Cinnamon Apple Loaf

I wasn't planning on baking anything today but I was browsing Pinterest this morning and changed my mind. There are so many yummy recipes that people pin on there. I really wanted to make these quinoa cookies but didn't have all the necessary ingredients... I've saved that to try out another day. Instead I found this Cinnamon Apple Loaf recipe and I had everything needed to make it. The recipe is fairly simple and was easy to whip up. I changed some minor things from the original recipe, such as doubling the cinnamon, different brown sugar, and used almond milk instead of normal milk. I layered the batter and apples as described in the original but wished I would have swirled the apples in the middle into the batter. The loaf also took a lot longer to cook then 30 minutes for me. I checked every 10 minutes to see if it was done but ended up having it in there for a whole hour. The loaf turned out great though! It is a nice vanilla cake like texture with the apple cinnamon mixture layer in the middle and then a nice crunch on top with the second layer of apple cinnamon mixture. It's not too sweet either which makes it nice for a little breakfast treat. I would make this again and maybe add some type of nut into the apple cinnamon mixture. Try out this yummy recipe soon! (Oh and excuse the photos... they are from my mobile.)

Recipe by AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown or muscovado sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 3/4 tsps baking powder
1/2 cup milk (I used almond)
1 apple, peeled and chopped

Steps:
Preheat oven to 350F/ 175C. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Beat white sugar and butter together in a medium bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until incorporated; add vanilla extract. Combine flour and baking powder together in a small bowl then fold into creamed butter mixture. Mix milk into batter until smooth. Mix together the chopped apples and brown sugar mixture. Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan; add half the apples and brown sugar mixture. Lightly pat down into batter or swirl with a knife into the batter. Pour the remaining batter over apple layer; top with remaining apples and brown sugar mixture. Lightly pat this into batter. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean, about 40 minutes and then check every 10 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean.

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Strawberry Lime Mojito Loaf Cake

I recently did a product review and I wanted to make a recipe that could use the product I was testing out.  Last month, I made a Clementine Basil Mojito Loaf Cake and wanted to try it  out with different flavours. I decided that I wanted to use strawberries and thought it would pair well with the mojito flavours. It tasted great!! I loved it and the smells whilst making it were really nice. I preferred this one to the citrus one I made last time, you could really taste all the flavours separately yet mixing altogether in your mouth. I can't wait for summer and mojito drinks in the sun, ready for warm weather now!

Recipe
Inspired by Barefoot Kitchen Witch
Ingredients:
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
10 mint leaves, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp strawberry juice concentrate
1 cup strawberries, chopped
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
For syrup:
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup rum
1 Tbsp strawberry juice concentrate
5 mint leaves, finely chopped

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Butter a 8" x 4" loaf pan and set aside. 
2. Combine lime zest, mint, and sugar in a bowl and rub with a back of a spoon to release oils in the lime zest and mint and set aside.
3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. 
4. Mix the butter into the sugar mixture on high speed until light and fluffy. 
5. Add 1/4 cup lime juice and 1tsp strawberry juice concentrate, followed by eggs. Beat until smooth. 
6. Alternating between the flour mixture and the milk, blend these into the mixture in the bowl. 
7. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan, place on middle rack in the oven and bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
8. While the loaf is baking, combine the syrup ingredients until sugar is completely dissolved. 
9. When the loaf comes out of the oven, pour the syrup evenly over the top. Let the loaf cool in the pan for an hour before removing.

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Citrus BlogHop: Clementine Basil Mojito Loaf Cake

It's BlogHop time! This month we are focusing on Citrus. I had lots of ideas for this month and then came up with this recipe. I was inspired by a couple sources, the blog Barefoot Kitchen Witch for which my recipe is based on and my favorite mojito drink from a local restaurant Benson Blakes. This recipe was easy to whip up and loved the smells even before I baked it! Mojitos are my favorite drink when I go out and I love this loaf cake version. I will have to experiment with other flavor combinations as this loaf cake was amazing!

Please join in on the #citruslove fun by linking up any citrus recipe from the month of January 2012. Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #citruslove event! Make sure to visit all the other co-hosts below to see their #citruslove recipes.

Recipe
Inspired by Barefoot Kitchen Witch
Ingredients:
Finely grated zest of 2 clementines 
10 large basil leaves, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup fresh clementine juice
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
For syrup:
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup fresh clementine juice
1/4 cup rum
5 large basil leaves, finely chopped

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C.  Butter a 8" x 4" loaf pan and set aside.
2. Combine clementine zest, basil, and sugar in a bowl and rub with a back of a spoon to release oils in the clementine zest and basil and set aside.
3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
4. Mix the butter into the sugar mixture on high speed until light and fluffy.
5. Add 1/4 cup clementine juice, followed by eggs.  Beat until smooth.
6. Alternating between the flour mixture and the milk, blend these into the mixture in the bowl.
7. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan, place on middle rack in the oven and bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. While the loaf is baking, combine the syrup ingredients until sugar is completely dissolved.
9. When the loaf comes out of the oven, poke holes all over the top with a thin knife and then pour the syrup evenly over the top.
10. Let the loaf cool in the pan for an hour before removing.

Co-hosted by:  A little bit of everything, Astig Vegan, Baker Street, BigFatBaker, CafeTerraBlog, Cake Duchess, Cakeballs, cookies and more, Elephant Eats, Easily Good Eats, Food Wanderings, Georgiecakes, Hobby And More, Mike's Baking, Mis Pensamientos, No One Likes Crumbley Cookies, Oh Cake, Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives, Peaches and Donuts, Savoring Every Bite, Simply Reem, Smart Food and Fit, Soni's Food for Thought, That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!, The Art of Cooking Real Food, The More Than Occasional Baker, The Spicy RD, The Wimpy Vegetarian, Vegan Yack Attack!, Vegetarian Mamma, You Made That?

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