Pecan, apple and cinnamon bread

Lots of American cookbooks I own talk about 'breakfast' muffins, bars and quick-breads.  I love the idea of cake being an acceptable, normal option for breakfast - rather than a guilty pleasure I sneakily enjoy when no-one's looking!  The thread running through most of these 'breakfast' recipes is the addition of porridge oats, apples, nuts - the sorts of things a healthy person might turn into muesli, but that a cake addict like me would far prefer to turn into cake!  So inspired by this idea, this morning I woke up wanting a baking fix (yesterday's cherry scones really did vanish like the joke suggests) and decided to alter my apple, carrot, ginger and walnut bread to create this recipe.  What better way to start your day?

Ingredients

2 ½ oz butter, plus extra for greasing

2 eggs

5oz caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
7oz self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 large apple, diced

3oz pecans, chopped

For the crumble topping
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp margarine

2 tbsp porridge oats

To decorate 

8 pecan halves

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Melt the butter and use a little of it to grease and line a 9 x 5-inch loaf tin (leave the rest aside to cool).
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar, then add the (cooled) melted butter and vanilla, and beat well.
3. Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, and mix well.
4. Stir in the chopped apple and pecans.
5. Pour into the tin and bake for 10 mins while you make the crumble topping.
6. To make the crumble topping, place the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and mix together, then add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Mix in the oats.
7. After about 10 mins in the oven, remove the cake and sprinkle with the crumble topping.  Decorate with the pecan halves.
8. Return to the oven to bake for another 30-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes before transferring out of the tin to a wire rack to cool completely.