Apple Crumb Cake | NeighborFood

It’s easy to fall in love with this Apple Crumb Cake made with sweet tart apples, two layers of brown sugar cinnamon streusel, and an apple cider glaze. Serve it for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert!

Apple Crumb Cake with Double the Crumbs!

This morning when I walked outside the air felt…different. I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt and while I wasn’t uncomfortably cold, something made me run back inside and grab a sweatshirt. 

This can only mean one thing: the fall baking season is officially here!

While the September days are still rather hot around these parts, the mornings are cool and crisp. It’s the kind of weather that begs for something a little cozier than a bowl of cereal, something like this Apple Crumb Cake.

Warm, sweet, and gently spiced, this is just the thing to ease you into Fall. It’s not in-your-face with the Autumn-ness. There’s no brazen pumpkin spice, no overpowering scent of cloves, and nothing more than a faint whiff of Thanksgiving.

Instead, there’s the subtle scent of cinnamon, a hint of nutmeg, and the just-barely-there crunch of sweet tart apples. It’s Autumn goodness, but in a super chill, non-confrontational way that feels right at home in any season of the year.

Like our Pumpkin Crumb Cake and Banana Crumb Cake, this cake features a deliciously crunchy crumb topping AND a layer of streusel running through the middle. One thing you should know about me is that I never skimp on the crumbs!

Call it an apple coffee cake, a crumb cake or an apple streusel cake, this moist sour cream cake layered with apples and buttery crumbs is always a winner at our house.

Key Ingredients

Pantry Staples, including flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Sugars– You’ll need granulated sugar for the cake batter, brown sugar for the streusel crumbs, and powdered sugar for the glaze.

Butter– Let’s be real. This is not diet food. It’s buttery cake layered with more buttery crumble. And that makes it really, really good. I use unsalted butter for baking, so I can control the exact amount of salt.

Eggs– I use large eggs for baking.

Sour cream– This is a classic sour cream coffee cake that’s extra moist and has just the tiniest tang. You can substitute full fat Greek yogurt if you prefer.

Apples– For most baking, including things like apple pie and applesauce, I recommend choosing an apple that’s on the tarter end of the apple spectrum to balance out the sweetness. Granny Smith and Pink Lady are both great options.

Spices– I use a hefty dose of cinnamon and a smaller dose of nutmeg. If you like a lot of spices, feel free to add ginger, cloves, and/or cardamom as well.

Apple cider– This is not an absolute requirement but just a few splashes of apple cider in the glaze really makes it pop!

How to Make Apple Crumb Cake

To make the streusel crumbs:

Step 1: Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Step 2: Add wet ingredients. Pour melted butter and vanilla over the mixture then stir with a spatula until most of the dry ingredients have been moistened. Use your fingers to pinch the mixture into sandy crumbs.

To make the coffee cake:

Step 1: Whisk dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Step 2: Cream together butter and sugar in an electric mixer at medium high speed for 4-5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

Step 3: Add wet ingredients. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after addition. Beat in vanilla and sour cream.

Step 4: Add flour mixture. Dump the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until combined, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides well with a spatula. The batter will be very thick.

Step 5: Assemble. Spread half of the cake batter on the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Top with all of the apples and half of the crumb mixture. Dot the top with the remaining batter, spreading as best you can. Finish with the remaining crumbs.

Step 6: Bake. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until center is no longer jiggly.

Step 7: Glaze. Whisk together powdered sugar, butter, apple cider, and a pinch of salt. Glaze the cake while it’s still warm (it’ll soak in quite a bit) or allow the cake to cool completely if you want the glaze to sit on top of the cake in obvious drizzles.

Tips for Making Apple Coffee Cake

The batter for this crumb cake is quite thick, but don’t fret, it will cover the 9 x 13 inch pan.

To make spreading easier, wet your hands and use your hands to spread the batter or use a slightly damp spatula.

For the top layer, you can dollop the batter throughout the pan using a cookie scoop (this one is my favorite!), then use damp hands to press it mostly together. If it doesn’t fully cover every nook and cranny, that’s ok! All the little bits of cake will rise and expand and find each other.

What to Serve with Apple Coffee Cake

First, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room. Are we serving this for breakfast or dessert? The answer is yes.

Like many desserts that masquerade as breakfast (Pancake Casserole, anyone?), this apple crumb cake is a sweet treat that’s acceptable to eat any time of day.

For breakfast, we recommend serving it with bottomless mugs of coffee, a honey latte, or a cinnamon latte. Add some oven baked bacon or scrambled eggs for some protein!

For dessert, this cake needs no adornment, but you are more than welcome to swap the apple cider glaze for some homemade salty caramel sauce and serve it warm with a scoop of ice cream.

More Apple Breakfast Recipes to Bake this Fall

For the crumb topping:

• 2 ¼ cups flour
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¾ cup unsalted butter (melted (1 ½ sticks ))
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the 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 (see note))

For the glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider (or milk)
• 1 Tablespoon melted butter
• Fat pinch Kosher salt

For the crumb:

• In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the melted butter and vanilla extracts and stir with a spatula until the mixture is evenly moist. Use your fingers to pinch the mixture into crumbs of varying sizes.

For the batter:

• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream.

• Add the flour mixture to the bowl, beating on low speed until the ingredients are just combined. The batter will be very thick.

To assemble:

• Spread half the batter into a thin layer at the bottom of the pan. If the batter is difficult to spread, wet your hands and use them to spread the batter. Sprinkle the apple chunks evenly over the batter, then top with half of the crumbs.

• Place dollops of the remaining batter over the crumbs, again using wet hands to spread it as best you can. It’s ok if it’s thin or there are a few bare spots. Top with the remaining crumbs.

• Bake for 38-45 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top is getting too brown at the 30 minute mark, cover with foil for the last 10-15 minutes.

• While the coffee cake bakes, whisk together the powdered sugar, cider, butter, and salt until it’s thick but pourable. Serve the cake warm with the cider drizzle.

• Granny smith and pink lady apples both work well here.
• This recipe keeps well covered with saran wrap at room temperature for about 5 days, though the crumbs will lose some of their crunch.
• Reheat slices in the microwave or air fryer, if you’d like to bring back some crunch!
• To freeze, omit the glaze and freeze individual slices or a whole slab double wrapped in saran wrap then foil. Freeze for up to 23 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature. Glaze before serving.

Keyword apple coffee cake, apple crumb cake, apple crumble cake, apple streusel cake

Calories: 480kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 284mg | Potassium: 125mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 640IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 2mg