What do you think of when you think of fall? Maybe it's the changing colors of the leaves, or the crispness in the air. But if you're like me, fall means two things: pumpkins and apples. Well, what do you know, this recipe* puts them together into what The Amateur Gourmet calls "fall ... bundled up and baked in a loaf."
This isn't your basic pumpkin bread. No siree. First, there's the sweet, crunchy streusel topping. Is there anything that isn't made better by adding streusel topping? Next, when you cut into this loaf, you're surprised to find it studded with sweet, tender chunks of apple. The other thing that I loved about this loaf is that it packs a punch with a healthy dose of my favorite fall spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. And, it smells great while it's baking.
Like several of the other loaf recipes in The Book, this recipe makes two loaves. But, because I only have one loaf pan, I cut the recipe in half. After the loaf I made was gone, I wished I had another loaf pan.
Date Cooked: October 15, 2008
Degree of Difficulty: Medium
Rating: A-
* This recipe isn't on epicurious.com, but The Amateur Gourmet has it on his site.
3 comments:
Adam-- It looks like you had some trouble with over browning. I'm trying this recipe this week-- do you recommend tenting with foil near the end? Also-- are the apples worth it? Teena said to 86 them. I guess for me it would be a textural issue. Do they integrate well in the bread or do they stay remotely slimy?
Katie, I guess it's pretty obvious from the photo that my pumpkin bread was a little "well-done." There's a couple of reasons for that: first, I have an irrational fear of undercooking my baked goods, and so I sometimes err on the side of leaving them in the oven for just a bit too long. Also, my oven tends to run hot, and so, if I don't watch it like a hawk, I'll end up with a crispier-than-expected finished product.
As for the apples, I liked them and thought that they made this pumpkin bread unique. I can see how someone might describe the apple chunks as slighly "slimy," so if you're so inclined, you might do well to leave them out. Even without the apples, this would still be an excellent pumpkin bread. Whatever you do, don't 86 the streusel...it's key.
ooo... The streusel was key! I brought 3 loaves of this to my hungry freshman homeroom, and they devoured it all! My oven heats from the top and bottom, so I have trouble with things getting "well-done", too-- hence my question. I didn't end up tenting it with foil and it came out just fine. I ended up leaving out the apples because although I was pretty sure I would like them, I was nervous about how my 15 year old protégées would feel :-) Love the blog!
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