The weather is finally cooling down in my neck of the woods and the colors of the trees are beginning to turn beautiful shades of rust brown, mustard yellow, and dark orange. I love this time of year for two reasons. This is the time I get to start wearing long sleeve shirts, just a cozy idiosyncrasy I have and I get to get in the kitchen and bake again. Nothing says fall like apples, zucchini and pumpkin. So the next few recipes you get from me will have this theme. I hope you don’t mind!
On the schedule today is my Gluten Free Cardamom Spiced Apple Bread. A beautiful, moist and delicious quick bread filled with apple chunks and pecans or walnuts if you like nuts. It is flavored with the richness of brown sugar and the decadent spice of cardamom. You really can’t get much better than that. If you are not a cardamom fan just replace it equal parts with cinnamon. We have a cinnamon allergy in our family, my oldest daughter and I. So whenever possible I try to use cardamom as an alternative and it adds amazing flavor to baked goods.
Start this bread out by cutting up two medium to large apples. Just dice them up and add to a 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Then we are going to add a little lemon zest and lemon juice. The lemon zest adds flavor and the juice keeps the apples looking fresh. Squeeze the lemon over the apples, then start preparing the rest of your mix.
You can make this bread dairy free by using a dairy free margarine like Spectrum, Spectrum shortening, or coconut oil. If using coconut oil, soften it in microwave for about 20-25 seconds. Cream the butter or coconut oil until soft. Then add your applesauce, sugars and vanilla. Mix well, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. This is a very important step to making a good quick bread or cake. Stop the mixer and scrape down sides of bowl.
Meanwhile, measure out your dry ingredients. It is important to mix together all your dry ingredients so they incorporate evenly into your batter. After the dry ingredients are mixed in add the apples with the zest to the flour mixture. Toss to coat. Then turn mixer on low-speed and slowly alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk until all of the ingredients are well incorporated. Mix for about 30-40 sec. longer.
Pour your batter into desired bread pan. This will make about 5-6 mini loaves or 1 regular loaf. Depending on the size of your bread pan, you may have a little batter left over. Fill a couple muffin wrappers or add to a medium-sized ramekins and bake. Bake mini loaves for 40 minutes. Bake the regular sized loaves for 1 hour, covering the last 20 minutes so that it doesn’t over brown. Toothpick will come out clean and the top will bounce back when touched.
Cool completely. This is the next important step. I know it’s hard to wait. Your kitchen smells heavenly, you can’t wait to sink your teeth into a piece of the bread, but wait. The breads cooling process is important to achieve a good texture. Wait about an hour and then slice and enjoy. Simple as that. It took me about 15 minutes from start to finish, not including the photographing time. That is pretty quick and you get a delicious bread out of the deal.
CardamomApple Bread ~ Gluten Free
Recipe Type: Muffins and Quickbreads
Rachel Carlyle Edington – Gluten Free Mama
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 60 mins
Total time: 1 hour 15 mins
Serves: 1 loaf
Ingredients
2 ½ cups Mama’s Almond or Coconut Blend Flour
1 ½ tsp. xanthan gum
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cardamom
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
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2 cups diced apples (about 2 medium gala)
½ tsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ cup butter, dairy free margarine or coconut oil
½ cup applesauce
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
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½ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray bread pan with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom and nuts. Mix together.
- Peel and dice apples to equal to 2 cups diced. Add lemon zest to apples and pour 1 Tbsp. lemon juice over apples. Allow to sit for about 1-2 minutes, then add to flour mixture, toss to coat.
- Meanwhile, cream butter until soft. Add applesauce, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. With mixer on low-speed, add eggs ones at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl.
- Slowly alternate adding flour mixture and milk until completely mixed in. Mix on medium speed for 30-40 seconds longer.
- Pour batter into desired bread pan. Depending on the size of your bread pan you may have extra batter. Use the extra batter to make muffins or bake in a large ramekin. (Bread pan can be filled to about ½- ¾ inch from the top. If desired, lightly sprinkle the top with sugar. This will give the top a glazed look.
- Place bread on rack just below the center. Bake for 60 minutes, covering the last 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. Mini loaves bake for 40 minutes.
- Cool for 1 hour before slicing.
Do you have a favorite Apple Dessert? Share it with me, maybe I will make one gluten free sometime soon! Stay tuned for more delicious flavors of fall. Be sure to check out my Gluten Free Fall Baking Board on Pinterest. I have invited a variety of gluten free bloggers to post their fall recipes on the board and I think you will enjoy them. Remember that anything calling for flour can be replaced by using Mama’s Almond or Coconut Blend Flours. If you can’t find them in a store near you, you can order here. Just click shop online tab above.