Description
This Apple Crumb Cake is a delightful coffee cake featuring a tender, sour cream-based batter loaded with tart apple chunks and topped with a spiced, buttery crumb topping. Finished with a sweet apple cider glaze, it offers the perfect balance of moist cake and crunchy topping, ideal for brunch or dessert.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Crumb Topping
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coffee Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup full fat sour cream
- 4 cups peeled and chopped tart apples (about 3 medium apples, such as Granny Smith or Pink Lady)
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider (or milk)
- 1 Tablespoon melted butter
- Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish to ensure the cake doesn’t stick during baking.
- Make the Crumb Topping: In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in melted butter and vanilla extract with a spatula until the mixture is evenly moist. Use your fingers to pinch the mixture into crumbs of varying sizes for a textured topping.
- Mix Dry Ingredients for Batter: In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside for later use.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Using an electric mixer, cream the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. This creates a smooth base for the cake batter.
- Add Eggs and Flavorings: Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition to incorporate air. Then beat in the vanilla extract and full fat sour cream until well combined.
- Combine Batter Ingredients: Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients, beating on low speed just until combined. The batter will be thick, which is expected for this cake.
- Assemble the Cake Layers: Spread half of the batter into a thin, even layer at the bottom of the prepared pan. If the batter is sticky or difficult to spread, dampen your hands slightly and press it evenly. Sprinkle the peeled and chopped apple chunks evenly over the batter, then scatter half of the crumb topping on top.
- Top with Remaining Batter and Crumbs: Place dollops of the remaining batter over the crumb topping. Use wet hands to carefully spread it as evenly as possible, even if some areas are thin or have gaps. Finally, sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the top layer.
- Bake the Cake: Bake in the preheated oven for 38-45 minutes, or until a toothpick or tester inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top browns too quickly (around 30 minutes), cover loosely with foil to prevent burning and continue baking.
- Prepare the Glaze: While the cake is baking, whisk together powdered sugar, apple cider (or milk), melted butter, and a pinch of kosher salt until the glaze is thick but still pourable.
- Serve: Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool slightly. Drizzle the warm cake with the apple cider glaze before serving for a delightful sweet finish.
Notes
- Granny Smith and Pink Lady apples work particularly well for this recipe due to their tartness.
- Store the cake covered with plastic wrap at room temperature; it keeps well for about 5 days, although the crumb topping may lose some crunch.
- To refresh the crumbs’ crispiness, reheat individual slices in the microwave or air fryer.
- For freezing, omit the glaze. Wrap the cake slices or whole cake tightly in plastic wrap and then foil. Freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature and add glaze before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/15th of cake)
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 27g
- Sodium: 180mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 44g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
