Applesauce Blueberry Bread (with whole wheat flour)
A beautiful golden and lighter blueberry quick bread that is moist and full of crunchy pecans. It's a good option for breakfast or a snack, versatile with some ingredients and freezes well.
Servings 1 loaf
Ingredients
- ½ cups pecans lightly toasted if you want to
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen, directly from the freezer
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour superfine or very finely milled
- ½ tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or mace, optional
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup vegetable oil such as coconut, sunflower or canola
- ½ cup coconut sugar or fine muscovado or brown sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce use my recipe for homemade applesauce, store-bought or finely grate a peeled apple until you have ½ cup
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar to sprinkle before baking
- 8 whole pecans to decorate, optional
Instructions
- Finely chop ½ cups pecans and reserve.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180C).
- Butter or spray 1 medium loaf pan (9x3 inches or similar).
- Sprinkle with ground nuts coating evenly. Or dust with flour or fine dry breadcrumbs.
- Remove and reserve 1 tablespoon from 1 cup all-purpose flour.
- Sift it with ½ cup whole wheat flour, ½ tablespoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg.
- In a large bowl beat 1 egg, ¼ cup vegetable oil and ½ cup coconut sugar.
- Add ½ cup unsweetened applesauce and 2 teaspoons lemon juice and mix well.
- Add dry ingredients without beating too much.
- Stir 1 cup blueberries with the reserved 1 tablespoon of flour and fold it into the egg mixture being careful not to crush them.
- Add chopped pecans and stir to mix.
- Pour this batter into the prepared pan, smoothing top.
- Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and arrange 8 whole pecans decoratively on top if you want.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then unmold and let cool completely.
Notes
Pan size: this recipe can be made in one loaf pan, as I did here, in muffin cups, mini loaf pans, or even as a sheet cake. It is also easily doubled. You could eat one and freeze the other.
Storing: always wrap it in plastic to ensure it stays moist. As long as it's not hot, it lasts for a few days at room temperature. Apples ferment at some point, so keep this in mind.
Freezing: wrap it well in plastic and then foil and freeze it for 1 month. I cut it before and then toast individual slices.
Spices: add any other spice you like; ground cinnamon always works with these flavors.
You can substitute pear puree for the apple.
