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Apple crumb cake is the one cake I never have to talk anybody into. It is tall and soft, full of tender cinnamon apples, with thick buttery crumbs in the middle of the cake and piled all over the top. Then an apple cider glaze goes over the whole thing. One slice is never enough and nobody pretends otherwise.
This is the cake I bring when I want to be the person who brought the good thing. It goes on the counter and people keep going back to it all morning, and the pan is empty by lunch. It works with coffee, it works for breakfast, and it works on a plate after dinner in October.
Here is why it wins. Everybody else gives you crumbs on top and calls it a crumb cake. I put half the streusel through the middle, so every single bite has crumbs in it, not only the first inch. That is the difference between a cake with a topping and a cake that tastes like the best part of a coffee cake the whole way down. Make it once and you will not go back to the other kind.
I keep a couple more apple cakes in the rotation depending on the day. My apple cider donut cake is the one I make for a crowd, and my caramel apple eclair cake is what I pull out when I do not want to turn the oven on at all. If you want more like this, my easy cake recipes are all in one place.
TESTED & PERFECTED
Why the Crumble Goes in the Middle of My Cake
The crumble is the best part of a crumb cake, so I could never work out why every recipe hides it all on top. I started layering half of it through the center and it changed the cake. You still get the chunky crumb pieces, but through the middle it reads like a ribbon of cinnamon running from edge to edge. It is the thing people notice on the first bite, and it is the reason this is the apple cake I keep making.
What You’ll Need
- Granny Smith apples: Tart green apples are what I use here, and they are the only kind I have tested in this cake. They balance out a sweet cake and a sweet glaze, so the whole thing does not tip over into too much. Dice them small. They soften into the cake as it bakes rather than staying in firm chunks.
- Full fat sour cream: This is what keeps the cake soft under all that streusel. Do not reach for low fat here. The fat is doing the work, and without it the crumb goes dry under the weight of the apples.
- Melted butter in the streusel: The streusel butter gets melted, not cut in cold, and it goes onto the cake right away instead of sitting in the fridge. That is how you get crumbs that stay crumbly. Fork it together until you see loose pebbly clumps and then stop.
- Apple cider in the glaze: Cider instead of milk is a small swap that makes the glaze taste like apple rather than just sweet. With the cinnamon whisked in, it tastes like the last sip at the bottom of a cider cup.
- Nutmeg: A quarter teaspoon in the streusel is all it takes. You will not taste it as nutmeg. You will taste it as the cake being warmer and rounder than a plain cinnamon cake.
How to Make Apple Crumb Cake
Full measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below. Here is how it goes together, and the two places worth slowing down.
Make the streusel first. Whisk the dry streusel ingredients, then fork in the melted butter and vanilla until you see loose pebbly clumps. Stop right there. Keep going and it turns into a paste, and a paste bakes into a second layer of cake instead of crumbs.
Mix the batter. Cream the butter and sugar, beat the eggs in one at a time, then the vanilla and sour cream, then the dry ingredients. The batter comes out thick. It scoops rather than pours, and that is exactly what you want holding up four layers.
Build the layers. Half the batter, then the diced apples, then half the streusel. That middle streusel is the whole point of this cake. Then the rest of the batter and the rest of the streusel on top. Spreading thick batter over loose crumbs takes a light hand, so drop it in spoonfuls and nudge it out to the edges instead of dragging a spatula across.
Bake, cool, glaze. Bake at 350 for 40 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. It is a deep cake, so start checking at 40. Let it cool all the way before you release the springform and before the glaze goes on.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Cover the cake tightly and keep it at room temperature for up to 3 days. It holds up well, and the crumb topping actually stays crisper on the counter than it does in the fridge.
To keep it longer, cover it tightly and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Bring slices back to room temperature before serving.
To freeze, wrap the cooled cake tightly before glazing and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw on the counter, then make the glaze fresh and drizzle before serving.
More Apple Recipes
Apple Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Streusel ingredients:
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup unsalted sweet cream butter melted
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Apple Cake ingredients:
- 2 large granny smith apples peeled, cored, and diced small
- ½ cup unsalted sweet cream butter softed
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup full fat sour cream
- 2 cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Cinnamon apple glaze ingredients:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line the bottom of a 9 in springform pan with parchment paper and spray the insides of the springform pan with baking spray, set aside
Streusel
- Using a medium bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and whisk until combined1 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Mix in the melted butter and vanilla and then set aside1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter, 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cake
- Using a standing mixer or hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until combined1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter, 1 cup sugar
- Add in the egg, one at a time, beating well after each egg2 large eggs
- Mix in the vanilla and sour cream until combined2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 cup full fat sour cream
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder until combined.2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Gradually mix in the dry ingredients with the wet until combined
- Scoop half of the cake batter into the prepared springform pan
- Spread your diced apples on top of the batter2 large granny smith apples
- Sprinkle half of your streusel onto the apples
- Pour remaining cake batter on top of the streusel and top with the rest of the streusel
- Bake in the oven for 40-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
- Allow to cool completely on the counter before removing springform pan. Note: run your knife around the edge to loosen things up a bit before removing the pan.
Icing
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, apple cider and cinnamon until combined and smooth1/2 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons apple cider, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Drizzle onto the cooled cake and enjoy!
We have made this awesome cake many times it’s the best apple cake ever!!!
WE MADE THIS TODAY & IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST WE HAVE
( E-V-E-R M-A-D-E ) THWNK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR A GREAT RECIPE!!!
What a perfect way to use up our fall apples we picked. Delicious!
Loved this delicious crumb cake!
This cake is out of the park delicious – we devoured it!
This sounds incredibly delicious!! I can’t wait to try this recipe!!
Looks like a delicious recipe. However, I’ve never heard of ‘sweet cream butter’. Can you tell me what it is, please?