There’s something about the smell of a freshly baked loaf that brings everyone running to the kitchen. Everyone will wait patiently for theirs, and then savour the crunch of the hazelnuts and linger over the sweet touch of honey. Take some time to enjoy a slice and a chat with the ones you love.
Yield: 1 9” x 5” loaf
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 65 to 70 minutes
Ingredients
- 281 g / 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 g / 1 tsp baking powder
- 5 g / 1 tsp baking soda
- 6 g / 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 g / 1/2 tsp salt
- 76 g / 1/3 cup Mirage Margarine, melted and cooled slightly
- 80 ml / 1/3 cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 150 g / 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 120 ml / 1/2 cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 15 ml / 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 238 g / 2 cups peeled, diced apples
- 133 g / 1 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped (divided)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and line a 9 x 5 inch (23 x 13 centimetre) loaf pan with parchment paper leaving about a 2-inch overhang on the sides for easy removal from the pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour with the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside until needed.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment blend the melted Mirage Margarine and applesauce together. Add the sugar and honey, mix until creamy and smooth; about 2 minutes.
- Add in eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition.
- Add in the pure vanilla extract, mix on medium-low speed until thoroughly combined.
- Add flour mixture in 2 parts. On low speed, blend in until flour is just moistened. Repeat process for the remaining flour.
- Sprinkle in the diced apples and 2/3 cup (88 g) of the toasted hazelnuts. Mix on low speed until just combined; do not overmix.
- Pour and evenly spread batter into prepared pan. Scatter the remaining toasted hazelnuts onto the batter.
- Place into preheated oven and bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean. Loosely tent the loaf with aluminum foil after 45 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning. Remove loaf from oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes.
- Remove the honey apple loaf from the pan and place onto a wire cooling rack; cool completely.
Chef’s Notes
- Any baking apple will work great in this recipe (Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Spartan, McIntosh, Cortland, Crispin).
- Use a glass or light coloured loaf pan versus a dark coloured one to prevent loaf from getting too dark in colour.
- For a more savoury flavour, replace half (67g) of the hazelnuts with 3 tablespoons (18 g) of minced fresh sage. Add the minced sage to the melted Mirage Margarine and allow it to infuse into the warm margarine. Alternatively, replace half or all of the hazelnuts with 1 cup (152 g) diced onion. Increase the salt to 3/4 teaspoon (4 g), for either substitution.
