Apple Crumb Cake

There is a special magic that happens when you get a bite of soft delightful cake with cinnamon-y crumble and a bit of fruit. It’s like music in your mouth, right? Here, we take a classic crumb-topped coffee cake and add some appley goodness. I know I’ve posted apple crumb cakes before, but this is a lovely version. My boys can’t get enough of apple + cake + crumbs so I keep fiddling with the recipe.

Note: the methodology on the cake might seem a little odd (adding flour to the butter? What?); trust me, and follow the steps as written. The reverse creaming method helps create a cake that is at the same time soft and lovely as well as sturdy; this is a good thing when it comes to cakes loaded with fruit and crumbs as this one is.

Also: you can make half of the cake and bake it in a 8-inch square or springform pan. In our house with oodles of boys running around, one can never have too much cake, but maybe in yours you don’t need quite as much on hand.

Apple Coffee Cake

Yield: 10 - 14 servings

Ingredients

Cinnamon Crumb and topping:

1 cup unsalted butter

3 cups all purpose flour (can sub 1/4 cup coconut flour for 1/2 cup of the all purpose)

1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup old fashioned oats, optional, but super yummy

For the cake:

4 apples, peeled, cored and diced

2 tablespoons sugar

pinch salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened (or use all butter)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 1/3 cups sour cream or thick yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Make the crumbs and topping:

Place the butter in a small pot and melt over low heat.

Add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and toss to combine.

You will add the oats once half the crumb mixture is used inside the cake.

To make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the peeled and chopped apples with a tiny pinch salt, 1 T sugar and 1 T lemon juice. Toss to combine and set aside while assembling the rest of the cake.

In a large mixing bowl, add butter, cream cheese, and sugar and mix on medium speed until well combined and fluffing up.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the butter mixture and mix on medium-low speed until the mixture resembles damp sand (about 2 minutes).

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed until smooth.

Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, mix again for 20 seconds. Then add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla.

Beat on medium speed for about 1 1/2 minutes, to aerate the cake batter and build its structure.

Transfer about 2/3 of the batter to the prepared pan.

Top with the diced apples, spread to cover the entire surface. Sprinkle with half of the crumb topping, then spread the remaining batter on top. Note: this is easiest to do by dolloping on the remaining batter and then using a spatula to lightly spread it around.

Add the oats to the crumb mixture (if using), and then sprinkle the remaining cinnamon crumb mixture on top of the batter.

Bake the cake for 65 - 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Enjoy!

The cake keeps in the fridge for up to a week. You can freeze for longer storage; if you freeze in slices then it will be easier to enjoy straight from the freezer.