Apple Crumble Coffee Cake

4.8
(133)

A delicious apple crumb cake. Finally, after all these years, I've come up with a solution for people who can't decide whether to make an apple crumble or a coffee cake. This features the best things about both of those recipes. It's like baking a crumb-topped coffee cake on top of another coffee cake!

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A slice of apple crumble cake served with coffee
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Prep Time:
25 mins
Cook Time:
40 mins
Additional Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 35 mins
Servings:
8
Yield:
1 9x12-inch cake

Other than a classic apple pie, I'm not generally a huge fan of apple desserts. I'm not sure why, but they just don't entice me like other sweet things do. This, however, is one very notable exception. It's almost too good. I find this very hard to stop eating.

If you're a fan of apple crumbles, coffee cakes, and Dutch apple pies, this just might become your new favorite dessert recipe. Sorry, I meant new favorite breakfast recipe. But, regardless of what time of day this graces your table, you're going to be enjoying what I think is the perfect combination of moist buttery cake, sweet bits of fruit, and buttery, crunchy crumbs. In fact, don't be surprised if you have it for breakfast and dessert.

One of the keys here is to make sure you dice your apples nice and small, so they become perfectly tender by the time your coffee cake is baked. The only way to really mess this up would be to have a bunch of large, crunchy apple pieces inside an otherwise perfect coffee cake. Do not let that happen. Of course, we could hedge our bets and sauté them first, but why add another step?

Of course, you don't have to use apples, or any fruit for that matter, and this recipe will still produce a world-class coffee cake, but I hope you do. It's not like they add a ton of health benefits, but a little extra fiber is always a good thing, and that way we won't feel quite as guilty for enjoying this for breakfast and dessert. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a piece for lunch. I'll finish by saying I really do hope you give this apple crumble cake a try soon. Enjoy!

Chef John's Apple Crumble Cake
Apple Crumble Cake.

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Ingredients

Original recipe (1X) yields 8 servings

  • 2 teaspoons unsalted butter

Dry Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda

  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Crumble Mixture:

  • 1 ½ cups finely chopped toasted walnuts

  • cup packed light brown sugar

  • cup white sugar

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

  • 1 cup white sugar

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 cup plain yogurt

  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 2 Honeycrisp apples

Directions

  1. Gather all ingredients.

    Ingredients to make apple crumble coffee cake

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x12-inch baking dish generously.

    A buttered baking dish

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  3. Mix dry ingredients: Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

    A large bowl with flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a whisk

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  4. Make the crumble: Combine walnuts, brown sugar, white sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Mix until walnuts and sugar are thoroughly coated with butter.

    A large bowl of sugar-walnut crumbles

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  5. Mix the wet ingredients: Cream sugar and butter together in another bowl with a spatula until well blended.

    A glass bowl with creamed butter and sugar

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  6. Add 1 egg and whisk until mixture is smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.

    A bowl with creamed butter and sugar being whisked together with an egg

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  7. Whisk in second egg until thoroughly incorporated. Add yogurt and vanilla; whisk together.

    A large bowl of creamed butter, sugar, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla being whisked together

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  8. Add dry flour mixture to wet ingredients; whisk just until flour disappears. Do not overmix.

    A large glass bowl of coffee cake batter

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  9. Remove cores from apples. Cut across into 1/8- to 1/4-inch slices. Stack up a few slices, make a cut down the center, and dice across into cubes.

    A cutting board with sliced and cubed apple pieces

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  10. Add to cake batter, folding in with a spatula until just combined.

    A large bowl of chopped apples being folded into cake batter with a spatula

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  11. Spread 1/2 of the batter evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Scatter 1/2 of the crumble mixture evenly over the top.

    A buttered baking dish with cake batter topped with walnut-sugar crumbles

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  12. Top with the rest of the batter in dollops. Spread carefully to evenly distribute, trying not to disturb the crumbs.

    A baking dish layered with apple cake batter, walnut-sugar crumble, and apple cake batter

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  13. Top with the rest of the crumb mixture. Press crumbs into the batter very gently.

    A baking dish with apple crumble coffee cake batter

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  14. Bake in the center of the preheated oven until a toothpick or bamboo skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

    A baked apple crumble coffee cake

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  15. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before slicing and serving.

    A slice of apple crumble cake served with coffee

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

Chef's Notes

Dark brown sugar will work as well as light brown.

I used a relatively runny but beautifully tangy sheep's milk yogurt, but regular plain Greek yogurt will work, as well as sour cream.

You can use Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples. If you cut your apples too big, your cake will be done but the apples will not be, so take your time and make them small.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

631 Calories
34g Fat
76g Carbs
10g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8
Calories 631
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 34g 44%
Saturated Fat 13g 66%
Cholesterol 95mg 32%
Sodium 435mg 19%
Total Carbohydrate 76g 28%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Total Sugars 48g
Protein 10g 19%
Vitamin C 2mg 2%
Calcium 122mg 9%
Iron 3mg 14%
Potassium 254mg 5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.