Breads, Cakes

Apple Cinnamon Loaf with Maple Cream Cheese Spread

Kirsten

The apple tree in the garden decided to give us some fruit this year. Not loads, but not a meagre amount either.

There was a small amount of deliberation while we tried to work out what variety of apple they were. My dad swore they were Bramley apples. I was 100% sure that they weren’t, because I have never seen a Bramley that was green and red. They looked like Braeburns to me. Dad then tried to back up his statement by saying that he thought it was a spliced tree – as in one trunk, each branch a different variety of apple. I have no idea if this kind of tree actually exists, but it sounds wrong. A little too sci-fi for my liking.

apple cinnamon loaf 2 - the pink rose bakery

Anyway, it turns out I am right and we are currently munching our way through our small glut of juicy, crisp Braeburn apples. Delicious.

Apple and cinnamon is one of my favourite combinations. I love cinnamon and sneak it into anything I can and as it is best friends with apple, it was only a matter of time before something like this loaf came into being.

apple cinnamon loaf 3 - the pink rose bakery

Although not dry by any means, this loaf isn’t as moist (I dislike that word so much but can’t think of another that does the job as well) as a cake. It does need a little something to go with it. Which is where maple cream cheese comes in.

apple cinnamon loaf 4 - the pink rose bakery

It is ridiculously simple to make – just mix some maple syrup and cream cheese together – but compliments the loaf so well and brings out the flavour of the cinnamon as well as the sweetness of the apples. And the smokey undertones of the syrup finish the whole thing off perfectly. This is a combo that I may be spreading on a lot of things.

apple cinnamon loaf 5 - the pink rose bakery

 

Apple Cinnamon Loaf with Maple Cream Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup sorghum flour
  • 1/4 cup ground almonds,
  • 1/4 cup flax meal
  • 1/4 cup sweet rice flour, also known as glutinous rice flour
  • 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar, or soft light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 large sweet eating apple, or 1 and a quarter medium-sized apple (you can eat the rest).
  • 4 heaped teaspoons full fat cream cheese
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup

Method:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 175 Celsius / 155 fan / 340 Fahrenheit. Line a 2lb loaf tin with non-stick baking paper.
  2. In a bowl combine together the flours, ground almonds, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl mix together the egg, oil, apple sauce and almond milk.
  4. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
  5. Chop 3/4 of the apple into small chunks and stir through the batter to distribute.
  6. Transfer the batter to the tin and level the top with a knife.
  7. Slice the remaining apple and lay across the top.
  8. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until golden brown, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  9. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Can be eaten slightly warm.
  10. To make the maple cream cheese spread – mix together the cream cheese and maple syrup. Taste and adjust accordingly (you may wish it sweeter or even a little sharper). Serve on the side with the loaf.
  11. Store the loaf in an airtight container in a cool place. Keep any left over maple cream cheese spread in the fridge.

© The Pink Rose Bakery 2014

Recipe adapted from my Date and Raisin Breakfast Loaf

Also shared as part of:

CookBlogShare

18 thoughts on “Apple Cinnamon Loaf with Maple Cream Cheese Spread”

  1. Beautiful cake! I always wanted an apple tree in our garden but had to donate my two mini braeburns to the local allotment while the builders demolish the garden. Maybe one day! Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
    Ps: if you find a better word for moist let me know!

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  3. …Makes me wish I wasn’t 1200km from my kitchen. I love the idea of maple cream cheese spread, too. Now, when are you going to produce a GF malt loaf, and is such a thing possible bearing in mind where malt comes from?

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    1. Hope all is going well. When will you back in your kitchen?
      Regarding GF malt loaf – tad tricky because the malt, as you said, but the loaf that I based this one on – Date and Raisin Breakfast Loaf – tastes kind of like malt loaf to me, but admittedly not as malty. I may have an experiment with teff flour, as that has a malty taste . . .

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      2. I haven’t consciously seen such a thing, but now you have alerted me to it I will keep an eye out as it sounds like a possibility!
        Will you be partly bionic after tomorrow?

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      4. Ah, well, symmetrical is also good! Hope it went well.

        I am sure we can get rice malt syrup, it’s just something I’ve never looked for before.

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    1. Thanks 🙂
      I’ll let you into a secret – I am not the greatest fan of cream cheese (the thought of it in a sandwich makes my stomach roll) but I had some left over from some icing and it needed to be used, so it was a bit of an experiment. On the plus side, I think it has converted me into a semi cream cheese fan. I had some of the loaf for breakfast the other day (I was running late, please don’t judge) and spread the maple cream cheese about half an inch thick. I would never have contemplated doing that before . . .

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  5. I remember my dad splicing (or grafting) apple trees. It’s something to do with some varieties not naturally reproducing from seed. Apparently you can do it with citrus trees too! Lovely looking loaf 🙂

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    1. It turns out these spliced apple trees are more common than I thought as a couple of people have mentioned having had them in their gardens. Who knows, maybe next year ours will start sprouting Bramleys and my dad will be right . . .
      I love the idea of a spliced citrus tree – oranges, lemons and limes all in one. What a colourful tree that would be if they all ripened together!! 🙂

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    1. Thank you 🙂

      I was at a function the other weekend and they served baked apples for dessert. I can either take them or leave them but it was interesting just how many people didn’t like baked apples and only ate the stuffing and ice cream. I gobbled all mine up because it was delicious!!

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  7. Delicious flavour combination! I love the sound of your maple cream cheese spread. Yum. On the subject of the tree, we used to have one of those spliced apple trees in our back garden, its probably still there in fact. I’m not so sure i’m keen on the thought either though – i’m not sure who thinks of these ideas! x
    ps – moist is such a darn hard word to avoid isn’t it! Someone needs to invent a decent synonym!

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    1. Oh my goodness, yes, there has to be a better word for moist! May have to consult a thesaurus . . .

      A couple of people have mentioned spliced apple trees, so it appears they are more common than I thought! Pretty sure ours is a single variety tree, although you never know what might happen next year x

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