Cinnamon Apple Surprise Bread #BreadBakers

Cinnamon apple surprise bread is made with two batters, one cinnamon and one flavored with applesauce. Together they make a fun and tasty sweet loaf! 

If you love apples and cinnamon together in a sweet bread, pick a day when you are lounging at home and are not in a rush to make this. It’s baked in two parts. First comes the apple bread, which I colored with no-taste red to make sure the apple shapes would pop out. 

The second batter is then spooned around the apple bread cutouts to create the surprise. Is it a bit of a production? Absolutely. Was I super pleased with the effect? You betcha! 

One great thing is that you get to snack on the leftovers of the apple bread part way through. We all decided that I should make that part again, just to eat plain. So good. 

Cinnamon Apple Surprise Bread

This bread took a bit longer than I thought it would to bake because I guess the already baked, chilled “apples” in the middle delayed the baking of the cinnamon batter. Just be patient and if yours starts to brown before it’s baked through, cover it with foil. 

 

Ingredients

For the apple bread:

3/4 cup or 94g all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup or 56g butter, softened

1/2 cup or 100g granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed or 50g brown sugar

2 oz or 56g ricotta, at room temperature

1/4 cup or 60ml sour cream

1 egg

1/2 cup or 130g thick applesauce

1/2 teaspoon no-taste red food gel (optional but necessary for the surprise effect) 

For the cinnamon bread:

2 1/4 cups or 280g all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup or 200g granulated sugar

1/2 cup or 113g butter, softened

2 eggs

8 oz or 225g ricotta

1/4 cup or 60ml milk

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 8x8 in or 20x20cm baking pan with baking parchment. I like to put a little butter in the corners and a smear of butter in the middle because it helps anchor the parchment. 

To make the apple quick bread, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl cream the sugars and butter together with a mixer on medium until fluffy. Add in the egg, ricotta, sour cream, applesauce and food coloring and beat again until combined. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold well to combine. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out with a spatula. 

Bake 18-20 minutes in your preheated or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. 

Cool completely in pan on wire rack. 

Freeze for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the cinnamon quick bread, prepare a 9x5 in or 13x23cm loaf pan by lining it with baking parchment. 

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. 

In a large bowl beat the sugars and butter together with a mixer until fluffy and pale yellow. Add in the eggs, ricotta and milk and beat till combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold well to combine. 

Using a 2 1/2-inch apple cookie cutter, cut 9 apples out of the chilled apple bread. Remove the extra bits around the apples. These make an excellent mid-bake snack. 

Spread about 1 inch or 2cm deep of the cinnamon batter in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. 

Stand the apple cutouts close together lengthwise down the center of the loaf pan. I ended up using only eight of them to leave room for the cinnamon batter at both ends. 

Carefully spoon remaining cinnamon batter on the sides and gently spread it over the “apples” in loaf pan. I found this easier to do with a damp spatula since the batter is pretty thick. 

Bake about 45-50 minutes or till the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. 

Loosen sides and remove from pan. Cool completely. 

Wrap and chill overnight before slicing.

Enjoy! 

This month my Bread Baker friends are sharing bread with surprises inside at the instigation of our host, Kelly of Passion Kneaded. Check out all the creative recipes we are sharing below. Many thanks to Kelly for this fun theme and her behind the scenes work! 

• Broccoli Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Bread from Making Miracles
• Cinnamon Apple Surprise Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Giraffe Print Bread from Ambrosia
• Leopard Print Milk Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Paw Print Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Peek-a-boo Panda Bread from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Picasso Floral Surprise Loaf from A Messy Kitchen
• Sourdough Coconut Swirl Bread from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Swirl Sourdough Whole Wheat Bread (Chocolate, Garlic & Herbs) from Cook with Renu
• Whey Watermelon Bread from Sneha's Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakershome page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Cinnamon Apple Surprise Bread! 

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