to the batter and a glaze on top, there would be plenty opportunities for additional sweetness available.
Of course, I did have to make adjustments to the recipe. I wanted a thick batter, so I replaced the milk mixture with sour cream.
Preparing the Apples
So let’s talk about the apples….
I’m using 3 cups of apples which really makes for a moist and tender bread that makes no mistake that apples are the main focus. It’s almost like an apple pie cake bread.
You’ll see that when you mix up the batter, there almost seems to be more apples than batter. It’s like there’s just enough batter to coat the apples. That’s what we’re going for…lots of apples.
I used a mixture of apples, both tart and sweet varieties. I’ve gotten a ton from my CSA this fall, so I just picked a few different kinds and chopped them up.
The apples are cut into chunks that are about 3/4″. You don’t have to be perfect here. The size is just a general guideline.
The chunkier apples hold up nicely during baking and provide a heartier bite, like you would get if you were eating apple pie…or an apple fritter ;) I didn’t want a smaller dice of apples getting lost in the batter.
Then, I cut the sugar for the apples. Originally planning to toss them with sugar and cinnamon, I decided I simply wanted the flavor of the apples to shine through. Just a squeeze of lemon was all they needed.
The lemon would help keep them from browning after they were cut as well as add that hit of citrus brightness.
A Word About Cinnamon
No cinnamon on the apples??? I know… they’re a match made in heaven.
I love, love, love cinnamon! But in this recipe, I didn’t want cinnamon to be the star, so I held back and only added it to the filling layer.
I might mention that I did use a good quality cinnamon in the filling layer. I used Penzey’s Vietnamese Cinnamon.
If you’d like more cinnamon flavor…
- Toss the apples in cinnamon before adding to the batter.
- Add cinnamon to the dry ingredients when making the batter.
- Add cinnamon to the glaze.
- Double the filling mixture.
- Sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar before baking.
You’ve got plenty of opportunities to make this recipe your own. It’s still going to taste great.
Some of those options include increasing the sugar, so just be mindful of that.
Reducing the Sugar in the Filling
So, I started with a batter with less sugar, skipped coating the apples with sugar. Where else could I cut the sweetness?
To be honest, I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to do a layer of filling. But I decided that I liked that ribbon of spiced sugar running through the loaf.
I liked the way it looked and I liked that it would add that beloved cinnamon flavor without detracting from the apples.
So, I added the filling to my first trial. I thought the loaf was still too sweet. I thought I might omit it.
But, I ended up cutting my filling amounts in half, instead. My husband didn’t think I needed to cut the filling amount in half. He liked it as is.
However… when he tasted the version with less filling, he didn’t notice the difference. (I didn’t think he would.)
Glazing the Top
Then, I focused on the glaze. The glaze helps to evoke the idea of an apple fritter, doesn’t it? You know that shiny, yet crackly glaze completely coating those deep golden brown fritters?
I decided to keep the glaze light, using only a half cup of powdered sugar.
I didn’t get too crazy here. This is a simple confectioner’s sugar and water glaze. I didn’t even add vanilla, as I often do. Just a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness.
I made the glaze thin enough to drizzle, but not so thin that it would be too watery. My goal was to drizzle it and then spread it evenly over the top.
The half cup of confectioner’s sugar was enough to accomplish my goal.
Tips to Reduce the Sugar Even Further
I’ve cut the sugar at every turn in this recipe and my sugar loving friends didn’t even notice. But if you want to cut it back further, here’s what I would do:
- Omit the brown sugar cinnamon filling. Instead, just toss the apples in the teaspoon of cinnamon or add the teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter with the dry ingredients.
- Cut the glaze in half and just lightly drizzle across the top without trying to spread it.
- Omit the glaze entirely or do just a light dusting of powdered sugar on top of the baked and cooled loaf.
- I would not reduce the sugar in the batter any further. You could experiment with sugar alternatives, but I don’t have any experience using them.
Whatever you choose, whether you follow the recipe exactly or make some of the adjustments I’ve mentioned in the post, you will end up with a beautifully golden brown loaf of apple deliciousness.
The crumb is tighter, like a pound cake, but more moist. The sour cream adds richness. The apples are chunky and omnipresent. Even with my reductions in sugar, the loaf is plenty sweet. It’s perfect for breakfast, snack or afternoon tea.
And just because the name is Apple Fritter Bread and not Apple Fritter Cake, certainly doesn’t mean it can’t make a lovely dessert as well :)
Apple Fritter Bread
Apple Fritter Bread is a delicious quick bread jam packed with chunky, fresh apples and a comforting swirl of brown sugar and cinnamon. A sweet glaze tops it off and brings back memories of your favorite apple fritter.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (heaping), I use freshly ground
Filling Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Wet Ingredients:
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature (I used full fat)
Apples:
- 3 cups peeled and chunky chopped apples (about 3/4" pieces)
- juice from 1/2 a lemon
Glaze Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
- water or milk
Instructions
Before you begin:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking or baking spray.
Make the bread:
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the filling ingredients, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the egg and continue mixing until fully combined.
- Add the sour cream and continue mixing until fully combined.
- Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.
- Toss the apples with the lemon juice to fully coat them.
- Fold the apples into the batter until evenly dispersed.
- Spoon half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it evenly. It's a chunky batter, so you might need to coax it into the corners.
- Sprinkle the filling mixture evenly over the batter.
- Spoon the remaining batter over the filling and, again, spread it evenly.
Bake:
- Bake the loaf for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool on a rack for 20-30 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, if necessary to help loosen the loaf. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a rack. Take care when removing. Because this bread has so many apples, it's a bit more fragile than your average quick bread.
Glaze:
- Measure powdered sugar and a pinch of salt into a small mixing bowl.
- Add water a spoonful at a time until you reach your desired drizzling consistency. I made mine thin enough to drizzle, but thick enough to form a coating.
- Drizzle glaze over bread. If desired, use a knife to spread it so that it fully coats the bread.
Notes
*I used a mixture of tart and sweet apples.
*If you want to reduce the sugar further, you can omit the filling completely, cut glaze in half or omit completely. See post for more details and ideas.
*if you want a more cinnamon forward bread, toss the apples with cinnamon, add cinnamon to the batter or to the glaze. See post for more details.
*You can use any liquid to make the glaze. For more apple flavor, I might try apple cider instead of water, next time.
*Store fully cooled bread in an airtight container, or completely wrapped at room temperature for a couple of days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For longer storage, wrap airtight and freeze. I like to wrap individual slices so that I can remove just what I need.