On days like today when the sky is gloomy and the rain doesn’t ever seem to cease, there comes a cold chill that runs through my home and it reminds me of Autumn all over again.
After having almost a full week of 75 degree weather of bright sunlight and warmth, a temperature of what most New Yorkers felt was summer, today’s weather puts a damper on my excitement of Spring. The only way to overcome this dull feeling of having the “blues” is to bake something warm.
Luckily for me, I had a few extra apples that needed to be eaten. With my pre-existing trouble of consuming raw fruits, I decided to bake them into a bread. But this bread is no traditional bread; chocolate chips are incorporated into the loaf to give it an extra taste of sweetness.
The Chocolate Apple Bread has a complex medley of different textures and flavors. You get everything from delicious baked apples to a crunchy crumb topping of walnuts and semi-sweet chocolate chips. A definite must have for breakfast or as a snack for any bread lover.
The sweet aroma is very warm and inviting. It will have you begging for more as I have already found myself victim of yearning for a second slice. So you too just may find yourself grabbing a slice or maybe two in one hand and a cup of coffee or tea in the other on your way about your daily routine. I like to compliment mine with a glass of milk 🙂
As for the recipe, I’ve added a couple of changes that is completely optional. The latter change is one I highly recommend if you want a crumb topping that adheres to the bread.
For one, breads lack color and they’re supposed to. From previous experience of baking apples, I already knew that the color of the red skin from the apples would disappear. Without going crazy on adding colors (and you most certainly can add more or omit), I decided to add a combination of red semi-sweet chocolate morsels along with the milk chocolate chips to give the bread the illusion of the red skin from the apple pieces.
Secondly, I altered the walnut-cinnamon-sugar crumb topping because I found that the original recipe didn’t have an ingredient to properly adhere the crumb mix onto the top of the loaf. I added in a tablespoon of margarine which is a common ingredient used to bind dry ingredients together for crumb toppings.
Despite the fact that I am not a bread lover but a cake lover, I found myself loving this recipe and will definitely make this again. Possibly with a change of apples such as Granny Smith the second time around.
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Chocolate Apple Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 9-inch loaf 1x
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Bread
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 cup apples, chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- To make the topping, in a small bowl mix the sugar, cinnamon and finely chopped walnuts; set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.
- In a separate large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in apples, walnuts, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with topping.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool on a wire rack. ENJOY!
Notes
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter as a binding agent to the crumb topping so it can properly adhere to the top of the bread loaf.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
Chocolate Apple Bread recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes.