Brown Butter Apple Loaf

From Orchard to Oven: Making the Most of Autumn Apples

I don’t know about you but this time for year for me screams comfort food.

Hunkering down in front of the fire with something that warms the body and brings nostalgic memories.

I have just finished harvesting the last of the apples and either storing them for eating later in the winter or processing and freezing them to be able to use later in the year. We have 3 different varieties- Royal Gala a great early eating apple but it doesn’t store well( I don’t like to store the apples in the fridge) so we eat this one first. Bauburn is my partner favourite so he takes them all away for work and any left I’ve processed because they make the best apple chutney. Our last variety is a hybrid of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith and is a great cooking apple. I use it in chutneys and in baking. It’s tart, doesn’t break down too much and is a crisp eating apple which is what I love.

Different apples offer different things to how you use it.

If you want it to break down- think apple sauce use Royal Gala or Golden Delicious or the newer types like Jazz or Ambrosia but if you still want to see pieces for baking or chutney use something Granny Smith or Bauburn.

For the following recipe I have used Granny Smith because I love its tartness.

This is a super easy recipe because it only needs one bowl and I have converted it to gluten free but is super easy to change to regular flour.

Brown Butter Apple Loaf

Ingredients:

(Serves 6-8 Gluten free)

• 235grm butter

• 1 1/3C milk + 2Tbsp lemon juice

• 1 1/2C gluten free flour

• 1 1/2C brown rice flour

• 1tsp baking powder and baking soda

• 3/4C brown sugar

• 3/4C white sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1/2C vegetable oil

• 3 Apples- peeled and diced

Method:

In a small pan or pot melt butter over a medium heat till melted. Give it a stir a couple times and keep cooking till the milk solids start brown, about 3-5mins. When it’s starting to brown keep an eye on it don’t take it too far or it will just taste burnt not that nutty flavour you want. Remove from the heat and set it aside while you prepare the rest of the steps.

Preheat the oven to 170’C and prepare 2 loaf tins with baking paper on the sides.

In your measuring jug add the lemon jipuice to the milk and stir together. You have basically just made buttermilk without having to buy that whole carton that would have sat in your fridge for ever.

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together with the diced apple, add in the cooled butter and mix together till it looks like breadcrumbs.

In the measuring jug with your milk add in the oil then the eggs and beat together, pour this over into the apple mixture and fold together.

Pour into your prepared loaf tins. Now this following recipe is optional but add a interesting topping to the cakes

Strudel topping

• 1/3C brown rice flour

• 1/3C gluten free flour

• 1/2 C brown sugar

• 1/4C coconut threads

• 120grm butter-softened

Mix everything together to a chunky crumb and sprinkle over the loaves.

Place loaves into oven and bake for 40-45mins or till a skewer comes out clean.

Stand to cool completely then turn out and serve with Greek yoghurt.