Apple Coffee Cake
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This warm and delectable Apple Coffee Cake features a layer of cinnamon apples inside and a sweet streusel and sugar glaze on top. Enjoy this delicious cake with your morning coffee or serve it as a fun fall dessert!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Customizable: It’s really easy to customize. Add in more spices, fruit, or switch up the flour you use!
- Flavorful: Similar to traditional coffee cake, but loaded with diced apples coated in cinnamon sugar.
- Versatile: Enjoy a slice for breakfast, dessert, or as a sweet snack.
- Make ahead: The perfect treat to make ahead of time or even freeze for later.
Recipe highlights:
- Serves: 10
- Cook method: oven
- Tools: mixer, springform pan
- Difficulty: moderate
Table of Contents
Every great fall dessert, like flourless pumpkin bars and apple blondies, will make you feel warm and comforted, and this delectable Apple Coffee Cake is no exception! A layer of apples on the inside and a crumbly sweet streusel on top are the real stars in this tasty dessert. Every bite has layers of warming cinnamon and plenty of sweetness, making it the best pairing to a hot cup of coffee or tea.
You know what I really love about coffee cake? It doesn’t just have to be a dessert! Enjoy a slice as a special treat on for breakfast or for a quick pick-me-up snack in the afternoon. Besides this apple variation, I adore this lavender coffee cake as well.
However you choose to enjoy this apple cinnamon coffee cake, I know you’ll walk away feeling satisfied, happy, and comforted!
Ingredients for Apple Coffee Cake
- Apples – Honeycrisp, granny smith, gala, or pink lady apples work best. Peel on or off—your preference.
- Cinnamon – Because cinnamon and apples are the perfect combination!
- Flour – I used all purpose flour but white whole wheat flour should work just as well.
- Greek yogurt – This locks in a ton of moisture. Don’t worry about your cake tasting tangy; you’d never guess there was yogurt in it! If you don’t have yogurt, plain applesauce should work instead.
- Streusel topping – Any great coffee cake is topped with a sweet and crumbly streusel. It comes together easily using flour, cinnamon, and butter.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and instructions.
How to Make Apple Coffee Cake
Step 1: Mix the wet ingredients. Cream together the butter, sugar, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together.
Step 3: Make the batter. Slowly add your dry ingredients into the wet and mix until a sticky batter forms.
Step 4: Prepare the batter for baking. Spoon half of the batter into a prepared cake pan. Sprinkle diced apples and cinnamon sugar on top, then pour in the rest of the batter.
Step 5: Create the streusel topping. Stir the flour, cinnamon, and butter together until a sand-like crumble forms. Add the crumb topping to the top of your cake.
Step 6: Bake the cake. Bake the apple coffee cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool completely on a wire rack, then add the sweet sugar drizzle on top. Serve and enjoy!
Erin’s Expert Tips
- Warm up this cake with cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, caramel bits, cinnamon chips, toffee bits, or pecans added to the batter.
- Instead of Greek yogurt, try using sour cream instead.
- Like with most cakes, try not to over-mix the batter. Otherwise, the cake may become too dense instead of moist.
- Enjoy each slice with a scoop of no churn ice cream, a drizzle of healthy caramel sauce, or fresh whipped cream on top.
My Pro Tip
Recipe Tip
If you aren’t a fan of apples, try using blueberries, bananas, peaches, or pumpkin puree instead.
Apple Coffee Cake FAQs
Absolutely! To make this apple coffee cake vegan, simply swap the butter, Greek yogurt, and milk for dairy free alternatives. Replace the eggs with 2 flax eggs instead.
Although this sweet dessert has the word coffee in the title, there is no actual coffee in the cake. It’s only called “coffee cake” because it pairs so well with coffee or tea!
Yes! In fact, the flavors get even better a day or two after the cake is baked.
Storage
- Room temperature: Wrap the leftover slices or cake in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container. Store on the counter for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Keep the leftover cake in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: Store the apple crumb cake in a freezer-safe bag or wrap it in plastic. Freeze for up to 2 or 3 months.
More cake recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Apple Coffee Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
for the apples:
- 1 1/2 cups apple, peeled and diced (approx. 1 large or 2 small apples)
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
for the crumb topping:
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp butter, softened
for the glaze:
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk of choice, or more
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9" or 10" round springform pan with parchment paper, then grease the sides with coconut oil or nonstick spray; set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl; then, add the eggs, yogurt and vanilla to that same bowl and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, stir the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together with an electric mixer. The batter will be a little sticky — that's ok! Scoop HALF of the batter into your prepared cake pan, using a spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth it out.
- Next, add the apples on top, then in a small bowl, stir the sugar and cinnamon together then sprinkle that mixture over the apples.
- Scoop the remaining batter on top of the apples, smoothing it out as best you can (don't worry if it's not perfect).
- Next, make the crumb topping: stir flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl, then add in the butter and use your hands to combine everything until small crumbs form (this will take 1-2 minutes). Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of the cake.
- Place the springform pan on top of a large baking sheet to prevent any accidental spillage, then place the pan into the oven. Bake the cake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Leave the cake in the cake pan and transfer it to a cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes before carefully removing it.
- Before serving, drizzle the glaze on top. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Is the streusel topping suppose to be sweet,l dont see any sugar in it,is the sweetness suppose to come from the glaze?
Thank you.
Good catch! Yes, there should be brown sugar in it — I just adjusted the recipe.
I love coffee cake and this Apple Coffee Cake will quickly become one of my favorites! It’s easy to make and the crumb topping makes it extra delicious. I used Pink Lady apples but you can use a variety of different apples and it will taste equally as good. This coffee cake only lasted two days in my house so I know I will be making it frequently. #TAEcookingchallenge
Love this recipe! The apple flavor is perfect and I really like the tang the greek yogurt adds to the cake. It is really tender and the crumb topping adds just the right amount of crunch. I also added in some pecans. Perfect for breakfast, snack or dessert!
#TAEcookingchallenge
This cake was delicious! A bit of effort but well worth it. I did not have a springform pan but a lined and greased 9 in round cake pan still worked great. #TAEcookingchallenge
I’m glad you liked the cake, and thanks for entering the challenge!
Do you think it would work with Bob’s Red Mill 1to1 gluten free flour?
Yes I think so!
This is what fall is about – yummy coffee cake. Thank you.
I’mm so glad you liked it!