Easy Apple Crumb Cake is the perfect fall dessert loaded with cinnamon, walnuts, and delicious cooking apples. It is extremely easy to make from scratch and is perfect for breakfast, dessert, or afternoon snacks.
Whether you serve this buttery cake warm with a scoop of ice cream or at room temperature with a dollop of vanilla custard, the whole family will fall in love with it!
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This buttery and warm Apple Crumble Cake is made with three different layers. A moist and soft sponge base, sliced cooking apples, and a crunchy crumble topping loaded with walnuts and cinnamon.
It's a feast for all of the senses and is perfect for enjoying alongside a cup of coffee.
If you love apple dessert recipes, you might want to check out my other simple yet delicious recipes such as Apple and Blueberry Crumble, Apple Crisp without Oats, and Apple and Blackberry Pie.
Why This Recipe Works?
- This Apple Crumble Cake is very easy to make with step-by-step instructions and pictures.
- Same as Orange Cranberry Muffins and Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins, you can have them as a coffee cake for breakfast, as an afternoon snack, or as a pudding after dinner.
- It is versatile. You can use other fruits or berries if you don't have any apples available. Or you can replace the walnuts with other nuts such as almonds, pistachio nuts, pecans, or hazelnuts.
- The leftovers freeze beautifully. Slice any leftover Apple Crumb Cake, wrap them individually, and keep them in the freezer for up to three months.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Best Apples For Apple Crumb Cake
It is often difficult to choose the right one among hundreds of varieties. For this recipe, I recommend using slightly sour cooking apples such as Braeburn, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Bramley, and Cox's.
I sometimes use Gala apples for extra sweetness and some texture.
The type of apples you want to use depends on how sweet or sour you want your Apple Crumble Cake. Simply make sure you pick the apples that don't fall apart when cooking.
- Sugar - I use caster sugar but granulated or brown sugar would be great too. The amount of sugar given in the recipe works perfectly for the apples I used in this recipe. Adjust the amount of sugar to your taste and the apples you are using.
- Eggs - Use fresh free-range eggs at room temperature.
- Unsalted butter - This Apple Crumb Cake recipe requires soft unsalted butter at room temperature.
- All Purpose Flour - Also known as plain flour. It is perfect for making cakes, cookies, pastries, and thickening sauces. You can use self-raising flour instead and leave the baking powder out.
Ingredients For Crumble
- Walnuts - Baking with nuts is a great way to add flavor and texture to your crumble. Use pecan nuts, hazelnuts, or almonds if you prefer. Lightly toast them for a more intense flavor before adding them to your baked goods.
- Cinnamon - I love adding cinnamon to apples to intensify the flavor. You can omit it or use vanilla instead.
- Butter - Melted butter works better for the crumble mixture with this Apple Crumb Cake recipe.
How To Make Apple Crumb Cake?
It is very easy to make this moist and buttery coffee cake and to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:
Prepare the Sponge
Preheat the oven to 175° C (350° F) and lightly coat a 23 cm (9") springform cake tin with butter or nonstick spray.
Beat softened butter with sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, for about 4 to 5 minutes.
Lower the speed to medium-low, add the eggs one at a time along with the vanilla, and keep whisking until fully incorporated.
Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder and gently fold them with a spatula into the wet ingredients until nicely combined, without overmixing them.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared springform cake pan.
Evenly distribute thinly sliced apples on top of the batter. Set it aside and start preparing the crumble to top the cake.
Prepare the Crumble
Melt the butter in a microwave or on the stove and let it cool down for a few minutes.
Combine the melted butter with sugar, cinnamon, and flour, and mix until it forms a crumbly mixture.
Add the chopped walnuts into the crumble mixture and mix until combined.
Cover the apples with the crumble.
Bake it for 35 minutes or until the crumble looks golden brown and the cake is fully cooked.
Let it rest for an hour to cool down before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Just as Easy Puff Pastry Apple Pie and Apple and Blackberry Pie, you can serve this delightfully light and buttery cake with a scoop of ice cream when it is still warm and fresh out of the oven. Or you can drizzle on caramel or maple syrup if you fancy some extra sweetness.
Homemade vanilla custard or a dollop of cream / clotted cream are perfect if you want to serve this coffee cake as a dessert after dinner.
Top Tips From The Chef
- Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature before using them for making the cake.
- When adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, do not use an electric whisk as it will cause the cake to be denser and less spongy.
- Make sure to measure the flour correctly using an electronic scale. However, if you don’t have a scale, be sure to fluff your flour with a spoon and then spoon it into your cups before leveling it off with a knife to avoid overfilling the measuring cup.
- Adjust the amount of sugar to your taste, and the type of apples you are using for your cake.
Recipe FAQs
The leftovers of Apple Crumb Cake will keep for up to five days when refrigerated in an airtight container.
Yes, this cake freezes beautifully. Let the cake cool down completely, and slice and wrap them individually with a cling film before placing them in the freezer. You can freeze them for up to 3 months!
Yes, you can use other fruits or berries such as pears, plums, peaches, apricots, raspberries, or quince.
Related Recipes
For more scrumptious fall desserts why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this delectable Easy Apple Crumble Cake as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Easy Apple Crumb Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Sponge
- 165 g soft butter (at room temperature)
- 240 g caster or granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 180 g plain white flour / all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- 3 large apples
For The Crumble
- 180 g plain white flour / all-purpose flour
- 90 g melted butter
- 60 g caster or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 75 g chopped walnuts
Instructions
Preparing The Sponge Base
- Preheat the oven to 175° C (350° F) and lightly coat a 23 cm (9") springform cake tin with butter or nonstick spray.
- Beat softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy, for about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time along with the vanilla, and keep whisking until fully incorporated.
- Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder and gently fold them into the wet ingredients until nicely combined, without overmixing them.
- Pour the cake batter into the pan and evenly distribute thinly sliced apples on top of the batter. Set it aside and start preparing the crumble to top the cake.
Preparing The Crumble
- Melt the butter in a microwave or on the stove and let it cool down for a few minutes.
- Combine the melted butter with sugar, cinnamon, and flour, and mix until it forms a crumbly mixture.
- Add the chopped walnuts into the crumble mixture and mix until combined.
- Cover the apples with the crumble and cook it for 35 minutes or until the crumble looks golden brown and the cake is fully cooked.
Notes
- Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature before using them for making the cake.
- When adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, do not use an electric whisk as it will cause the cake to be denser and less spongy.
- Make sure to measure the flour correctly using an electronic scale. However, if you don’t have a scale, be sure to fluff your flour with a spoon and then spoon it into your cups before leveling it off with a knife to avoid overfilling the measuring cup.
- Adjust the amount of sugar to your taste, and the type of apples you are using for your cake.
Nutrition
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Claire
This is the best apple crumb cake recipe ever! This is added to my recipe book. I followed the recipe to the letter. No modifications needed. It’s perfect.