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.

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Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

This Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus is a most wonderful side dish or even appetizer. Set the dish out and let guests help themselves to spear after spear. They'll be gone in a jiffy. 

According to Miss Manners and Emily Post, asparagus is legitimately finger food. One of my favorite ways to eat it is cooked but still crunchy to dip in a soft-boiled egg. Runny egg yolk and buttered asparagus with lemon = yum! It’s like deconstructed Hollandaise sauce. (Make a note now and try it!) Who needs toast soldiers? 

These days asparagus seems to be available year round, flown in from somewhere (mostly Peru, it seems, which makes sense since they terrace-farm up the mountain sides so it's like a different temperature/season as the altitude changes) but I do particularly enjoy buying it during springtime when it comes from farms closer to home. 

If you love asparagus, you might also like my cheesy asparagus potato tart, asparagus salmon fried rice, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto or pan-fried chicken with bacon and asparagus. 

Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

You can use the Parmesan that comes in the plastic shaker container for this dish but I don’t think it melts as effectively the kind freshly grated from a wedge. Either way, keep a close eye on in as it browns. 

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, mashed then minced

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 oz or 56g freshly grated Parmesan

Method

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 220°C.

Arrange asparagus in a single layer on a baking pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Roast in preheated oven until vibrant in color and tender-crisp, about 10 minutes).

While the asparagus is in the oven, brown the butter. Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat, stirring constantly. The milk solids will separate and then start to brown. Cook, still stirring, until the butter is golden colored with browned bits at the bottom. 

Take it off the heat and quickly stir in the minced garlic. 

Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. 

Remove the asparagus pan from the oven and turn the oven to broil (grill) on high. 

Spoon the garlicky browned butter over the asparagus and toss to coat. 

Cover with the grated Parmesan. 

Return the pan to the oven for a few minutes, watching it carefully so it doesn’t burn. You just want to see the cheese and asparagus turned a little golden in places. 

Enjoy!

This month my Baking Bloggers are sharing asparagus recipes and I want to make them ALL. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our organizer and host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Pancetta and Asparagus Tarts by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Asparagus and Ham Quiche by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cheesy Garlic Roasted Asparagus by Making Miracles
• Goat Cheese Chicken with Asparagus by Palatable Pastime
• Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche Tart by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus by Food Lust People Love
• Asparagus With Cheese Sauce by Sneha's Recipe
• Minty Roasted Asparagus Vegan Pesto by Magical Ingredients

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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Easy Pickled Beets

These easy pickled beets are ready to eat in hours or will keep well chilled for weeks! Enjoy them straight from the jar or drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of black pepper, salad style. 

I have a confession to make and at the same time, a warning. I made these pickled beets one year ago, popped them into our laundry room refrigerator and promptly forgot about them. I think we can all agree that May 2020 was a bit fraught and I guess I had other things on my mind. 

When the Sunday FunDay theme of beets was announced, I suddenly thought, “Hey, I made pickled beets! Did I ever eat them?” The auxiliary refrigerator was searched and lo and behold, the quart jar of pickled beets turned up. 

The question remained, would they be edible? I am here to tell you that they were fabulous. I could not have told you that they were a year old! In fact, they tasted just like the ones I’ve made then eaten within a week or two. Did I just get lucky? Who knows? So here’s the warning: If you go off and leave yours in the fridge for more than a few weeks, your results may vary. 

Easy Pickled Beets

My top tip for making these pickled beets is to choose ones that about the size of your quart jar in the middle so that they fit fairly snugly. Smaller beets may need more vinegar to fill the space and ensure that the beet slices are completely covered. For the pickling to work well, the beets do have to be completely covered.

Ingredients for 1 quart jar of pickled beets

2 medium beets 

2/3 cup or 156ml white vinegar (or more to cover the beets, if needed)

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Equipment

1 wide-mouthed quart jar or other tight sealing container

Method

In a large pot, cover the whole beets with water and cook until a knife slides in easily to the middle. Remove the beets from the pot and set aside until they are cool enough to handle. 

Use your fingers to press the peels off of the beets and cut any hard ends or bad spots off with a sharp knife. The peels will slide right off. If beet stains bother you, use gloves for this step 

Use the same knife to slice the beets into circles.

Stack the beet circles in the wide-mouthed quart jar, tucking the smaller ends down the side.

Heat the white vinegar with the salt until it reaches about 130°F or 54°C. 

Pour the vinegar carefully into the jar so it can seep slowly down filling up all the spaces between the beets. Check around the sides. If there are air bubbles, you can run a wooden skewer or chopstick down the inside of the jar, allowing the vinegar to flow down and the trapped air bubbles to escape up. 

When the jar is completely full, put the lid on tightly and refrigerate the pickled beets for at least several hours before serving. These will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. 

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned before, this week's Sunday FunDay theme is beets, one of my favorite vegetables. Check out all the links below! Many thanks to our host, Mayuri of Mayuri's Jikoni.

• Beet Hummus with Goat Cheese from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Beet Salad with Goat Cheese from Making Miracles
• Beetroot Vada from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Easy Pickled Beets from Food Lust People Love
• Ginger Beetroot and Celery Juice from Cook with Renu
• Kubbah Selek - Semolina Dumpling and Beet Soup from Pandemonium Noshery
• Laal Sabzi / Beetroot Sabzi from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Beet Ricotta Gnocchi with Wilted Beet Greens from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Roasted Beet Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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