A sweetly spiced apple bread that won’t poison you. I promise. Each slice is like a work of art, packed with a mosaic of fresh, diced apples and crunchy almonds.
Ingredients
Almond Apple Bread:
¼ cup butter at room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs well-beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour substitute half with King Arthur White Whole Wheat, if desired
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
¼ cup sour cream
2 cups apples diced small
⅔ cup sliced almonds chopped, plus additional ⅓ cup for sprinkling over top, if desired
Rum Raisin Cream Cheese:
8 ounces cream cheese softened
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon molasses
½ teaspoon rum extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch or two of cloves
¾ cup raisins chopped (I used golden)
Method
Almond Apple Bread:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour and 8 x 5 inch loaf pan.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt; set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugars together until fluffy then beat in eggs.
4. Add flour mixture to egg mixture in three batches, alternating with milk and lastly sour cream. Add a spoon of flour to the apples and toss to coat to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom. Stir in apples and almonds. The batter will be stiff.
5. Spoon into prepared pan and sprinkle almonds over top. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean and top is nicely browned. Cool thoroughly; best not to slice when warm.Rum
Raisin Cream Cheese:
In a medium bowl beat cream cheese with a hand mixer on low until light and fluffy. Beat in brown sugar, molasses, extracts, cinnamon and cloves. Stir in raisins.