Apple, Walnut and Sultana loaf

This may just be my favourite 'go to' recipe. So simple, so quick, so tasty, and so amenable to being changed!

I love this recipe.
You can even convince yourself that it is healthy. It is, after all, predominantly fruit :-)

I found this when I was in NZ, in one of their fabulous cooking mags. They had a section called 'you asked for it', and in it, they published a recipe that a reader had requested, from a cafe or restaurant. This comes from Shadehouse Cafe in Rotorua. I never got to go to taste the real thing, so I have no idea how close this recipe is to the original, but it doesn't bother me, coz I love this one!

Best enjoyed with a cup of tea.
Bon appetit!

Shadehouse Cafe's Apple, Walnut and Sultana Loaf

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups peeled, cored and diced apple (I used 1 apple and 1 pear in this one)
1 cup brown sugar
100g butter, melted (I used dairy free spread)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup wholemeal and 1/2 cup white, coz I ran out of wholemeal, but you can definitely use all wholemeal. I suspect it would be too crumbly if you use gluten free, but I wonder what half gluten free, half almond meal would be like...hmmm, something to try for next time!)
1/4 teaspoon salt (I actually forgot this)
1/2 teaspoon each of baking powder and ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon each cinnamon and baking soda
1/2 cup of sultanas and 1/2 cup walnuts
icing sugar for dusting

And this is where the fun starts. That is the original recipe. I change it up depending on my mood.
Now, I"m a more is more kinda girl. I usually add more nutmeg, and cinnamon and add a good heaped (um....tablespoon) ground ginger. I also add chopped Buderum ginger pieces if I add ginger to the spice mix. I usually add sultanas and walnuts, but have subbed dates before. I almost always add vanilla as well.

Instructions
Preheat oven to 180deg C. Lightly grease a loaf pan (this makes you feel even more virtuous. Its almost a healthy bread if it is in this shape!)
Combine apple, brown sugar, egg and melted butter and mix well.
Add dry ingredients and sultanas/walnuts etc and mix well. It will be really quite chunky. It is best to sift, especially if you're baking soda is a little lumpy. Believe me, biting into a lump of baking soda really ruins the whole experience.
Bake for 40-50 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. My oven is about 40 mins.
Cool, then turn onto a cake rack. Dust with icing sugar ( I must admit, I don't think I've ever done this!)

It is so yummy warm or cold.
It apparently stores for a few days in an airtight container. I have never challenged it :-)