Apples, orange and lemon make this moist quick bread sweet and citrussy. Not only did I learn to make a new quick bread, I also learned a new word. “Citrussy” is actually in the dictionary.
The Story
This year I received the best birthday present ever – another family cookbook from my mother-in-law. The first family cookbook she gave me was for Christmas a few years ago. It has all kinds of wonderful family recipes in it, mostly from Ken’s dad’s side of the family. I love it and use it often.
The one I received for my birthday is packed with recipes from Ken’s mom’s side of the family. His mom is a fabulous cook, so I knew it was going to be a great book. It’s full of recipes for down-home, country comfort foods.
The moment I received it, I couldn’t wait to dig in and start making things from it. The first recipe that caught my eye was for Cider Apple Bread. I thought, “I have apples in the fridge.” I also thought, “I have some apple juice that I could use in place of cider.” When I opened the fridge to grab what I needed, I found the apples but the apple juice was missing. However, I did have a single lemon and orange. I decided to make Citrus Apple Bread instead.
The Moral of the Story
Making do with the ingredients you have on hand can lead to creative substitutions – and amazing new recipes.
About the Recipe
This recipe came from my mother-in-law’s relative, Connie. Connie’s cooking is much talked about at family gatherings.
The Cast of Characters
There is a colorful line up of fruits featured in this recipe, including green apple, red apple, lemon and orange.
The Play-by-Play
Start by preparing your fruits.
Peel, chop and shred about four apples, or enough to make two cups.
Zest and juice your lemon and orange.
In your stand mixer, cream together the shortening and sugar.
Add in the eggs.
Mix together the dry ingredients.
Add alternately the dry ingredients and the juices until a dough forms.
Stir in the apples and orange and lemon zest.
Spread the dough into a greased loaf pan.
Bake for 50-60 minutes.
Let the loaf cool completely before slicing.
Once it is cool, go ahead and slice it.
Top with whipped cream, toasted coconut and strawberry if you like.
Recipe: Citrus Apple Bread
Summary: Adapted from a family recipe for Cider Apple Bread
Ingredients
¼ cup shortening or margarine
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated apples
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease with shortening a 9x5x3 loaf pan.
- In a stand mixer, cream together the shortening and sugar; beat in eggs until fluffy.
- Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the lemon and orange juices into the egg mixture.
- Fold in the grated apples, and spread the mixture into the loaf pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool completely before slicing.
The Footnotes
- Optional Toppings: For the whipped cream, I made the recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book. For the toasted coconut, I followed the instructions on How to Toast Coconut from Baking Bites. I toasted mine in the oven, and it toasted in about half the time noted in the original instructions.
Additional Resources
- Making the original Cider Apple Bread recipe: If you want to make Connie’s original Cider Apple Bread recipe, just substitute the orange juice for apple cider and add 2/3 cup chopped nuts. She also had an interesting tip in the recipe about sprinkling the top of the bread with ground nuts before baking. I didn’t have any nuts on hand to try this time, but will definitely give it a try in the future.
Baking time (duration): 60 minutes
Number of servings (yield): 8
Meal type: breakfast
My rating:
This looks tasty and a unique combo of ingredients! YUM!
Thanks so much! Adding the citrus was a bit of whim, so I’m glad it turned out. 🙂
Yum-I love the addition of citrus and the craggly crust. Can’t wait to try! Lovely photos too!
Thanks! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
What a unique flavor combo! I have never even thought of combining apples and citrus, but it sounds incredible!
And I love quick bread recipes, anything sweet that I’m allowed to eat for breakfast is right up my alley!
I always say breakfast is the best time to have sweets. You have the entire rest of the day to burn off the calories. 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting!
Oh, that looks so good! I’m a sucker for breakfast breads and this one sound so yummy!
Thanks so much for stopping by! And yes, you should definitely get the KitchenAid Artisan in Green Apple. It looks like a piece of art sitting on my counter and looks great against my black backsplash! 🙂
Thanks so much for visiting! With as much as I have been using my plain white Kitchen Aid lately, I have a feeling it may burn out soon so I would have an excuse to get a beautiful green one. 🙂
Now this is a yummy bread with lots of flavor 🙂 love it!
Thanks! It was fun to make too. 🙂