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Apple Fritter Bread is one of my favorite fall quick breads. Every slice has a wide ribbon of cinnamon-spiced Honeycrisp apples through the middle, a crackly cinnamon-sugar crust on top, and a vanilla glaze poured over all of it. This apple fritter loaf is made with a browned butter and sour cream batter, and one pan gives you ten to twelve thick slices.
Alright, I’ve given you my favorite Apple Fritters recipe, but this is what I make when I don’t want to fry anything. I love this quick bread because it’s, well, QUICK. It’s easy to pull together, similar to making Banana Bread, and it has all the flavors of your favorite apple fritter with less work.
Testing results for apple fritter bread
- I first made this bread and folded the apples into the batter just like with my banana bread. That works fine, but when I made it again, I decided to layer it, and we liked that result much better. It’s pretty to have the swirl of apples right in the middle of the loaf.
- Two layers of apples were too much and made the whole thing too sweet.
I hope you make this recipe. I think you’ll love it!
Ingredient notes
Here are a few things to know about the ingredients in this recipe.
➡️➡️➡️ The full ingredient amounts and instructions are listed below on the printable recipe card. Scroll below the recipe card for frequently asked questions and tips for success.
Honeycrisp apples: About two medium apples, diced small. Honeycrisp holds its shape through a long bake and stays sweet without collapsing into sauce. Pink Lady, Braeburn, Gala, and Cosmic Crisp will also work.
Unsalted butter: You need one stick of butter to create the browned butter.
Light brown sugar: Two-thirds of a cup, packed, in the apple filling. Break up any hard lumps first so it coats the apple pieces evenly instead of leaving grit in the ribbon.
Sour cream: I only use full-fat sour cream. You don’t need much here, about 3/4 cup. If you use low-fat, you’ll lose moisture, and the bread will have more of a dry texture.
Ground cardamom: Ok, I know it’s a tiny amount for this spice, which is not cheap. You don’t really taste it, but it enhances the flavor of the apples and cinnamon, similar to what salt does. Kind of adds a special bakery-style flavor. I also use cardamom in my Pumpkin Bread and in this Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting if you need some help justifying this purchase!
Whole milk: You only need milk if your batter is too thick.
Related 📖 ➡️ How to soften hard brown sugar
Pin this now to save it for laterHow to make apple fritter bread
- Brown the butter, pull out a couple of tablespoons for the filling, and let the rest cool.
- Toss the diced apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, salt, flour, and that reserved browned butter until every piece is coated.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. Beat the cooled brown butter with the granulated sugar, add the eggs and vanilla, then fold in the flour and the sour cream in turns.
- Spread half the batter in the lined pan, cover it with all of the apple filling, smooth the rest of the batter over that, and scatter the reserved apples and cinnamon sugar across the top.
- Bake, cool in the pan, then on a rack, and glaze once the loaf is barely warm.
Brown butter and a two-stage bake
The loaf starts at 350 degrees F for twenty minutes, then you turn the oven down to 325 degrees F for the rest of the baking time. The initial heat sets the top of the bread and starts forming the cinnamon sugar crust before the apple layer has time to sink. Dropping the temperature then allows the loaf to finish cooking through the middle without the edges getting dark and dry.
Browned butter does two things. Cooking the milk solids in the butter until they turn light brown develops a toasted, nutty flavor that plain melted butter will never have. And it cooks off some of the water in the butter along the way. That second part is important to the texture since less water in the fat means a slightly denser, richer crumb.
A sour cream apple bread holds moisture differently than one made with just milk. The fat coats the flour proteins and the acid softens them, which is what gives you a fine crumb that stays soft for days instead of firming up overnight.
Keeping the apples in one layer is a structural decision as much as a pretty one. Fruit folded through a batter this thick drifts downward as the loaf rises and settles into a dense band along the bottom. One layer through the center gives this cinnamon swirl apple fritter bread its pretty little stripe of apples in every slice.
Variations
- A different apple. Pink Lady, Braeburn, Gala, and Cosmic Crisp all hold up the way Honeycrisp does. I don’t care for tart apples in this recipe.
- No cardamom. You can leave it out if you really want to, but I promise the apple fritter bread is better if you add it.
- Plain melted butter. You don’t have to go through the step of browning the butter. You can use plain melted butter, and the bread will still be delicious. But trust me and go that extra step of browning the butter. You will not be sorry.
- A thicker glaze. Use two tablespoons of milk instead of three to get a thick white icing across the top. Three tablespoons gives you the drips down the sides, which also covers more of the bread. I like a good icing-to-bread ratio!
Make-ahead and storage
Make ahead: Bake the loaf a day early and leave the glaze off. A lot of people like it better on day two than the day it comes out of the oven, once the apple and cinnamon have had time to settle into the crumb. Wrap it tightly at room temperature and glaze it the morning you plan to serve it.
Storage: Covered at room temperature, the loaf keeps for three days, and in the refrigerator it keeps for five. Pop the refrigerated bread in the microwave for a few seconds and it will be almost like fresh from the oven.
Freezing: This apple fritter bread freezes well. I would freeze it without the glaze; however, if you’re freezing already glazed leftover bread, that will work fine. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with tin foil, then place it in a large freezer bag. It will be good for up to three months. Thaw it overnight on the counter. If you haven’t glazed it yet, then do so the day you plan to serve it. If you froze already glazed bread, I would still make a little fresh glaze to pour over the top. A little extra is not going to hurt a thing.
What to serve with apple fritter bread
This is a breakfast loaf first, so I love to pair it with something savory. I put it out with my Overnight Breakfast Casserole when I have a house full of people. And we always have a dish of Cheese Grits Casserole with any breakfast spread. If there are slices of this bread left the next morning, a spoonful of Slow Cooker Apple Butter on a warm slice is my favorite way to finish it off.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below!
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Apple Fritter Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Brown butter batter
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup full-fat sour cream
- 2 tablespoons whole milk, only if needed to loosen the batter
Apple filling
- 2 ¼ cups small diced Honeycrisp apples (from about 2 medium apples, with another 1/2 cup diced and reserved for the topping)
- 2 tablespoons browned butter, reserved from the batter step
- ⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Apple cinnamon sugar topping
- ½ cup small diced Honeycrisp apples, reserved from the filling
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vanilla glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch fine sea salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides.
Brown Butter
- Place 1/2 cup unsalted butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Cook until it foams and the milk solids turn deep golden brown and smell nutty, about 5-7 minutes.
- Pour it into a heatproof bowl right away, setting 2 tablespoons aside for the apple filling. Let the rest cool for about 10 minutes.
Apple Filling
- While the butter is cooling, in a medium bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups small diced Honeycrisp apples (from about 2 medium apples, with another 1/2 cup diced and reserved for the topping), 2 tablespoons browned butter, reserved from the batter step, 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, a pinch fine sea salt, and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour.
- Toss until every cube is evenly coated. If the apples are especially juicy, let the mixture stand 5 minutes and stir again before layering.
Batter
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk the cooled browned butter with 3/4 cup granulated sugar until well combined. Beat in 2 large eggs, room temperature one at a time,
- Then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
- Add half the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated.
- Add 3/4 cup full-fat sour cream. If the batter feels unusually thick, stir in up to 2 tablespoons of milk.
- Fold in the remaining flour mixture just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
- Spread half the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Spoon all of the apple filling over it in an even layer.
- Then carefully spread the remaining batter over the apples and smooth it to the edges.
- Scatter the reserved 1/2 cup diced apples over the surface. Stir 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon together and sprinkle it evenly over the loaf.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven to 325 degrees F without opening the door. Continue baking for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, or the center registers 200 to 205 degrees F. If the top browns too quickly, tent it loosely with foil for the last 15 to 20 minutes.
- Cool the loaf in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift it out by the parchment and move it to a cooling rack.
Glaze
- Whisk 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, a pinch fine sea salt, and enough milk to make a thick but pourable glaze.
- Once the loaf is just barely warm, drizzle the glaze generously over the top and let it run down the sides. Let the glaze set before slicing.
Notes
- An instant-read thermometer is the most reliable way to check doneness here. The center should register 200 to 205 degrees F, since baked apple can read as raw batter on a toothpick.
- Let the loaf cool completely before slicing for the cleanest layers.
Nutrition
Questions and tips
Storage
Covered at room temperature, the loaf keeps three days, and in the refrigerator it keeps five. Ten to fifteen seconds in the microwave gives you that fresh-from-the-oven feel.
The center should register 200 to 205 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. A toothpick works too, but the baked apple layer can appear as raw batter and fool you. I use an instant-read thermometer with this bread, just like when making sourdough bread.
Quick breads rely on fresh baking powder and baking soda for lift. Be careful not to overmix the batter, and make sure your leavening agents are fresh. Too many apples or overly juicy fruit can also weigh down the loaf.
The loaf was still too warm. Let it cool until it is barely warm to the touch, and the glaze will slide down the sides while staying visible on the surface instead of disappearing into the crumb.
The recipe is sized for a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan. An 8×4-inch pan will overflow with this much batter, but it’s not quite enough for 2 8×4-inch pans. If that’s all you have, just fill it two-thirds to three-quarters full before baking. You can use the leftover batter in ramekins or muffin pans.
If the top begins browning too quickly, loosely tent with foil during the final 15 to 20 minutes.
