Butternut Squash & Apple Bread with Maple and Cardamom
I posted a photo of this on Instagram a few days back, and a number of people came back and asked for this recipe to bake for the holidays. And here it is! It’s a bit lighter than other fruit or vegetable breads (think: cake), and relies much more on butternut squash than apple for flavor. That said, the great thing about this bread is that the squash doesn’t have to be precooked or pureed or anything before being added in. Grating it up in a processor does all the work you need, and the squash cooks in the baking time.
I made this cake for my daughter, who hated squash (until now…hah!). And for that reason, I changed out the flour using an “all purpose” mix of oat, brown rice, and almond flours. Really, it isn’t so much about the gluten, though being gluten free is a benefit for some here. It’s more about the fact that oats and brown rice and almonds have a lot more nutritional value than AP flour. Same goes for the maple sugar, a sugar from the maple tree that has a flavor very close to the syrup. Again, maple sugar has antioxidants and minerals not found in refined sugar. It has a lower glycemic index, and I always use a lot less of it in recipes.
These are just my choices, but feel free to use all purpose flour here and substitute another sugar if you can’t find maple. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Yields 1 8½” x 4¼” x 2¾” loaf pan
2 cups raw, peeled, and grated butternut squash
1 cup peeled, cored and grated apple
scant 1 cup maple sugar
1 cup oat flour
½ cup brown rice flour
½ cup almond flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp baking soda
2 tsps baking powder
¼ cup organic, unrefined coconut oil or ½ stick butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature
Procedure
Preheat oven to 375˚ F.
Place grated squash and apple in a bowl along with 3 tablespoons of the maple sugar. Stir to combine and let stand to macerate for 15 minutes.
In another bowl, sift together flours with salt, spices, baking soda and baking powder.
In a stand mixer, cream together remaining sugar and coconut oil or butter. With mixer on medium-low, add vanilla and then the eggs one at a time. Turn mixer down to low, and add in the flour in three increments, stopping to scrape down the sides. Mix until almost combined. Fold in the macerated squash and apple with any liquid that’s accumulated and mix until thoroughly combined.
Pour batter into a greased loaf pan, and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool before unmolding.