Apple crumble cake is a moist and buttery vanilla crumb cake filled with chunks of sweet and tart apples. It’s topped with a crunchy cinnamon crumble that is the perfect complement to the cozy spiced apples. Make this apple coffee cream coffee cake for a wonderfully delicious fall breakfast or dessert.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
I absolutely adore a delicious and cozy cake topped with a spiced crumble. My Blueberry Coffee Cake, Cinnamon Streusel Muffins, Maple Pumpkin Coffee Cake and Banana Coffee Cake are just a few I love from the blog. This apple crumb cake is filled with the coziest flavors and textures I know you’ll love. If you’re a fan of decadent breakfast dishes or just love a wonderfully delicious streusel topped cake paired with your coffee, this recipe is for you.
- Layers of flavors and textures. From the soft and fluffy cake filled with baked apple chunks, to the sweet cinnamon spiced streusel, this apple crumb cake will leave you feeling very cozy .
- Easy to make, bake and eat. This homemade apple coffee cake tastes like you just bought it from a bakery, but is so simple to make at home. Simply make the streusel, mix up the vanilla cake with apples, top, bake and enjoy.
- Perfectly cozy and perfect for cooler seasons. The light, fluffy and tender vanilla and cinnamon apple cake with crumble is flavored with cozy ground cinnamon and is perfect for a fall and winter breakfasts and desserts.
Ingredients
This recipe for apple crumble cake requires a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge.
Apple Crumble Topping
Gather all purpose flour, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and unsalted butter.
Apple Crumb Cake
Gather all purpose flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract and fresh diced apples tossed in ground cinnamon.
Substitutions
This cinnamon apple coffee cake is as easy to make as they are delicious. Here are my recommended substitutions to make this cake recipe if you need them.
- All purpose flour: To make this cinnamon apple crumb cake gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These both act as leaveners in this easy apple coffee cake.
- Ground Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon is a classic ingredient in coffee cake and pairs beautifully with apples. Feel free to use any sweet warming spice such as ginger or a spice blend like chai, pumpkin or apple spice in place of the cinnamon.
- Unsalted Butter: Feel free to use an equal amount of salted butter in place of the unsalted butter. Just make sure to omit the added salt. Vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter.
- Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: This coffee cake with apples recipe calls for granulated sugar, but maple sugar would also work well to make this refined sugar free.
- Eggs: This cinnamon apple cake has not been tested without eggs.
- Sour Cream: A thick and creamy greek yogurt works well in this apple crumb cake recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: This is more for background flavor and nicely enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Apples: Any tart baking apple such as Granny Smith, Jonagold, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp or Fuji work beautifully in this easy apple crisp coffee cake.
Variations
- Apple Crumb Loaf: Prepare the apple crumble cake recipe as written, but bake in a 9 x 5 loaf pan for 50 - 60 minutes. You may also enjoy my Maple Apple Loaf Cake.
- Apple Crumb Cake with Cake Mix: Prepare twice the amount of the crumble topping as written in the recipe. Mix one 15.25 oz. box cake mix with the ingredients listed on the box. Pour the cake batter into a prepared cake pan. Top with the crumb topping and bake.
- Vanilla Glaze: Top the apple sour cream coffee cake with a vanilla glaze. Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g) with 1 teaspoons (5 ml) vanilla extract and 2 - 3 tablespoons (30 - 45 ml) milk. Pour over the warm coffee cake and enjoy.
- This recipe for apple crumb cake can also be baked in a 8 x 8 inch (20 cm) square pan or can be made into 12 standard size muffins. Make the recipe as written and bake the 8 x 8 cake for about 45 - 55 minutes. The muffins will bake at 375 F (190 C) for about 18 - 22 minutes.
How To Make
Learn how to make apple crumble cake in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Grease and line the bottom of a 9 inch (23 cm) springform or cake pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and ground cinnamon for the streusel topping. Work in the melted and cooled butter a couple of teaspoons at a time until a sand like texture develops. Place the bowl in the fridge until the apple crumb coffee cake is ready for topping. In a small bowl toss the peeled, diced apples into ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk the all purpose flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt together until well combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. This takes about 2-3 minutes on medium speed. On low, beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
- Alternating dry ingredients and sour cream, mix in ⅓ of the dry ingredients into the wet, followed by ½ of the sour cream. Repeat until all the ingredients are just combined. Fold in the the cinnamon apples until just combined.
- Evenly spread the cinnamon apple coffee cake batter into the prepared pan.Top with the cinnamon crumb, making sure to break any extra large pieces. Bake the coffee apple cake for 50 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cinnamon apple crumb cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the pan in the pan for 15 - 20 minutes. Gently remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Top with powdered sugar or a glaze, slice and enjoy!
How To Make Ahead, Store Freeze and Thaw
- Make Ahead: Parts of this apple crumble cake can easily be made ahead of time. To do this simply prepare crumb topping according to the recipe directions and place it in an airtight storage container and refrigerate until you’re ready to make the apple coffee cake.
- Store: Place the apple crumble cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Then the cake should be transferred to the fridge for up to another 2 - 3 days.
- Freeze: Make sure the sour cream coffee cake with cinnamon apples is completely cooled to room temperature. Wrap the cake or slices of cake in plastic wrap and place in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw your cinnamon apple coffee cake is to let it sit out at room temperature for at least two hours or overnight in the fridge. Enjoy at room temperature or microwave the cake slice for 20 - 30 seconds for that “fresh from the oven” taste.
M’s Expert Tips
- Mix the cooled melted butter slowly with a fork. Drizzle a couple of teaspoons and mix with a fork until the butter is fully incorporated. Mix until the texture of the topping resembles wet sand with some larger pieces mixed in. Store the streusel topping in the fridge until it's time to top the crumble cake.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in soft, fluffy, moist and tender apple coffee cake.
- Measure the flour properly. I highly recommend using a food scale to get perfectly measured ingredients every time.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Use the baking times as a guide. All ovens vary and baking times should be used as a guide. As a general rule, when the apple cake with crumble becomes fragrant, it’s a good idea to start checking. Begin checking on the cake at the minimum baking time. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out with a few moist crumbs.
FAQs
What is crumble made of?
Crumble or crumb topping is traditionally made using flour, light brown or granulated sugar and butter.
Is streusel the same as crumble?
A streusel topping is the same as a crumb or crumble topping. This type of topping is most popular on coffee cake, fruit crisps, muffins and pies.
Why did my apple cake fall apart?
There are a few things that can cause this to happen. One could be that you cut into the cake while it was still too hot. Another could be that you used the wrong type of apple and it didn’t stand up to baking. One last possibility could be that the recipe provided too much moisture and the apple cake couldn't hold it’s structure.
Other Apple Recipes to Try
If you try this Apple Crumble Cake recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Apple Crumble Cake Recipe
Apple crumble cake is a moist and buttery vanilla crumb cake filled with chunks of sweet and tart apples. It’s topped with a crunchy cinnamon crumble that is the perfect complement to the cozy spiced apples. Make this apple coffee cream coffee cake for a wonderfully delicious fall breakfast or dessert.
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 1 apple peeler
- 1 knife
Ingredients
Apple Crumble Topping
- 1 cup (120 g) all purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons (67 g) light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (38 g) granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, melted
Apple Crumble Cake
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (US), room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 g) sour cream, room temperature
- 2 cups peeled and diced cinnamon apples ½ inch pieces tossed in ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Grease and line the bottom of a 9 inch (23 cm) springform or cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and ground cinnamon for the crumble topping. Work in the melted and cooled butter a couple of teaspoons at a time until a sand like texture develops. Place the bowl in the fridge until the apple crumb coffee cake is ready for topping.1 cup (120 g) all purpose flour, 5 tablespoons (67 g) light brown sugar, 3 tablespoons (38 g) granulated sugar, 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, melted
- In a small bowl toss the peeled, diced apples into ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon and set aside.2 cups peeled and diced cinnamon apples
- In a medium bowl whisk the all purpose flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt together until well combined.2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. This takes about 2-3 minutes on medium speed. On low, beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 2 large eggs (US), room temperature, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- Alternating dry ingredients and sour cream, mix in ⅓ of the dry ingredients into the wet, followed by ½ of the sour cream. Repeat until all the ingredients are just combined. Fold in the the cinnamon apples until just combined.1 cup (240 g) sour cream, room temperature
- Evenly spread the cinnamon apple coffee cake batter into the prepared pan. Top with the cinnamon crumb, making sure to break any extra large pieces.
- Bake the coffee apple cake for 50 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cinnamon apple crumb cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the pan in the pan for 15 - 20 minutes. Gently remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Top with powdered sugar or a glaze, slice and enjoy!
Notes
Store: Place the apple crumble cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Then the cake should be transferred to the fridge for up to another 2 - 3 days.
See Variations section for other pan sizes.
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