Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Loaf with Marzipan

For the dough:

• 375g plain flour
• 50g granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 55g unsalted butter
• 80ml milk
• 60ml water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• 100g granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 85g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into small 1/2 cm cubes
• 100g golden marzipan, grated

For the Glaze:

• 60g icing sugar
• 2 tsp milk
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

1. Add the butter and milk to a small saucepan over medium heat, until melted. Remove from the heat and add the water and vanilla bean paste. Let mixture stand for a few minutes. In the meantime, complete steps 2 and 3.
2. In a large mixing bowl – or the bowl of a stand mixer – combine 250g (save the rest for later) of flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.
3. In another smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs and set aside.
4. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula (you may also use the dough hook on your stand mixture on a slow setting). Next, add the eggs and stir until incorporated.
5. Now add the remaining 125g flour and continue to stir for about 2 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky – that’s ok.
6. Place the dough in a large, greased bowl and cover with cling film. Let the dough rest in a warm, draft-free place** until it has doubled in size – approximately an hour.
7. While the dough is rising, you can grease your loaf pan.
8. Once the dough has completed its rise, add about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough and knead it until it’s deflated. Cover with a clean tea towel and let it rest for 5 minutes. (Melt your butter for the filling, if you haven’t already)
9. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 30cm x 50cm. Use a pastry brush to brush the melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture and top with the mini apple cubes and grated marzipan.
10. Now for the messy part! Using a pizza cutter, cleanly slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips. Slice horizontally until you have 36 squares. If you can, lean your loaf pan on so that its standing a little more vertically. This will just allow the apple and marzipan to stay in place as you stack. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again. You’ll have six stacks of six squares. Stack all the squares on top of each other and set into the prepared loaf pan. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and place it in a warm area for 30 to 45 minutes until almost doubled in size.
11. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius. Place the loaf pan into the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. If the top is only lightly browned, the centre might still be raw. It needs to be a deep and dark golden brown – it won’t taste burned or be dry.
12. Let the loaf rest for about 10 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen it. Carefully, turn it out onto a wire rack.
13. While it cools, prepare your icing: sift the icing sugar and add the liquids. Stir until smooth and glossy. Using a piping bag (or a ziploc bag with the corner just snipped off) ice your loaf. Serve warm.** During the winter, it’s often difficult to find a warm place to prove dough. I recommend heating your oven to 100C. Once it has reached that temperature, switch off the oven. Then place your dough inside to prove.

Kumud Gandhi

Kumud Gandhi is a Nutritional Food Scientist bestselling Author, Broadcaster, and Keynote Speaker on the subject of nutritional health for productivity & performance in the workplace.  In 2010 Kumud founded ‘The Cooking Academy’ a cookery school that focusses on cooking for nutritional health and wellbeing.  Kumud regularly presents to international audiences on a variety of topics such as ‘Eating for Immunity and a Lifetime of Wellness’. She is an expert in the field of Wellness in the Workplace and works with organizations to create transformational change in employee health & well-being through nutrition and health coaching.