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This Apple Coffee Cake is soft, butter, and packed with tender apples, with a generous streusel crumble on top. It works just as well for breakfast or brunch as it does for dessert, and it’s one of those recipes people always ask me for after I serve it.
I’ve been making versions of this coffee cake since I was a kid because it starts with my mom’s base recipe. Over the years I’ve changed it up all kinds of ways (like banana coffee cake), but adding apples is still one of my favorites. They keep the cake moist and make it taste a little like apple pie for breakfast.
I also love you don’t need a mixer for this recipe. Apple breakfast cake comes together simply, the apples bake up perfectly tender, and the topping is the classic crumb cake topping you want in every bite.
Ingredients in Apple Crumb Cake
- Melted unsalted butter goes into all 3 of the components of this recipe.
- I prefer using Granny Smith apples for this recipe but you can definitely make it with Fuji or Gala, Golden Delicious or Honeycrisp apples, but I wouldn’t use straight red apples.
- You’ll need granulated sugar for the apples and cake and light brown sugar for the crumble.
- You can use regular, nonfat or even nondairy milk in this recipe.
- Cinnamon adds so much flavor, but you can also use apple pie spice.
- I used all-purpose flour, but for a gluten-free cake, you can use GF 1:1 AP flour.
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Dorothy’s Testing Notes
- Be sure to use the right size pan: either a 9 or 10-inch round cake pan or 10-inch or deep dish pie plate, or a 9-inch square pan or springform pan.
- Use a fork to mix the crumble so it doesn’t compact, and use your hands to sprinkle it over the top of the cake evenly.
- Bake the cake on a cookie sheet in case it bubbles over.
- If you like crunch you can add chopped pecans or walnuts to the crumble.
- Store cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or place wrapped cake in the freezer for up to a month.
Apple Coffee Cake Recipe
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Ingredients
Apples:
- 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter
- 2 Granny Smith Apples, (200g when cut, about 2 cups)
- 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Cake:
- ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (119ml) milk
- 1 ½ cups (186g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Streusel:
- ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (16g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9- or 10-inch round cake pan or 10-inch round pie plate, or 9-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Peel, core, and slice apples into bite sized pieces.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add apples, sugar, and cinnamon. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until the apple just starts to turn opaque, but is still white. Remove from heat to cool.
- Whisk flower, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Stir ¼ cup melted butter with granulated sugar and egg in a large bowl. Stir in milk. Stir dry ingredients into wet and stir until just combined. Pour into prepared pan.
- Sprinkled cooled apples evenly over the top of the cake batter.
- Make the crumb topping: stir together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and melted butter. Sprinkle over apples.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to a month.
Notes
- Be sure to dice the apples small so you get apples in every bite.
- Use a fork to stir the crumble so it doesn’t compact.
- Bake on a cookie sheet in case it bubbles over.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How to Make Apple Coffee Cake
- I don’t like crunchy apples in any desserts so I partially cook them in a frying pan with butter, sugar, and cinnamon before making the cake.
- The cake batter is light brown and thick and might have small lumps.
- The crumble is wet and dark (it’s best to stir it with a fork so it doesn’t compact).
- Layer the cake in the pan with the cake on the bottom, apples in the middle, and crumb cake topping on the top.
Breakfast Apple Cake FAQ
The cake isn’t a coffee flavored cake, it’s a cake meant to be eaten with coffee. Coffee cake is a breakfast or brunch cake, hence the name.
For this recipe, use a 9-10-inch round cake pan (with at least 2-inch sides), a deep dish or 10-inch pie plate or a 9-inch square pan (with at least 2-inch sides).
Use the toothpick test – insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and it should come out without any crumbs stuck to it.
You don’t have to but I prefer it.
Made today following instructions to a T. Thought it was a little dry, maybe if the apples were mixed in the batter and then you’d get apples throughout. The “streusel” topping was like eating sugar straight from the bowl. Not sure I would make again.
After 35 minutes my cake is still very raw and jigglely. What did I do wrong?
Did you make any substitutions? What kind of pan are you using?
I consider myself a really good baker. I made this recipe without altering it and followed the recipe as written. It occurred to me that the amount of cake batter did seem to be enough with the amount of apples and topping mixture. The topping ended up sinking to the bottom and the cake never set up and cooked through. I baked it for 45 minutes (10 minutes over instructed) and it was still soft in the middle. I allowed it to cool for 10 minutes hoping that would help. I tried to serve a piece and it was very mushy. The apples were on the dry side after cooling before adding to the top of the batter, so that was not the issue. I tasted it, but it was clearly inedible. Really a sad waste of ingredients. Sadly I will be deleting the recipe from my app.
The streusel topping was way too wet. Too much butter and brown sugar. It suffocated the cake. Had to scoop some of the brown sugar off. Could barely get the cake to cook. Had to up the oven temp and add on another 15 minutes.
It’s definitely a wetter streusel but not that much – were your apples very wet? Was there a lot of liquid left after cooking them?
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