Apple Bread with a Crumb Cinnamon Topping

To me, one of the best things about fall is getting to bake my homemade apple bread.  I know that there are tons of other great fall recipes out there, but nothing quite compares to apple bread.  It's something I bake every year and am always excited for my first loaf of the season. 

Apple bread is kind of a tradition in my family.  My mother use to make it for us every fall, and it was always my favorite.  I hated having to share it though, and would sometimes fight with my sisters over who would get a certain piece (some slices contained more cinnamon than others).  Now that my family is spread out over the country, I only have to fight with my husband over a particular slice. 

A funny story:
As I have mentioned before, I am a completely self taught cook, so the first time that I tried making my own loaf of apple bread I made sure to follow the recipe my mother had provided me step by step.  It instructed me to bake the bread for 45 minutes, but when the timer went off and I opened the oven door it was still a liquid.  I wasn't sure why, so I closed the oven and baked it for about another 30 minutes.  When I checked on it again, the bread was still somewhat liquidity.  I was becoming very frustrated so I called my mom and asked her what I was doing wrong.  She said that she didn't know and wanted me to read her the recipe card she had given to me, so I did.  It was only a matter of moments before she began to laugh and informed me that it wasn't rising because she had forgotten to write down that it needed flour, and I hadn't added any.  How can you make bread without flour?  At the time I didn't know any better.  I guess we all have our moments.

Apple Bread with a Crumb Cinnamon Topping
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Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped apples (your choice, I use any type of red apple)
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
2 cups flour

Topping:

3 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a loaf pan with baking spray; set aside.

Peel apples and puree in the bowl of a food processor.  Add in the melted butter, sugar, eggs, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Mix thoroughly after each ingredient addition.  Lastly, add the flour and mix until combined.

To make the topping:

In a small bowl, place the butter and add the cinnamon.  Stir until well combined.  Add in the sugar, and continue to stir until blended.  Finally, add in the flour and stir until ingredients are well mixed.   

To assemble:

Pour about half of the bread mixture into the loaf pan.  Sprinkle the bread mixture with half of the topping mixture (it won’t sprinkle too easily, because the topping will be more like chunks; so just spread it out with a spoon or your fingers).  Pour in the remaining bread mixture and then sprinkle with the rest of the topping mixture.

Bake for around 45-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Remove the pan from the oven and allow the bread to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before trying to remove from the pan.