Agave Apple Amish Friendship Bread

Submitted by: Lori Havens
Image (c) Lori Havens

“This sugar-free apple bread uses agave and has just the right amount of sweetness!”

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 16
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter (Sugar-Free)
3 eggs
1 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1-2 small boxes instant pudding sugar-free vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce or carrot apple pulp

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325° F (165° C).
2. In a large mixing bowl, add ingredients as listed.
3. Grease two large loaf pans.
4. Pour the batter evenly into loaf or cake pans and drip agave nectar on top.
5. Bake for one hour and 10 minutes or until the bread loosens evenly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
6. ENJOY!

Kitchen Notes

From Lori Havens: “I got lots of compliments on this bread! This bread has just the right amount of sweetness and I preserve agave to other sugar substitutes (I can taste the Splenda in recipes and it doesn’t work for me). I used carrot/apple pulp from a juicer (packed) worked great but chunky applesauce would work, too. This bread was moist and delicious, everyone loved it! This bread was a big hit with my friends, even those not watching their sugar intake!”

From Wikipedia: “Agave nectar (also called agave syrup) is a sweetener produced in Mexico and South Africa. Agave nectar is 1.4 to 1.6 times sweeter than sugar. Agave nectar is often substituted for sugar or honey in recipes. Agave nectar is sweeter than honey, though less viscous. Agave nectar consists primarily of fructose and glucose. Agave nectar’s glycemic index and glycemic load are comparable to fructose, which in turn has a much lower glycemic index and glycemic load than table sugar (sucrose).”

From Health | Eating Well: “Agave’s GI value is about five times lower than table sugar’s, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition … Currently no studies compare how, relative to other sugars, agave may affect blood-sugar control. … Agave packs 20 calories per teaspoon, 5 more than granulated sugar, but, like honey, it’s sweeter than sugar, so you need less to achieve the same level of sweetness.”

Image Gallery

L toR: (c) Lori Havens; Lori Buying Ziplocs (c) Lori Havens