Easy Sugar Free Apple Bread

It can be a juggle sometimes; along with Michael's car art, there's the kids, the house, the cooking, the laundry, along with baking sugar free breads and cakes for my diabetic parents. With most of Michael's talented energy concentrated on the painting of the automotive watercolors (it is where he shines, after all), the rest pretty much falls to me. And, unlike some people, I am not a super mega multi-tasker!

In how we run our business, we take no short cuts — Michael takes so much time and puts so much into each and every painting, that the "business" end (which falls primarily to me) has to be reflective of those same high standards.

That is one of the reasons why, when I have to, I find ways to make household duties easier or quicker. There are, after all, only so many hours in a day. The recipe that follows, is one that started out as banana bread, originally published in 1987 in the Pillsbury Kitchens' Family Cookbook. I've modified it to suit our family's dietary needs. According to my parents, it's even better that my "World's Best Banana Bread".

I also like this recipe, because unlike many others you'll find, this one has ingredients which are pretty much a staple in most kitchens. And, the prep time is about 10 minutes!

Easy Sugar Free Apple Bread

2 cups Splenda Granular
2 cups apple sauce
   (no sugar added)
1 cup margarine,
   softened
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp nutmeg
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt (or "No Salt")
4 cups all purpose flour

Grease a bundt cake pan. Heat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, blend first 9 ingredients, beat 1 minute on medium speed. Add flour, mix well — I like to speed this up but using the mixer at low speed for about 1 minute. Pour into bundt pan. Viola, your part is pretty much done! Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan.

The apple sauce makes this a very moist bread. The cinnamon and nutmeg give it a rich flavor. As a bonus, it doesn't taste sugar free! If you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. — Linda