Apple Bread with Praline Topping – quick bread with apples, prunes, and toasted pecans topped with a caramel praline topping.
‘Tis the season for all things apple! Although Fall isn’t my favorite time of year, I do look forward to the change of seasonal ingredients.
Apples, pears, pumpkins, and squash come into markets, and we gradually make the change from salads and cool beverages to soups, stews, and steaming cups of cocoa.
We’re fortunate here in north Georgia to have many very productive apple growers. In a week or two, the leaves will be golden and the roads literally clogged with sightseers.
By that time, we will have already visited our favorite market, brought home loads of apples, and be in the process of making applesauce, apple pie filling, and everything I can think of to enjoy those delicious red, green, and yellow fruits while the season is at its height.
This Apple Bread with Praline Topping is one of my favorite ways to use fresh Fall apples. It’s a delicious, moist, quick bread full of fresh apples, prunes, and pecans. If you don’t think you want to include the prunes, you can increase the volume of apples, but I encourage you to give them a go.
Prunes get a bad rap for causing gastric upset, but that’s really only if you overindulge. They’re just dried plums after all, and if you eat them in moderation, you shouldn’t have any problems at all. They add a nice moistness to the bread and just a bit of a variation in flavor.
There’s also a good amount of toasted pecans, and then, just for good measure, I topped the whole thing with a sweet, buttery, caramel-y praline topping. Yum.
Apple Bread with Praline Topping - quick bread with apples, prunes, and toasted pecans topped with a caramel praline topping. Click To Tweet
How to Make Apple Bread with Praline Topping:
Make the Apple Bread Loaf
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously, grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan and set aside.
Prep the apples and prunes. I don’t bother with peeling the apples, but suit yourself on that account. You’ll have about 1 1/2 cups of chopped apples and about a 1/3 to 1/2 cup of prunes.
Place 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans in a shallow baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 6-7 minutes or until toasted. Stir once halfway through baking. Set the pecans aside to cool.
Beat together the sour cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla on low speed until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture beating on low speed until just blended.
In a small bowl, toss the apples, prunes, and toasted pecans with one tablespoon flour. Tossing the fruit and nuts in flour will help keep them suspended in the wet batter. Otherwise, they could all sink to the bottom, and that’s not what you want.
Stir the floured apples, prunes, and pecans into the batter.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining pecans very lightly pressing them onto the batter. I almost forgot to snap a photo of the pecan-topped batter before it started baking, so I stuck my camera in the oven and grabbed a quick shot. Hope you can see what it should look like.
Bake for 1 hour or until a tester inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Check after about 40-45 minutes and if the top is beginning to brown too much, lightly cover with aluminum foil to prevent overcooking.
Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and replace on the cooling rack.
Make the Praline Topping
In a heavy saucepan, bring the butter and brown sugar to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Do not overcook (the topping will harden too much if overcooked). Remove from heat and immediately spoon the topping over the top of the loaf. I place a sheet of foil under the rack before pouring over the icing. I say it ‘s for easy cleanup. It’s really to catch the drips for the “cook’s treat.” :-)
Let cool completely.
Enjoy!
Apple Bread with Praline Topping
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped, divided
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tblsp. vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped apples (used Honeycrisp)
- 8 large prunes, coarsely chopped (optional)
For the topping:
- 1 stick (8 tblsp.) butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously, grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan and set aside.
- Place 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans in a shallow baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 6-7 minutes or until toasted. Stir once halfway through baking. Set the pecans aside to cool.
- Beat together the sour cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla on low speed until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture beating on low speed until just blended.
- In a small bowl, toss the apples, prunes, and toasted pecans with one tablespoon flour. Stir the apples, prunes, and pecans into the batter. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top with the remaining pecans very lightly pressing them onto the batter.
- Bake for 1 hour or until a tester inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Check after about 45 minutes and if the top is beginning to brown too much, lightly cover with aluminum foil to prevent over cooking.
- Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and replace on the cooling rack.
- In a heavy saucepan, bring the butter and brown sugar to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Do not overcook (the topping will harden too much if overcooked).
- Remove from heat and immediately spoon the topping over the top of the loaf. Let cool completely.
Notes
-- Recipe slightly modified from an original recipe on myrecipes.com Praline-Apple Bread
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Recommended Products
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Wilton 2105-6806 Perfect Results Large Nonstick Loaf Pan, 9.25 by 5.25-Inch -
Measuring Cups and Spoons by Colmore Collection - Stainless Steel Metal 13 Piece Set, Classic, Stylish, Stackable for Dry and Liquid Ingredients, Perfect for Cooking and Baking -
Wusthof Classic Chef's Knife: 6"
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 400 Total Fat: 22g Saturated Fat: 8g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 12g Cholesterol: 62mg Sodium: 215mg Carbohydrates: 49g Fiber: 3g Sugar: 29g Protein: 5g
More Bread Recipes on Never Enough Thyme:
- Old Fashioned Gingerbread with Lemon Glaze
- Black Walnut Pumpkin Bread
- Banana Nut Bread
- Lemon Raspberry Bread
- Dill Cheese Quick Bread
Apple Bread Recipes from Other Bloggers:
- Apple Pie Bread from My Baking Addiction
- Spiral Apple Bread with Caramel Apple Glaze from Inspired by Charm
- Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread from Half Baked
- Pumpkin Apple Bread from Baked by Rachel
- Apple Strudel Bread from Bread in 5
- Apple Cheddar Bread from Gimme Some Oven
I am SO glad you’ve joined us, Lana! And what a marvelous bread for your #TwelveLoaves debut. Glazed and chock full of apples, it’s totally irresistible!
Thanks, Liz! I’m so glad to be part of the group and am already looking forward to next month.
Prunes do get a bad rap, but I happen to love them. I bet they add a wonderful dimension to this bread (and complement the apples nicely) – which is stunning, by the way. That praline topping is out of this world! So happy that you’ve joined us! :)
Thank you, Heather! I like prunes, too, and thought they’d add a lot to this bread – I think I was right :-)
The prunes are an interesting twist. I’ll have to try that. I hardly ever use prunes, but I should. And that praline topping….speechless
Oh my! This looks jaw dropping good! Love that glaze!!! I need a piece of this!!
I love to bake with prunes (or dried plums, as they’re referred to mostly now;). They do get a bad rap, but they are so great to bake with. My kids love some of the Italian cakes I make with them…they add such great moisture to a bread. Your bread is fabulous, Lana! So thrilled you joined our #TwelveLoaves group!!
Thank you so much, Lora. Yes, the prunes do add moisture and great texture as well. Thanks again for letting me join the group!
Oh that topping!! This is awesome!
You had me at praline. GIMME.
Wow – this looks amazing! That topping is over the top (in a very good way!)
OMG, Lana, are you a mind reader? I didn’t have a recipe but I grabbed some apples and sour cream thinking of making a coffee cake. Too funny! Also quite a co-incidence for years I absolutely disliked Fall, it was too ‘rusty’ but now I am oblivious and like you embrace the seasonal produce. BTW thank you for being so kind with your comments! S
I have to admit the change of seasons is nice, but I just can’t like Fall. It’s because I really detest winter and autumn just reminds me that it’s right around the corner :-)
great minds think alike! we made the same recipe and I would bake it again in a heartbeat! wasn’t that praline sauce fabulous?
It was, Holly! I sent most of the loaf to work with my husband and he said everyone commented on the topping :-)
I use to live in Georgia and there were even apple trees in our back yard. This is a gorgeous recipes and I love that you used prunes. People just don’t realize how wonderful they are in baked goods.
I was loving the bread until you topped with praline…now I’m over the top in love!
Thank you, Lana, for this delectable recipe…I would think your apple-y praline bread would make you a fan of all things fall =)
So glad you’ve joined us here on #TwelveLoaves, Lana. Your apple bread with praline topping makes for a wonderful out-of-the-gate-showing! I know what a fantastic cook and baker you are so it will be a pleasure to see what you come up with each and every month!
Thank you for the welcome, Renee!
This looks delicious! I bet your house smells amazing too :)
I love apple bread! Praline topping is just icing on the cake… literally.
As if this bread doesn’t look delicious enough, the topping is unbelievable!
Wow. Just wow. That bread sounds so amazing. I could put that topping on just about anything.
This apple bread looks irresistible! The praline topping really tempts me to make some. Thank you for making this for us.
An auspicious debut if ever there was one! Beautiful bread and I bet it would still be great even without the nuts (not a nut lover here). The apples and prunes sound like a great combo. Thanks for sharing this!
Okay you win! This is phenomenal! Want. Stat.
I am going to have to try and join in this twelveloaves movement! Cause all this bread is making me hungry! Lana, this bread is gorgeous!
Oh, that topping. It looks divine!
I love that beautiful glaze! This looks absolutely delicious!
YOU ARE KILLING ME HERE! This bread is beautiful! And then you took it over the top with the caramel topping. Holy Apple Jacks!
prunes are such a interesting addition – I bet they’re great. and that topping….. oh man.
That glaze is wonderful….praline topping should be on everything. Right?
I lusted after this bread merely looking at the picture, even before I read the title and the recipe. Then my lust turned into drool. Please don’t envision that. Just accept the compliment.
That topping! Oh and I bet Fall is gorgeous in Georgia!
I love prunes, Lana, and so does husband and I can’t get enough of them. I haven’t thought to use them in a quick bread like this before but I will be trying this recipe. It is apple season as you say and husband loves apple baked goods the best. This looks delicious and the perfect breakfast and snack bread.
This loaf would disappear SO quickly in my kitchen – moist, appley and praline sweet , Oh My!
No prunes in the pantry .. is there something else I can use beside them ? I have everything else .. looks awesome
You might try raisins or you could just leave them out completely. As the recipe states, they’re optional.
Now why didnt I see the prunes were optional ?.. guess I got to excited about the recipe .. thank you so much.. I will surely bake this