This Apricot Bread is so soft and fluffy you’ll want to swap your pillow out for a slice of it. Marbled with apricot jam and topped with a sweet pecan mixture, it is a delicious addition to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Dad’s love for apricot Jam
My dad loves apricot jam! It was this love that inspired my mom to create a sweet bread with apricot jam infused inside. She thought it sounded like a great-tasting bread and a perfect bread to give to others for holidays or special occasions. And sure enough, it turned out AMAZING. We love eating it, and so does everyone else.
All About the Layers
This Apricot Bread is all about that delicious sweet dough layered between apricot jam. I have the amount of dough and jam that should go into each layer listed below! I like to use a small spatula to spread the dough and the jam around for each layer. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it sure does taste perfect!
Sticky Problem
Because of the jam, this bread likes to stick to the sides of your pans, so make sure to really oil up your pan, or use parchment paper to make this bread. Parchment paper will make your Apricot Bread come out of the pan much easier than if you just used oil. But if you forget, you’ll just have to eat the bread out of the pan, so it’s not the worst thing that could happen.
Recipe Ingredients
- Cream Cheese – essential to making this Apricot Bread as moist as it is. You won’t find a softer bread than this.
- Apricot Jam – on the shelf at the grocery store it is often called “apricot preserves”. Use whatever brand is your favorite.
- Pecans – This recipe calls for pecans, chopped. You can buy chopped pecans already, but I like to have pecan halves around that I can use for other recipes or as a snack on the counter. Simply chop with a knife or food processor.
Apricot Bread Layers
- Sweet Bread Dough: The sweet bread dough for this recipe is so soft you will want to be sleeping on it at night. Remember to cream the cream cheese, butter, and sugar together first before adding the remaining ingredients.
- Apricot Jam: Adds a sweet and subtle fruit flavor to the bread dough and is marbled throughout, making it a beautiful bread to cut.
- Pecan Topping: This crunchy, yet flavorful pecan topping is the perfect way to top this soft sweet bread off.
Layering Details
In each loaf pan you will spread and layer the following:
- ¾ C dough
- ¼ C apricot jam
- ⅓ C dough
- ¼ C apricot jam
- ⅓ C dough
- Heaping ½ C pecan topping.
Looking for more delicious bread recipes? Try these:
Apricot Bread
This Apricot Bread is so soft and fluffy you’ll want to swap your pillow out for a slice of it. Marbled with apricot jam and topped with a sweet pecan mixture, it is a delicious addition to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Ingredients
Bread Dough
- ½ C (4 oz) cream cheese
- ½ C (4 oz) salted butter
- 1 ¼ C (8.3 oz) white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 T milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 C (9 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- Heaping ¼ tsp salt
Jam Filling
- 1 C (11 oz) apricot jam
Pecan Topping
- ¼ C (2 oz) salted butter
- ½ C (2.3 oz) pecans, chopped
- ¼ C plus 2 T (1.8 oz) all-purpose flour
- ½ C (4 oz) brown sugar
Instructions
Make Bread Dough
- Preheat oven to 350*F.
- In a bowl or stand mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, and white sugar. Cream well until smooth.
- Add eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined and smooth.
Make Pecan Topping
- Chop ½ C pecan halves roughly using a knife or food processor.
- Mix together butter, pecans, flour, and brown sugar. Set aside
Assemble.
- Grease very well 2 medium-sized bread pans.
- Layer ¾ C dough into each pan. Then layer ¼ C apricot jam into each pan. Then layer ⅓ C dough into each pan. Then layer ¼ C apricot jam in each pan. Then layer ⅓ C dough into each pan. Top each pan with a heaping ½ cup pecan topping.
- Bake at 350*F for one hour.
- Let cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze.
Notes
- Grease your loaf pans really well or else the jam will stick to the sides and it will be hard to cut slices. You can also line pans with parchment paper.
- Because the bread is extremely moist, it is important to let the loaves cool completely so the bread doesn’t fall apart when trying to cut.
0 Comments