Amish Apple Fritter Bread
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An easy autumn quick bread fabulous for gifting, this Amish Apple Fritter Bread gets a gorgeous sour cream drizzle that is like no other.
Quick breads have graced holiday cookie tins and care packages for generations, and this sweet Amish Apple Fritter Bread will have you thinking it’s a lot more involved than it really is. Oh, and it’s super cheap!
We’ve all tasted apple pie and apple fritters, but what if there were a unpretentious cake or bread recipe that offered the best of both worlds? Well, there is and I’m sharing this ooey gooey cinnamon swirl apple fritter bread by way of an Amish apple bread recipe adaptation my grandmother baked up for years.
Also known as Amish apple cinnamon bread or country apple fritter bread, this method incorporates the flavors of autumn we know and love; apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla.
You’ll need one apple for this recipe but feel like you may add two if the notion strikes.
Today’s share of this apple fritter bread recipe is an important one coming from me. Growing up with family that straddled western New Jersey and eastern to middle Pennsylvania, I grew up noshing on a host of old farm methods for using what was available. Sometimes, it wasn’t all “peaches and cream” if you catch my drift…
I grew up knowing this as my Grams Amish apple cake. She got this from her sister-in-law, my Aunt Mary, who lived a spell up from an Amish homestead. I never knew my Aunt Mary because she died before I was born.
Unfortunately, I will never truly know for sure how she got this recipe, but I imagine it was from the lady of the homestead whose farm backed up to Mary’s.
What I am sure of, is that with the exception of the sour cream glaze, this Amish apple fritter loaf is the real deal. And if you’ve ever tasted fried Amish apple fritters, you’ll then appreciate the sour cream glaze for what it is…
How This Recipe Came About…
Because we’re approaching the holidays, I am bending my own rule about primarily sharing Southern recipes here on Not Entirely Average. Today I’m sharing a familiar quick bread that my grandmother and Mom have gifted for decades, and one that I have begun recently baking again.
During the holidays, I think we all do a good bit of reflecting. Whether you’re kicking yourself for not keeping better track of your tax documents during the year (because THAT’S coming up), are sorry for busting into your Christmas Club fund early or are having trouble remembering the recipes you grew up eating and now miss, reflection is a good way to make sure you don’t repeat the woes.
I’m that last woe…the gal who did not always pay attention to how Gram made certain foods, or the fact that not once did I ever express an interest in the recipes, I grew up so familiar with. Except maybe for this delicious treat. And thank God…
Do You Have What’s Needed to Make Amish Apple Fritter Bread? Check The List!
for the apple fritter bread
a large tart cooking apple such as Granny Smith
brown sugar
cinnamon
all-purpose flour
baking powder
table salt
granulated sugar
unsalted butter
large eggs
whole milk
vanilla extract
for the sour cream glaze
sour cream
vanilla extract
powdered sugar
whole milk to thin out the mixture if necessary
How To Make Amish Apple Fritter Bread?
Before you get going, consider if you do plan to gift this loaf, getting a hold of paper baking pans. I have included links to a few that I like to use for gifting in this post. Just scroll down.
I mention this because despite this being an easy recipe, the loaf is clumsy once the sweet glaze is added. Instead of trying to fool with keeping it neat, it’s easier by far to deliver in one of these pretty paper pans with parchment wrap and a ribbon.
I will also mention that before you get going, feel like you can add more than just one apple. One and one half at most I’d say, but one is really all that is required.
I also always add at least two teaspoons of cinnamon, but I’m specifying the method just the way my grandmother dictated it to me, and Gram said one teaspoon of cinnamon. There we are then.
Begin by peeling and coring that apple. I section it and give it a nice dice into small-ish pieces. Think ‘bite-sized’ fresh apple chunks and you’ll be good.
The apple bits are then tossed with the brown sugar and the cinnamon (I use a slotted spoon) in a large mixing bowl. No need for lemon juice.
The dry ingredients are combined in a separate bowl and here I like to sift them all together. You needn’t sift if it doesn’t suit you. After all, this is a quick bread or peasant bread, so it’s a roughly assembled bake.
I cream the butter, granulated sugar, and the eggs to a soft consistency using my stand mixer, but a handheld electric mixer works, too. Then go the vanilla and the cup milk.
Using a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, stir in the dry ingredients JUST until combined. You’re going to have bumpy dry lumps and that’s good.
Scrape half the apple bread batter into a (well buttered 8 x 4-inch but you may also use a nonstick cooking spray) prepared loaf pan. Next, pour half the apple mixture over the batter.
Follow by adding the remaining batter over the chopped apples, and lastly the remaining apples and cinnamon mixture over the second layer of batter. Grab a butter knife from the drawer.
Insert the knife and swirl the apples into the batter. Just drag the knife in a serpentine ribbon pattern until you’ve moved all the layers around.
The loaf bakes in a preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes until it is a true golden-brown color. It must cool COMPLETELY on a wire rack before being showered with the sour cream powdered sugar glaze.
Use a small bowl and wire whisk to bring the glaze together in under a minute. You want that lite drizzle to encompass the entire top of the fritter bread, so don’t hold back!
Can I Bake This Easy Apple Fritter Bread in A Mini Loaf Pan?
The smallest loaf pan I have ever baked this easy apple loaf in was a 6 x 3-inch paper loaf pan. If you’ve been to Disney and indulged in any of their patisserie goodies, you’ll recognize the size paper loaf pan I am referencing.
The smaller the loaf size, the easier this bake can dry out. Because of this, I do not recommend anything larger than 8 x 4 or smaller than 6 x 3.
How Long Does This Easy Apple Fritter Bread Recipe Take to Make?
Per loaf, plan on a 20-minute prep to get your apple(s) and ingredients ready, and in the case of an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan, set aside about one hour for the bake itself. Remember, the loaf must cool completely before the glaze can be added, so compensate for cooling time as well.
For the 6 x 3-inch paper loaf pans I have used, I began testing for doneness at 30 minutes.
How To Store the Glazed Apple Fritter Bread?
The glaze on this bread uses sour cream, therefore requires refrigeration. A simple sheet of plastic film may be used if the bread will go into the fridge in a paper loaf pan.
If refrigerating a platter with the bread, opt for a couple of toothpicks to help “tent” the plastic film. Refrigerated, this bread will stay good for up to five days.
Can This Easy Apple Loaf Recipe Be Frozen?
Without the glaze, yes, this bread freezes well when frozen in food saver bags where the air can be vacuumed out. I have also frozen right in the paper loaf pans before and had them be fine dropped two to a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months.
Amish Apple Fritter Bread
Ingredients
for the apple fritter bread
- 1 large apple a tart cooking apple such as Granny Smith
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the sour cream glaze
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- *whole milk *may become necessary to thin out glaze if too dense
Instructions
for the apple fritter bread
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 4-inch non-stick loaf pan. If desired, cut a sheet of parchment to fit the bottom and sides of the loaf pan allowing for a 2-inch overhang on either side. This will enable the loaf to be lifted after it's baked.
- In a medium bowl combine the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Allow the fruit and sugar mixture to macerate for 15 minutes. In another medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large separate mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar and butter until light. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir just until combined.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Add half of the apple mixture. Spread remaining batter over the apples in pan. Top with remaining apple mixture. Use a table knife to swirl apples into batter in a serpentine ribbon pattern. This action will yield a swirl effect when the slices of bread are cut.
- Bake about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Drizzle with sour cream glaze before slicing and serving.
for the sour cream glaze
- In a small bowl combine 3 tablespoons of sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and 3/4 cup powdered sugar. If the mixture appears too dense, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time, until you achieve drizzling consistency.
Notes
The nutrition value can vary depending on what product(s) you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use a calorie counter you are familiar with.
Please note that table salt and iodized salt are NOT substitutions for Kosher salt. Do not deviate unless otherwise specified.
Nutrition
If You Like This Recipe…
…you might also like:
- My Only Zucchini Bread Recipe and My First Taste of Charleston
- Traditional Christmas Loaf with Fruit
- Spinach Feta Cheese Bread
- Sweet Southern Buttermilk Cornbread
- Pecan Streusel Banana Bread
I noticed in the recipe it calls for 1/2 cup of Whole Milk, My husband & I drink 2% Lactose-free milk. Will that still work, or does it have to be whole milk?
Every time we go to the Amish market, we always make sure to pick up a loaf of this bread, & I’d like to make it at home.
Joanne, I am sorry for the delay in responding; I am under the weather and just realized you messaged me. I have not tried this recipe with anything but full-fat milk or full-fat (unsweetened) coconut milk. Because my cousins and I have baked this for so many years, I asked who has used anything other than whole milk. Cousins in Pennsylvania use 2% milk. Not specifically lactose-free, but 2%. They both say it’s OK to use, but they did make a point of saying that they make sure to use full-fat sour cream and large or extra-large eggs. It’s got everything to do with the fat being used as a binding agent. Emma says that not having fat to bind doesn’t hurt the bread but does yield a noticeably flakier crumb (which, in a bread that eats like a cake), is unfavorable. We all acknowledge that this recipe was given to my aunt/grandmother by an Amish homesteader who would have only used the whole milk their farm produced, so remember that the recipe has been ‘perfected’ around the use of whole milk.
I want to learn about your success using 2% or 2% lactose-free milk. Please swing back by and let me know the result, the texture, etc. I will be certain to place a caveat in the recipe card based on your thoughts/findings. In the meantime, happy Halloween! x – Jenny
I love breads like this. Such a perfect slice with a cup of coffee or tea! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Hope your week is going great.
I somewhat followed Loretta’s suggestions.
I did 1 apple chopped small & 1 grated
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
tiny pinch of Allspice
1/2 cup of mixed pecans & walnuts – chopped
I cooked about 1 hr 15 min but covered it at 45 minutes. Left to sit in pan for 15 min. Once cooled completely, wrapped in Saran wrap overnight.
YUMMY!
Kristy, I am so pleased you are enjoying it! It is such a moist bread with the apple and it’s entirely seasonally perfect just now. Thank you for taking time out to swing back by and leave this nice comment!! 🙂 Jenny