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Prep time
20 minutes
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Cook time
1 hour 15 minutes
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makes
one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf
Author Notes
Apple bread is an unsung hero. Home cooks are always going on about making banana, pumpkin, and even zucchini loaves, but few are jumping up and down about the apple bread they just popped out of the oven. Lucky for you, I’m about to change all that. No bread is moister (and remains so for several days, despite calling for melted butter rather than oil), more fragrant as it bakes (filling your kitchen with all the warm and cozy vibes), or more downright delicious than this one.
The moisture—and deep apple flavor—in this particular loaf comes from unsweetened applesauce, while the chunks of soft apple studded throughout provide toothsome, fruity pockets, surprising you each time you bite into one. My go-to varieties here are Granny Smith or Gala. Peeling and chopping the apples takes as much time as the entire assembly of the cake (and by that I mean less than 5 minutes). The batter is one-bowl: add your leavening, spices, and salt into the wet ingredients, rather than whisk them into the dry, a technique I implement with abandon in my new cookbook, Snackable Bakes: 100 Easy-Peasy Recipes for Exceptionally Scrumptious Sweets and Treats.
The resulting loaf needs no embellishing. This not-too-sweet and lightly spiced cutie is best eaten straight-up, perhaps spread with softened salted butter. Or, if you’re over at my house, and we’re feeling a little “extra,” I might toast you a slice, butter it, and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar. Now, doesn’t that sound good? —Jessie Sheehan
Test Kitchen Notes
One-bowl recipes are truly a godsend, and this one was such a treat. The smell was intoxicating as it was baking, and it was so easy to throw together. Perfectly sweet and spiced (with a slight crunch from the turbinado), the bread had pockets of jammy, concentrated apple pieces that were like little gems. Moist and comforting, this takes apple bread to new heights! —Food52
Ingredients
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1/2 cup
unsalted butter, melted
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1 1/4 cups
light brown sugar
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2 teaspoons
pure vanilla extract
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2
large eggs
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1 cup
unsweetened applesauce
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2 teaspoons
baking powder
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2 teaspoons
ground cinnamon
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3/4 teaspoon
ground ginger
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1/2 teaspoon
Diamond Crystal kosher salt
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2 cups
all-purpose flour
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1 1/2 cups
peeled and chopped apples, (aim for 1/2-inch chunks)
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Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
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Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 x4 1/2-inch loaf pan with cooking spray or softened butter. Line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper that extends about 1-inch over the long sides of the pan (like a cradle for your cake).
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In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla for 30 seconds, until creamy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, and then the applesauce. Sprinkle the baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt into the bowl, one at a time, vigorously whisking after each. Using a flexible spatula, gently fold in the flour until only a few dry streaks are visible. Fold in the apples. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan (it will be very full), smooth the top, and lightly sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
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Bake for 70 to 75 minutes, rotating at the halfway point. The cake is done when a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with a moist crumb or two.
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Let cool for about 20 minutes, until you can use the parchment to lift the cake out of the pan without burning yourself. (You can run a butter knife around the short ends if it resists.) Let cool to room temperature before slicing and serving. Keep the cake on the counter, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
Jessie Sheehan is a celebrated cookbook author, recipe developer, baker, and host of Cherry Bombe’s baking podcast, She’s My Cherry Pie. She is the self-proclaimed queen of “easy-peasy baking;” and has contributed recipes and writing to The New York Times, The Washington Post, Epicurious, Food52, Bon Appetit, and more. Her third cookbook, Snackable Bakes: 100 Easy-Peasy Recipes for Exceptionally Scrumptious Sweets and Treats was a New York Times best cookbook of 2022. And its savory sibling Salty, Cheesy, Herby Crispy Snackable Bakes, was published in the fall of 2024.
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