A lovely twist on classic apple cinnamon bread, this recipe features chunks of fresh apples, delicious chocolate chips, toasted pecans, and a gorgeous caramel finish.

Yield: 1 loaf (6-8 slices)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 45-55 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cinnamon Sugar Mixture:

• 90g light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

For the Bread:

• 1 apple, peeled and diced into 1.5cm chunks
• 130g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 175g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 135ml whole milk
• 135g chocolate chips (dark or milk chocolate)
• 70g chopped pecans, toasted

For the Topping:

• 30g melted butter
• 2 apples, peeled and diced into 4cm chunks
• the prepared cinnamon sugar mixture
• Caramel sauce for drizzling

Method

Prep:

1. Preheat your oven to 175°C (fan 160°C). Grease a 22cm x 11cm loaf tin with butter and line with a loaf liner or baking parchment.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Dice your apples into 1.5cm chunks. Pop two of the diced apples aside for the topping and keep the remaining diced apple for folding into the batter.
4. Toast the pecans in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Let cool and chop roughly.

Make the Bread:

1. In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer, cream the softened butter and caster sugar together for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until combined. (The mixture may look slightly curdled – this is normal!)
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed. Pour in the milk and mix until just combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix only until no flour streaks remain. Do not overmix.
5. Gently fold in the diced apples (not including the reserved topping apples), chocolate chips, and chopped pecans with a spatula.

Assemble:

1. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and spread evenly.
2. Toss the reserved apple chunks with the melted butter and the cinnamon sugar mixture. Scatter these apples evenly over the top of the batter.
3. Using a skewer or butter knife, gently swirl the apples very slightly into the top layer of batter with just 2-3 gentle movements—don’t press them down too much.

Bake:

1. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. If the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover with aluminium foil after 30-35 minutes.
2. Important: Let the bread cool in the tin for a full 15 minutes to allow the structure to set properly, then lift it out onto a wire rack.
3. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before drizzling the caramel sauce with a honey dripper.
4. Slice and serve warm, or store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.