Sparkly Applesauce Bread (or Muffins!)

Isn’t she pretty??? This might be one of my favorite recipes bread recipes – born from a need to use up a ton of apples. We received a huge box of them, so I had the bright idea to make a big batch of applesauce. Unfortunately after making said applesauce, I realized we aren’t huge applesauce eaters in this house. Thus, necessity breeds innovation – or in this case, very pretty applesauce bread! Not only is it a wonderful way to use up applesauce, but because it’s not too sweet it makes an amazing breakfast – or a wonderful dessert with a bit of ice cream to sweeten it up.

I’m serious, this lady really isn’t as sweet as say, banana bread. If you want it more along those lines, consider an extra half cup of sugar. I love that this bread isn’t too sweet though, it makes it an easy guilt-free breakfast and well, it’s chock-full of apples which makes me feel like I’m being ~healthy~, even after my third piece. It would probably be amazing with a handful of walnuts or pecans as well, but I didn’t have any laying around when this recipe was created.

A tip? Test for doneness early! Nothing’s worse than an over-baked apple loaf (or muffins), and every oven is different. You want a nice clean toothpick – especially for the muffins, which cook much quicker than the loaf.

Notes on yield: This recipe makes 2 4×8-inch loaves or 24 muffins – if that seems like too much, remember that they freeze beautifully! To freeze the muffins, flash freeze on a baking sheet and then store in a heavy duty plastic ziplock bag. To freeze the loaf, wrap in plastic then foil before freezing. To thaw, leave them the fridge overnight.

Sparkly Cinnamon Apple Loaf (or Muffins)

  • Oil or Non-Stick Spray, for greasing the loaf pan or muffin tins
  • 1/2 cup (100g) Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 cup(100g) Brown Sugar 
  • 2 cups (450ml) Unsweetened Applesauce
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) Vegetable or Coconut Oil
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1 teaspoon (6g) Salt
  • 1 teaspoon (4g) Baking Soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon (3g) Baking Powder
  • 2 teaspoon (6g) Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon (1g) Ground Nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon (1g) Ground Cloves 
  • 2 1/4 cups (280g) All-Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting the pan
  • 1 Large Apple, diced small 
  • 1/2 cup Demerara or Turbinado Sugar, for sprinkling (sub: any coarse sugar)
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F or 180C. Grease two 4×8 -inch (10×20 cm) loaf pans or two 12-cup muffin tins (or both) with butter or non-stick spray. 
  2. In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the sugar, brown sugar, apple sauce, oil, eggs, and vanilla. You want the mixture to lighten and look frothy – if you don’t have a hand mixer, whip vigorously with a whisk. 
  3. Stir in the the salt, baking soda, and baking powder until fully dissolved. Then stir in the flour and mix until just combined.
  4. Fold in the apples. 
  5. Pour the mixture into the greased pan or muffin tin. If filling the muffin tins, aim to fill them to slightly under the lip. Sprinkle the top liberally with demerara sugar for that gorgeous sparkly crunch.
  6. Bake the muffins on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes, and the loaf for 45-50 minutes – or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
  7. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week – this bread is honestly wonderful cold, but to reheat simply microwave for 20 seconds on high, or fry in a bit of butter on the stove for a real treat. 

Summer Berry Chocolate Mousse Tart (Accidentally Vegan + Gluten-Free)

This stunning no-bake tart came together when I happened to have dates, cashews, and a ripe avocado laying around during a particular fit of Sunday boredom.

While I’ve never been a huge fan of sweet applications of avocado (except avocado yogurt smoothies, they can get it) – you can’t taste any hint of avocado in this dessert, instead it lends its creamy texture to the intense chocolatey flavor.

With no only natural sweetener and and tons of healthy fats, it’s actually maybe sort of healthy? At least healthier than chocolate cake – not that I would ever sleep on cake, I’m just not going to feel as good after eating multiple servings; and I can happily report that after eating half the tart, I had no ill effects whatsoever except being full for most of the day.

I promise, vegans, non-vegans, and avocado haters alike will swoon – in a blind taste test at a summer potluck, only 1 person out of 10 could tell it had avo in it. Convinced yet?

Summer Berry Vegan Chocolate Mousse Tart

Crust

  • 1 1/2 cups Cashews or nuts of choice
  • 1 cup Dates or Dried Fruit of Choice
  • 1/8 tsp Salt
  • 3 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  1. Combine all crust ingredients in a food processor until fine crumbles form.
  2. Press evenly into a greased 8-or-9-inch springform pan, tart pan, or cake pan with removable bottom. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Filling

  • 12 oz Ripe Avocado Flesh (around 2 cups mashed)
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 8-10 oz Dark Chocolate Chips (or broken up bars)
  • 1/8 tsp Salt
  • 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup (or honey or agave), or more to taste
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Toppings

  • Summer Berries
  • Flaked Salt
  • Desiccated Coconut
  • Mint Sprigs
  1. For the filling, first carefully melt the chocolate by microwaving for 30 seconds at a time and stirring until melted.
  2. Add all filling ingredients to a blender or food processor, and blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness and chocolatey-ness
  3. Pour over the crust, and add berries and other garnishes to the top. Refrigerate until firm.

Store leftovers covered in the fridge 3-4 days – if they last that long.

Tomato-Basil Bagel with Salami Chips

One of my favorite Saturday hangover breakfasts. Chopped cherry tomatoes (or any tomato if they’re in season), chopped fresh basil, grated garlic, black pepper, salt. Tossed together and applied liberally to a toasted bagel with schmear. Topped with salami – fried into little crunchy bits of joy.

I’m not gonna lie to you, this recipe is best with ultra flavorful summer tomatoes, but cherry tomatoes do the trick in a pinch. Just don’t use out of season tomatoes, you really need that vibrant sweet-tangy tomato flavor for this to work.

As for cream cheese, I went with plain cause I have it around for baking, but you can go wild. A scallion cream cheese would probably slap. The salami chips are optional but addicting. Let me know if you make it!

Tomato-Basil Bagel with Salami Chips

  • 1 Bagel, sliced in half
  • Cream Cheese, to taste (as much as you want on your bagel)
  • 1 small handful Cherry Tomatoes
  • 4-5 Basil Leaves
  • 1 small clove Garlic, grated on a microplane
  • Salt
  • Freshly Ground Black Pepper*
  • Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
  • 2-3 pieces of Salami, finely chopped
  1. Toast your bagel if that’s your jam. A good quality bagel shouldn’t need it, but your average supermarket one could probably do with a pop in the toaster.
  2. Roughly chop your tomatoes. Thinly slice your basil. Add it to a bowl.
  3. Grate the garlic over the top, then season with salt, fresh ground black pepper, and . If you have sea salt flakes or something besides table salt, use it. The uneven structure of the salt crystals will give you pops of flavor as you eat, verses just seasoning everything evenly.
  4. Toss it all together and let it sit for a few minutes.
  5. While it sits, fire up a skillet and cook the salami until crispy.
  6. Top your bagel with schmear. The amount is up to you. I like my cream cheese levels to fall somewhere between “You’re not holding back, huh?” and “Wow, that’s a lot of cream cheese”.
  7. Load it up with the tomato basil mix. Top with the salami chips. Sprinkle with more flaked salt if desired. Enjoy!

*Notice how I bolded ‘Freshly Ground‘ Black Pepper in the ingredient list. That’s because pre-ground black pepper tastes like black pepper whispered into an ancient crypt. And for good reason – once the peppercorn is ground up, the flavorful oils start oxidizing immediately, not only dulling the spicy flavor but giving it a dusty, funky aftertaste. So do yourself a huge favor and invest in a proper pepper grinder – bonus points if it’s a refillable one. It will turn black pepper into a respectable member of your ingredient arsenal.

breakfast, bagel, food, brunch, easy, no cook