Frosted Apple Bread

Amethyst · November 2, 2025, 5:11pm

Frosted Apple Bread

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 16

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups peeled and chopped apples (Granny Smith, pick lady- approximately 2 small/medium)
¼ cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
¾ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup butter (softened unsalted)
2 large eggs (room temperature)
½ cup milk (2% or whole milk), room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FROSTING:

4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
½ cup powdered sugar
½-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons milk or cream (room temperature)

Directions:

Preheat oven 350°F/180C, grease or line with parchment paper a 9-inch / 23 cm loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, combine the apples and brown sugar.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until creamy, approximately 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beat in the milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until almost combined. Fold in the apple mixture and mix just to combine. Do not overmix. Batter should be lumpy.

Transfer to the prepared loaf pan. Bake approximately 50-60 minutes, test for doneness with a toothpick. Cover with foil if the bread is browning too much.

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Enjoy!

FROSTING:

In a medium/large bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and cream (1 tablespoon at a time) to arrive at the desired thickness.

Notes:

Storing Apple Bread:

Store: Wrap frosted apple bread in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Freeze: To freeze apple bread, skip the frosting. Cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap, then foil, and store in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator still wrapped, then add frosting and enjoy.

Recipe Tips:

Best kind of apples to use: Crisp apples are best! I love Pink Lady or Granny Smith, Honeycrisp apples, Jonathan, Gala, or Braeburn are good varieties too.

Peel your apples: This will make your bread more appealing! When you leave the peels on, it tends to separate from the apples while baking and creates an odd chewy texture.

Avoid dense bread: This is usually a sign that you overmixed your bread. Only mix the bread until combined. It’s okay if there are still some flour streaks!

If the apple bread is falling in the middle: Most likely this means that your quick bread is underbaked. Bake the bread for the full amount of time and avoid opening the oven door, as air drafts can make bread fall.

Tent apple bread if browning: Use a sheet of foil to tent over the bread pan if the top of the bread is browning too quickly.

Variations:

Shredded apples: Instead of chopped apples, try using shredded apples so you have some apples in every bite of the quick frosted apple bread.

Apple bread with cream cheese glaze: Instead of a thicker frosting, thin the frosting with some additional cream and then drizzle it over the bread.

Add-ins: Add ½ cup chopped walnuts, pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries.

Less butter: Replace ½ of the butter with applesauce, similar to my Applesauce Bread.

Caramel: Make Caramel Apple Bread or add a caramel drizzle on top of the frosting!

Nutritional Facts:

Recipe courtesy of An Italian in my Kitchen.com