Apple fritter bread features the flavors of an apple fritter donut made into a quick bread! This autumn loaf is packed with chunks of fresh apple, swirls of cinnamon sugar, and finished with a thick layer of vanilla icing. This comforting treat is perfect for breakfast, dessert, or snacking.
Get your apple fritter fix without the fuss of frying. Just like my apple cider donut cake, this recipe takes inspiration from a classic donut, but we’re baking instead of frying.
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All about apple fritter bread
Flavor: This bread features the flavors of fresh apples, warm spices, and vanilla.
Texture: Soft and moist bread with chunks of tender apples.
Four components: Vanilla batter, spiced apple chunks, cinnamon swirl, and vanilla icing.
Time: This recipe requires about 20 minutes of hands on-time and a couple hours of cooling time after the bread has baked.
Recipe overview
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
Preparation:
- Cinnamon swirl: Combine sugar and spices. Set aside.
- Vanilla quick bread batter: Combine oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Apple mixture: Combine the diced apples, lemon juice, sugar, spices, and flour.
Assembly:
- Stir a little more than half of the apples into the batter.
- Pour half the batter into a greased 9×5 loaf pan. Add half the cinnamon sugar.
- Top with the remaining batter. Drag a knife through the batter to swirl in the cinnamon sugar.
- Top with remaining apples and cinnamon sugar
- Bake!
Icing:
- Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Drizzle/pour over the cooled bread.
Recipe tips: baking with apples
Choose the right type: Use apples with a balance of sweet-tart flavors such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp.
Peel them: This bread comes out best if the apples are peeled. Do so right before assembling the apple portion of the recipe.
Uniform pieces: Apple pieces should be small enough that they soften while baking but large enough that there are noticeable pieces throughout the bread. I recommend just under ½ inch chunks.
Serving and storage
Serving: Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread can be served on its own or with coffee or tea. It’s also delicious with a smear of honey butter.
Storage: Store refrigerated for up to 4 days. This bread is very moist and the icing will thin out in the days after baking.
More quick bread recipes
Recipe
Apple Fritter Bread
Ingredients
Cinnamon sugar:
- ⅓ cup (62g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pie spice or cake spice, see note
Batter:
- 1½ cups (187g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup (72g) vegetable or canola oil
- ⅔ cup (124g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup (80g) sour cream or plain yogurt, not nonfat
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Apples:
- 2 cups (250g) diced peeled Granny Smith or Honeycrisp apple*, about 2 apples
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon pie spice or cake spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon all purpose flour
Icing:
- 1 cup (113g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- couple drops vanilla extract
Instructions
Cinnamon sugar:
- Combine sugar and spices and set aside.
Batter:
- Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center of the oven.
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Sprinkle the flour mixture in and whisk until just a few streaks of flour remain. Tap the excess batter off the whisk and remove it from the bowl. Set the batter aside (at room temp) while your prep the apples.
Apples:
- Combine all ingredients. Scoop a little more than half of the apple mixture into the bread batter and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until combined.
Assembly:
- Grease a 9×5 loaf pan. Scoop half of the batter into the pan and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar over the batter in the pan. Top with the remaining batter, smoothing into an even layer. Take the tip of a thin sharp knife and swirl it through the batter to distribute the cinnamon sugar layer in the middle. Add the remaining apples on top of the batter and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out without raw batter on it. Place the pan on a rack to cool completely before adding the icing.
Icing:
- Whisk together all icing ingredients. You can easily adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more milk to thin. Remove the bread from the pan and place it on a serving platter. Drizzle with icing. Give the icing 20 minutes or so to set.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
K carlile says
Can this be made into a 8×8 cake??
Allison says
Hi! I haven’t tried it, but I would assume so. You’ll definitely need to reduce the bake time. Maybe start checking it around 25 minutes? Enjoy!