Description
Bake a warm Cinnamon Swirl Apple Bread. This recipe brings tender apples and sweet cinnamon together in a comforting loaf. Perfect for breakfast or dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
- Bread Base Essentials:
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
- Apple Filling Goodness:
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced (about 1.5 cups)
- Cinnamon Swirl Magic:
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- Optional Extras:
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- Cream cheese frosting for serving
Instructions
- Prep Your Pan and Dry Mix: First things first, get that loaf pan ready. I usually grab an 8×4 or 9×5 inch pan, grease it well, and then line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides. This makes lifting the Cinnamon Swirl Apple Bread out so much easier later, believe me! In a big bowl, whisk together your flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Just a quick whisk to make sure everything is evenly distributed. You don’t want a bite of bread that’s suddenly super salty, right?
- Wet Ingredients Whisk-Up: In a separate, medium-sized bowl, crack those eggs and give them a good whisk. Then, pour in the milk and the melted butter. Whisk it all together until it’s just combined. You’re aiming for a smooth, homogenous mixture here. This is where the magic starts to happen; you can almost smell the deliciousness already, even before it hits the oven. Don’t overmix, though, or you’ll get tough bread, and nobody wants that!
- Combine and Mix Dough: Now, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. With a spatula, gently fold everything together until *just* combined. And I mean *just*. A few streaks of flour are totally fine; in fact, they’re preferred! Overmixing develops gluten, which makes for a tough loaf. We want tender, moist Cinnamon Swirl Apple Bread, so resist the urge to keep stirring. This is where patience is a virtue, hon.
- Prepare the Apple Swirl Filling: In a small bowl, toss your diced apples with brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Give it a good mix so every apple piece is coated in that sweet, spicy goodness. This is the heart of our Cinnamon Swirl Apple Bread! I love how the cinnamon clings to the apples; it just smells like autumn. Make sure your apple pieces aren’t too big, or they won’t soften properly in the bread. Smaller dice means more even distribution and tenderness.
- Layering for the Perfect Swirl: Spoon about half of your bread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Spread it out as evenly as you can, though honestly, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Then, sprinkle half of your apple mixture over that batter. Dollop the remaining batter on top, trying to cover the apples. Finally, scatter the rest of the apple mixture over the top. My kitchen always gets a little messy here, but it’s part of the fun, right?
- Bake and Cool Your Loaf: Pop that beautiful loaf into a preheated oven (check the recipe card for temperature!). Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. This usually takes me about an hour, but ovens are quirky, so keep an eye on it! Once it’s done, let it cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes before using those parchment paper overhangs to lift it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. The hardest part is waiting for this Cinnamon Swirl Apple Bread to cool, honestly!