Apple Bread with Praline Topping - a quick bread recipe 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.
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 try.
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.
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How to Make Apple Bread with Praline Topping
Make the Apple Bread Loaf
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously, grease and flour a 9x5 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 ½ cups of chopped apples and about a ⅓ to ½ cup of prunes.
Place ½ 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 before slicing and serving.
Tips and Substitutions
The sour cream in the recipe gives a rich, moist texture to the loaf but can easily be substituted with Greek yogurt if you prefer and the pecans may be swapped out for walnuts.
Storage
To keep the loaf fresh, wrap it securely in foil and store at room temperature.
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📖 Recipe
Apple Bread with Praline Topping
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped apples (recommend: Honeycrisp)
- 8 large prunes coarsely chopped (optional)
- 1 ½ cups pecans chopped, divided
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tblsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
For the topping:
- 8 tblsp butter (1 stick)
- ½ 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 ½ 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
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
Janie says
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
Janie says
No prunes in the pantry .. is there something else I can use beside them ? I have everything else .. looks awesome
Lana Stuart says
You might try raisins or you could just leave them out completely. As the recipe states, they're optional.
SeattleDee says
This loaf would disappear SO quickly in my kitchen - moist, appley and praline sweet , Oh My!