This spiced apple pear loaf is the perfect seasonal recipe! I don’t want to call it a dessert, because I love having a slice of loaf for breakfast and snacks. So, yeah, in my opinion, it’s not exclusively a dessert. If you have lots of apples (and a pear or two) hanging around, this is great way to use them up.
I live on an apple orchard, and in September and October I have more apples than I know what to do with. My neighbour grows pears, and he dropped some of his pears off, so this recipe was made out of necessity since I had too much fruit in the house to eat! I’m also not a huge fan of pie, so it wasn’t going to be an apple pie that I made. I love the flavours of apple pie, but there’s just something about it that I don’t love. So I created this loaf recipe that combines all the flavours of fall and pie, but is a quick bread. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
If you’re looking for other baked good recipes check out my Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake and my White Chocolate Pistachio Scones.
Why you’ll love this apple pear recipe
- Seasonal: it’s fall and it’s prime apple season (at least where I live) so I’m always looking for new ways to use up apples.
- Flavourful: this loaf really screams fall with the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. It’s like all the flavours of an apple pie but in loaf form (for those people *like me* who don’t love pie)
- A nice addition to any meal: you can serve this with any meal and people will be happy. Breakfast with some yogurt or dessert with some applesauce or whipped cream. It would make a really nice thing to bring if you’re heading to someone’s house.
What you’ll need to make this apple pear loaf recipe
- Apple: I used Honeycrisp because I had lots. Honeycrisp are juicy and sweet and hold their texture when baked, so it is a good one to bake with.
- Pear: I’m not sure which variety I used, but it was ripe.
- Spices: I used cinnamon and nutmeg. I would like to try adding ground cloves and/or ground cardamom, but to me those are more winter flavours.
- The other usual baking supplies: flour, sugar, butter, eggs, etc. All the ingredients and amounts are in the recipe card below.
Additions & Substitutions
Additions:
- Spices: you could get creative with your spice choices. I went with cinnamon and nutmeg, but if you want to use ground cloves or cardamom, that might be nice too.
Substitutions:
- Only apples: if you don’t have pears on hand, you could make this recipe with apples only. Fun fact: apples and pears are interchangeable in recipes. So if you only have apples, use all apples. If you only have pears, use only pears.
- Vegan: while I haven’t tried it, you might be able to make this recipe vegan. Use vegan butter instead of regular butter, and a flax egg instead of an egg egg.
Spiced Apple Pear Loaf FAQs
Yes! Apples and pears are interchangeable in recipes, so feel free to use whatever you have on hand. A combination of the two adds different flavours.
Honeycrisp, Gala, or Cortland work best. They hold their shape when baked, so you’ll still have a little texture in the final product.
Use ripe or overly ripe pears. They will release moisture once the sugar and spices are added to them, and will add additional liquid to the batter. Additionally, if you find the batter too dry, you could add a splash of apple juice or apple cider. Also, be sure not to over bake the loaf. This will dry it out.
It’s delicious on it’s own, but pairs well with a coffee or tea. Additionally, fresh from the oven, a smear of butter or a nut butter might be amazing!
I like to leave the skins on for more fibre and a rustic vibe. If you don’t tolerate skins, or you want to peel them, go right ahead! It will turn out just as good.
Spiced Apple Pear Loaf
Equipment
- 1 Loaf pan 9×5
Ingredients
Fruit
- 2 ½ cups apple & pear, diced, skin on about 1 1/4 cup each
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
Batter
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup butter, unsalted, melted
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉.
- Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, add your diced apple and pear. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Toss to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the egg, vanilla, sugar and melted butter.
- In a separate medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, and combine until everything is just combined. Do not over mix. It will seem dry, but that's okay, the fruit is going to add more liquid.
- Add 1/2 cup of your apple pear mix to the bottom of your loaf pan. Spread it out so it covers the bottom of the pan.
- Add the remaining apple pear mix (and all the juices) to the batter. Combine well. If the batter seems too dry, you can add a splash of apple cider or apple juice.Add this batter to the loaf pan, on top of the apple and pears on the bottom.
- Use a spoon or small offset spatula to spread the batter in the loaf pan. Make sure it reaches all the corners.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until golden brown on top and knife/toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Let cool for at least 10 minutes in the loaf pan.
- Remove from the loaf pan, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, flip over, and remove the parchment paper so the bottom is now the top, and the beautifully spiced fruit is on the top.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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If you try this apple pear loaf , take a picture and share them with me over on IG @harvesttablenutrition. I love to see all your creations.
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
It should keep for about 3-4 days! If it doesn’t get eaten within the first 2 days, I usually wrap it in plastic, and keep it in the fridge.
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
Thank you! It’s got all the perfect fall flavours in one!
I made this for my family brunch. It was delicious.
I’m so glad you tried the recipe and enjoyed it!