I’m going to apologize in advance for this post, my lack of brain power and any off-kilter comedic moments. Picked up the flu. Yeah, it’s been fun.
Generally I’m quite adept at evading the flu; it helps to work from home. Lucky for me, I’ve run across its foulness at best maybe three times in my life, this being lucky three.
Anywhooo……
Back in college (have I mentioned this already? See, my brain….hang on, I’ll see if I have….hm, nope?), my junior and senior year my roommate of all four years and I hit the on-campus housing jackpot by winning spots in the coveted Garden Apartments.
They were dorm rooms, sure, but they were larger, had uninterrupted views of Cayuga Lake, a sliding glass door, your very own bathroom (niiiiice), and a kitchenette. Yep, a kitchenette.
I still had a plan for the college’s terrible food but I also had a car which meant we’d make runs downhill to Wegmans (oh how I miss that store, it’s so painful) for easy-things-to-make ingredients that could be handled in a microscopic kitchen.
Before I left for my junior year, my mom wrote up a slew of little index card recipes by hand. Very thoughtful of her, right? I know I made a few of them but even then I was not big into cooking.
Flash forward to today, I know hang on that’s a lot of flash, sorry to make you dizzy, and yes, I still have those little index cards.
I recently went on a rip roaring tear through almost every nook and cranny in the house on a Purge It All, Clean It Out, Organize It! spree which felt very good. No, not everything went, I’m not entirely done either but I found myself standing in the kitchen filing through those index cards.
Lo, what is this…..Cinnamon Bread? Whaa….? How did I not, …..huh? How on earth did I miss this little ditty all these years?!
So I emailed my mom. “Hey, what’s up with this Cinnamon Bread recipe you gave me? Where’s it from? And yes I still have these cards, thank you.”
Heh, she had no idea. We exchanged several emails back and forth trying to figure it out. She thought she must’ve made it at some point hence the reason to give me the recipe but I don’t think she ever did.
We settled on that she likely came across it somewhere and thought I’d enjoy it so she wrote it up in case I had a chance to bake. Still no idea where from though, so I’m not going to be able to attribute it today.
A quick cursory online search though, that turns up several versions of this recipe so it could be from anywhere.
This is a lightning-fast quick bread that’s stellar as a snack, for breakfast, a slice for dessert, afternoon tea….versatile, people, versatile. And since it’s so quick, if you’ve got last minute guests coming or a hostess gift need, this fits the bill perfectly.
And ok, yeah, it does lean a little more towards cake than bread. But, pffft, whatev’s, it’s yummy.
Now, right off I know you’re gonna panic about the amount of sugar in this. Don’t though, the sprinkle portion can be adjusted down a smidge. Or, really, it’s not too too bad.
Speaking of, I bet you could totally sub in brown sugar or a combo of brown and granulated for the cinnamon sugar sprinkle part….oooOoooh, that would be, oh, ok, I gotta hurry this up so I can hit the kitchen. Oh. After my dumb flu is gone. Ugh.
Feel free to toss in some nutmeg too or a dash of allspice maybe, whatever tickles your fancy. Pecans? A layer of apple butter inside?? Wowza…This is an easy recipe to sneak little tweaks into to make it your own.
Super easy ingredient list, no mixer required, you likely already have everything, so let’s do this!
Whisk up an egg, the first portion of sugar, and oil in a bowl until that’s nicely combined.
You guys know the trick to get an egg to room temp faster than a camp out on the counter, yeah? Fill a little dish or cup with warm water, plop the egg in for a few minutes and voila, room temp egg.
In a large bowl, toss in the dry ingredients and fluff those around with a fork to aerate nice and lightly. You can also sift them together through a fine mesh sieve* if you’d rather but if you’re pressed for time, a fork is fine.
Pour about half of the eggy stuff into the flour stuff, give it a light, gentle stir or two with a fork then pour in about half of the buttermilk or sour milk (see the recipe for sour milk), another gentle stir or two, then repeat the egg, repeat the buttermilk.
Finish the batter with a couple swooping stirs with a rubber spatula* and then stop. It’s going to be quite lumpy and thick.
Spread about half of the batter into your greased up loaf pan and sprinkle about half of the cinnamon sugar atop, swirling it in with a knife. Or not, the batter is pretty thick so it’s a tad bit of a challenge to truly swirl.
Pour on the rest of the batter, smooth it out, sprinkle on the rest of the cinnamon sugar.
Pop that babe in the oven for an hour and wow, enjoy that scent in your house as it bakes. Uh huh.
Let it cool, slice it up, and yeahhh….you’re gonna delight in this one.
Happy baking!
If you’re diggin’ the quick breads as much as we do, absolutely be sure to see what other ones we’ve got for you here!
Ingredients
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk**, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (176° C) and grease a loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, 1 cup of granulated sugar, and vegetable oil together until well mixed.
- In a larger bowl, add the dry ingredients, the flour, salt, and baking soda and whisk to lighten and aerate. Conversely, these ingredients can be sifted together as well.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining half cup of granulated sugar and cinnamon together, stir well.
- Add about half of the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir briefly and gently then add about half of the buttermilk or sour milk, continuing to stir briefly and gently. Add the remaining egg mix and buttermilk in the same manner. Finish mixing the batter with a few stirs with a rubber spatula. It will be lumpy.
- Scoop about half of the batter into the loaf pan and spread it flat. Sprinkle about half of the cinnamon sugar atop and with a knife, swirl it into the batter. It can also be left un-swirled.
- Add the remaining batter and sprinkle the top with the rest of the cinnamon sugar. Swirl with a knife to ensure a craggy top upon baking.
- Place in the oven and bake for about 1 hour until the top is nicely browned, a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove to a rack to cool completely.
- **To make sour milk, add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a 1 cup glass measuring cup. Pour in milk to reach the 1 cup line, stir and let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. Yogurt or sour cream thinned with milk will also work just as well.
Notes
*The fine mesh sieves and rubber spatulas are Amazon affiliate links. Thanks! Please see the right sidebar for more info.