Praline Apple Bread

A soft apple-filled quick bread topped with a rich praline glaze. Easy, no yeast, and perfect any time of day.

Course Bread, Cakes, Dessert

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword apple-praline-bread, praline-apple-bread

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Cooling time 2

Total Time 3 20

Servings slices

Calories 447kcal

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp apple pie spice or cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (Preferably whole fat but, not fat free)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups small diced Granny Smith or Gala apples may use your favorite variety
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped pecans divided
1/2 cup salted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan or spray with baking spray. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, use a whisk to sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, apple pie spice and salt.
In a separate bowl, use a whisk or an electric mixer on low speed to beat together buttermilk, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.
Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture, beating until fully combined.
To the batter add apples and 1 cup pecans. Stir to evenly distribute. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with remaining 1/2 cup pecans. Press pecans gently into batter.
Transfer to oven and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes back clean. Check halfway through baking and lay foil on top, if needed to prevent over browning.
Remove apple bread from oven to a wire rack. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small heavy saucepan melt together butter and brown sugar. Cook gently on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or just until thickened.
Remove bread from pan. Drizzle top of bread with praline glaze. Let cool completely.
Store apple praline bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Apples - Granny Smith apples are my top choice for making apple bread. You could use Braeburn apples, honey crisp apples or gala apples.
Nuts - You can swap out the variety of nuts for this apple bread. You can use walnuts or almonds in place of pecans, if you prefer.
Buttermilk - Since there's no oil or butter in the batter, I highly recommend that you use whole fat buttermilk in this recipe. Low fat will work, but not fat free. This is one time you need to go for the gold.
Sour Cream - In a pinch, you could replace the buttermilk with full fat sour cream.
Don't Overbake - Check the top of the bread half way through baking and lay a loose piece of aluminum foil on top to prevent over browning. No one likes burned pecans.
Check for Doneness with a Toothpick - Always check the center of Apple Bread with a toothpick or wooden pick before removing from the oven, just as you would when baking a cake.
Drizzle with Praline Sauce - This bread doesn't have to be completely cool before glazing with the praline sauce.