Apple Cinnamon Bread

Fruit

• 2 cups Firm baking apples, peeled and diced small — Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Braeburn

Swirl

• 1/3 cup Brown sugar, packed
• 1 tbsp Ground cinnamon

Batter

• 1/2 cup Butter, softened
• 3/4 cup Granulated sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup Sour cream or plain yogurt
• 2 cups All-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Prep

1. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F), line a 9x5 loaf pan, and stir the swirl brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.

Batter

1. Cream the butter and granulated sugar until light, about 3 minutes.
2. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together, fold in just until combined, then fold in the diced apple.

Assemble

1. Spread half the batter in the pan, sprinkle over two-thirds of the cinnamon sugar, add the remaining batter, and finish with the rest of the cinnamon sugar on top. (Tip: Layer it, don't stir it. A stirred-in swirl just turns the whole loaf beige.)

Bake

1. Bake until risen and a skewer in the centre comes out clean of batter. (Tip: Test in a few places. Hitting a piece of apple gives a wet reading that has nothing to do with whether the crumb is cooked.)

Cool

1. Cool in the pan 20 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.