Apple Cinnamon Bread (Apple Cider Donut bread)
, Updated Sep 26, 2025
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This Apple Cinnamon Bread Apple cider donut bread is quick and easy to make, fragrant, moist and delicious! Made simply with applesauce and scented with cinnamon and nutmeg, it will make your house smell amazing. Dust with cinnamon sugar and prepare to fall in love…
Love apples and cinnamon? You must make my Apple Scones and Apple Cider Muffins! Fancy a British Pudding for dessert? Make my Eve’s Pudding recipe 🙂
There’s a special kind of comfort that comes from the intoxicating scent of apples and cinnamon wafting through your kitchen – it’s the essence of fall. That’s the vibe this Apple Cinnamon Bread gives you. Whether you call it “apple cider donut bread,” “cinnamon apple loaf,” or “donut in bread form,” it’s cozy, sliceable, and ideal with your morning coffee (or afternoon tea).
What You’ll Get (in this loaf)
- No yeast, no rise time — just mix, bake, and enjoy
- A moist, tender crumb infused with apple flavor
- Warm cinnamon + nutmeg notes throughout
- Cinnamon sugar crust (’nuff said)
Here’s What You’ll Need
This is a quick bread recipe made with eggs, applesauce, vegetable oil, flour, baking powder, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. You can use melted butter instead of vegetable oil if you prefer a more buttery crumb.
I used store-bought smooth applesauce ( if preferred, chunky apple sauce for more texture). You can also use unsweetened apple purée (also marketed as baby food) or spiced apple butter.
This apple bread is subtly sweet – not overloaded with sugar and that’s how I like it. The cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top adds a nod to old-fashioned apple cider donuts plus sweetness and crunch!
How to make Apple Cinnamon Bread
- This is essentially a blender quick bread – add all the ingredients to a food processor, blender or even a smoothie maker and give them a good blitz. You might need to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure the batter is evenly mixed, with no dried pockets of flour.
- Pour into a lined loaf tin, bake for 35-40 minutes, until the bread is golden, springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
- Lift out of the tin using the overhanging paper. Brush with a little melted butter and dust with cinnamon sugar. Slice and enjoy!
What if I don’t have a food processor?
You can make this cake in a large bowl instead. Put the eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce and sugar in the bowl and mix together using a balloon whisk.
Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg) and mix until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and bake.
Leftovers and Storage
Store your apple bread in a cake tin or airtight container for up to four days. It will keep lovely and moist – such a treat with a cup of coffee!
If you want to freeze it then make sure it is completely cool first. Wrap well in a layer of kitchen paper and two layers of aluminum foil and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
Love this recipe? You’ll find plenty more just like it in my cookbook Easy Air Fryer Bakes! It’s packed with foolproof recipes for cakes, breads, muffins, and savoury bakes — all tested in the air fryer so you can get perfect results every time. If you’re ready to make the most of your air fryer (and maybe surprise yourself with what it can do!), grab a copy and start baking along with me.
I hope this Apple Cinnamon Bread recipe brings a little warmth and comfort to your kitchen. If you bake it, let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment and rating below — I love hearing your feedback! Follow me on Pinterest for more easy recipes and don’t forget to tag me on @Instagram or TikTok so I can see your delicious bakes.
Apple Cinnamon Bread
Video
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (80ml) vegetable oil or melted butter, coconut oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup (200g) applesauce
- ¾ cup (150g) light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups (200g) flour all-purpose / plain
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
Topping
- 2 tbsp melted butter to brush on cake
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Mist a 2lb loaf tin with cake release or grease with butter and line with baking paper.
- Add all the ingredients to your food processor in this order – oil or melted butter, eggs, apple sauce and sugar.⅓ cup (80ml) vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, ¾ cup (200g) applesauce, ¾ cup (150g) light brown sugar
- Top with the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.1 ½ cups (200g) flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, 3 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp salt, ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- Pulse until the ingredients combine and then process on high speed until the batter is smooth, using a spatula to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl as needed.
- Pour the batter in the prepared tin, level and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and cake is springy to the touch.
- Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then lift out using the baking paper.
- Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Brush the warm cake with the melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar.3 tbsp granulated sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 tbsp melted butter
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
Yummy but my loaf came out so short!! Less than 2”high! I used a 9×5 loaf pan. Any idea why?
Hi Amanda, sounds like the loaf tin was too big so the batter spread out too much. Glad it was yummy!
Brilliant recipe – sweet but not too sweet and doesn’t have a million steps so fantastic for beginners.
Also makes the house smell amazing as it cooks – will definetly be making this again.
So happy you liked it Hazel 🙂