This recipe for Apple and Cinnamon Loaf is not only vegan, gluten free, oil free and refined sugar free but most importantly it’s incredibly moist and delicious!
When both your daughters have a banana allergy, then the banana bread craze of 2020 just kind of passes you by in a banana breadless haze. Enter 2021, people are still baking banana bread and we’re starting to feel left out. So I got to work in the kitchen, experimenting with quick breads and Ta-Daaaah!! I present to you this healthy vegan, gluten free Apple & Cinnamon Loaf 🙂
Things to love about this apple loaf:
- it tastes amazing
- uses healthier, easy to find ingredients
- makes incredible toast
- it’s vegan
- gluten free
- refined sugar free and
- oil free
Flours used to make this gluten free quick bread:
For those who do a bit of gluten free baking you probably already have these flours in the pantry ready to go. If you’re new to gluten free baking, you’ll find all these flours are readily available at most supermarkets and bulk food shops. For successful gluten free baking you need to mix a few different flours to help mimic the gluten structure.
- Almond Meal: okay so I know it’s not a flour but, almond meal does double duty here providing a great texture for this gluten free bread and adding some healthy unrefined fats which help to keep oil free baking moist and delicious. I used a blanched almond meal in this recipe, however un-blanched almond meal works equally well. Almond meal is rich in protein, high in Vitamin E and other antioxidants.
- Buckwheat Flour: I love the slightly nutty flavour buckwheat adds to this loaf, it pairs perfectly with the apples and cinnamon and helps with the texture of the loaf. Being a highly nutritious seed that many people consider a super food, I love adding buckwheat for the health benefits. Buckwheat has a higher amount of protein, dietary fibre and B vitamins than that of oat flour and whole wheat flour, and provides an excellent source of potassium and essential amino acids.
- Brown Rice Flour: Helps to firm the loaf making it even more bread like. Another nutritious addition, brown rice flour contains high levels of magnesium and is a rich source of dietary fibre.
- Cornflour: the addition of cornflour, which you may know as cornstarch, really helps to bring these flours together and bind the loaf. The end result is a lovely moist quick bread with a nice firm texture that is great to eat as is and toasts beautifully.
How to make this apple cinnamon loaf:
- First up line a loaf pan with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- It’s really helpful to making sure you have everything you need, get all your ingredients ready before you start baking. There is nothing worse than getting started only to discover you are missing a key ingredient.
- In a small bowl, make the flax egg by whisking the finely ground flax together with the water until it starts to gel and then set it aside to thicken.
- Using a large mixing bowl add in the almond meal and then sieve in the other dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the soy milk, applesauce, date paste, and vanilla. (See notes for how to make date paste and applesauce.)
- When you have the dry ingredients sieved and the wet ingredients mixed, dice the apples to about a 1.5cm dice, you can peel them if you like but I never do. Mix them with the optional coconut sugar and extra 1tsp of cinnamon. Mixing the apples with the cinnamon sugar adds bursts of extra flavour throughout the loaf. If you aren’t using the cinnamon sugar then it’s a good idea to toss he apples in a little lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
- Add the wet ingredients, including the flax egg (but not the apple) to the dry ingredients and gently fold to combine.
- When everything is almost mixed through. Add in roughly three quarters of the chopped apple and continue to fold until well combined.
- Once thoroughly combined, spoon the mixture into the lined loaf pan.
- Gently spread the mixture evenly across the pan, then top with the remaining diced apples.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C/360°F for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for approx. 5 minutes, before removing from the pan and allowing to fully cool on a wire rack.
Allowing this loaf to cool fully before slicing gives best results and is really the hardest part about making this.
This loaf keeps really well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about three days or for longer storage in an airtight container in the freezer.
Enjoy thickly sliced as is, topped with nut butters or vegan butter. This also makes incredible toast, enjoy hot straight from the grill (Aussie for broiler or salamander) and be careful if using a toaster as the slices may break. 😮
Notes:
- To make your own date paste, soak 180g of pitted dates (1cup or about 12 dates) in 125 ml (1/2cup) boiling water for 10 minutes. Press the dates down to make sure they are covered in water. Then blend the whole lot, water and all, using a blender or stick blender. I prefer to use a stick blender as none gets stuck in the bottom and wasted. Transfer the date paste to a clean jar with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. For longer storage place in a freezer safe container and freeze.
- If using shop bought applesauce, make sure to choose an unsweetened variety, or better still make your own. For those new to baking and cooking in general it might be helpful to refer to this recipe for How to make applesauce.
- I’ve tried this loaf using tapioca flour instead of cornflour and it turned out a little too moist for my liking. If you experiment with other flours, I would love to know how it worked out for you. Leaving a comment about the changes you make is helpful for me and other readers.
- Extra delicious spread with Homemade Vegan Butter
For more delicious baking recipes try:
Chocolate Orange Spice Muffins
CONTACT
If you have any comments or questions on how to make this, please leave a comment in the comments section below!
If you made this easy vegan apple and cinnamon loaf and share on Instagram, I would love to see it, please tag me @sweeterwithdates and #sweeterwithdates
apple and cinnamon loaf
This recipe for Apple and Cinnamon Loaf is not only vegan, gluten free, oil free and refined sugar free but most importantly it's incredibly moist and delicious!
Equipment
- Loaf pan lined with baking paper
Ingredients
- 12 g finely ground flaxseeds mixed with 60ml water to make 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseeds mixed with 3 tbsp water)
- 110 g almond meal (1 cup)
- 100 g buckwheat flour (3/4 cup)
- 65 g brown rice flour (1/2 cup)
- 35 g cornflour (1/4 cup)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon (plus an optional extra 1tsp cinnamon to mix with the coconut sugar)
- 250 ml soy milk (1 cup)
- 150 g applesauce (1/2 cup)
- 160 g date paste (1/2 cup)
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 medium apples, diced
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Make the flax egg by whisking the ground flax together with the water and set aside to thicken.
- Add the almond meal into a large mixing bowl, then sieve in the buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, cornflour, baking powder and 2 tsp of cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the soy milk, applesauce, date paste, and vanilla.
- Now dice the apples and mix them with the optional coconut sugar and extra 1tsp of cinnamon. Set aside
- Add the wet ingredients, including the flax egg to the dry ingredients and gently fold to combine.
- When almost done add in roughly three quarters of the chopped apple and continue to mix until well combined.
- Spoon mixture into a lined loaf pan.
- Top with the remaining diced apples.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C/360°F for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, before removing from the pan and allowing to fully cool on a wire rack.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about three days or for longer storage in an airtight container in the freezer.
Notes
For more detailed instructions refer back to the original post.
This looks fantastic! Super healthy too. I need to make it!
Thanks Maiko,
would love to know if you do and how you enjoy it!
Karen xx
Looks delicious, I’m keen to try this. I’m GF and LF and my husband does not tolerate bananas, so perfect for us!
Thank you Dorianne,
I really hope you enjoy this recipe, it’s a favourite in my house!
Karen xx