Paleo Apple Bread with Caramel
This apple bread is moist and light in texture, and you can add nuts for a good crunch. The rich, exotic spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove invite in a warm cozy feeling. Since apples store well throughout the year in cold storage, they are an accessible fruit that make for an incredible dessert (or breakfast!) in any season from your fall bounty table to your spring brunch menu. You could also switch out the apples though for peaches or other stone fruits depending on what you have available. For an added bonus, make this caramel sauce to drizzle on top which is made out of coconut sugar, so it has a lower glycemic load than your typical caramel sauce made with cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup. This apple bread recipe is gluten-free, paleo, and easy to serve to guests or family who may have particular dietary restrictions or are watching their sugar intake.
Another reason why I love this “quick bread” is because you can pretty much make it easily with minimal cleanup afterwards. It doesn’t require any proving and can be baked immediately in the oven. You may want to wait a few minutes though to let it cool as the inside may become a bit claggy if you cut into it too soon. If you try the loaf and it’s too soggy due to the almond flour and moisture of the apples, there are two ways to mitigate a soggy loaf the next time you make it. First, you could try adding a tablespoon or two more coconut flour as this soaks up and dries out a lot of moisture. Second, you could try baking it for a bit longer so that it develops and stronger structure. Play around with it and let me know if you end up trying it in the comments!
Apple Bread with Caramel Sauce (GF, DF, Paleo)
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1-2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg optional
- ½ tsp clove optional
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup apples thinly sliced/chopped (about 1 apple)
- ⅓ cup full fat coconut milk oat milk, or almond milk
- 4 tbsp coconut oil or butter melted
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 eggs room temperature, or 2 tbsp flax seed + 5-6 tbsp water (for vegan)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract or almond if you like a twist
- ⅓ cup walnuts coarsely chopped
- Optional add-ins: other nuts like hazelnuts pecans, or chopped almonds, chocolate chips, raisins, spiced rum
- Crumble topping:
- 2 tbsp almond flour
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- 1-2 tsp coconut oil or butter melted
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- Drizzle:
- Caramel sauce
- Powdered sugar if desired optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of a loaf pan with coconut oil, and line it with a piece of parchment paper. Cut paper to fit lengthwise, leaving some excess on the edges.
- Mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whist together the coconut milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, eggs (or flax eggs), apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract.
- Using a rubber spatula, mix dry and wet ingredients together just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Gently fold into the batter the apple slices and chopped walnuts (reserve about 1 tablespoon of walnuts for the crumb topping).
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Mix all the crumb topping ingredients together with your hands, then sprinkle top of bread with the crumbs and reserved walnuts.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then cover bread with aluminum foil and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 more minutes. Total baking time should be approximately 50 minutes. Let sit for a few minutes to cool.
- Carefully remove bread from the pan while still warm, and drizzle caramel over the top before serving. The recipe serves 8-10 people. Store in the refrigerator.
This was adapted from Living Healthy With Chocolate.
