• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Sprinkle Some Sugar logo
  • Mother's Day
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Summer
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • Summer
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Cake & Cupcakes

    Apple Crumb Coffee Cake

    Published: Jul 7, 2014 · Last Modified: Apr 15, 2023 by Jessica · 9 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

    Share
    Pin636
    Tweet
    636Shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This Apple Crumb Coffee Cake has a soft and buttery vanilla cake that is filled to the brim with spiced apples and topped with a cinnamon crumb topping. A sweet brown sugar glaze is drizzled on top just before serving for the ultimate treat.

    Apple Crumb Coffee Cake on a plate.

    Is there anything more satisfying than a warm apple dessert with vanilla ice cream? This apple crumb cake recipe is one of my top favorite desserts. The cake layer is moist and flavorful, the apples get soft while keeping a slight crunch, and the crumb topping is sweet with a hint of cinnamon. It's like an apple pie meets a crumb cake and it is seriously delicious! The one thing that makes this dessert absolutely over the top (don't skip this step!) is the brown sugar glaze. It's the absolute perfect compliment to finish this apple crumb coffee cake off!

    Table of Contents

    • Why you'll love this recipe
    • Ingredients
    • Substitutions & Variations
    • How to make apple crumb coffee cake
    • Recipe Tips
    • Storage
    • Recipe FAQs
    • More apple recipes you'll love
    • Apple Crumb Coffee Cake

    Why you'll love this recipe

    • The brown sugar glaze is the perfect sweet finishing touch.
    • This cake is filled to the brim with real apples!
    • The buttery crumb topping is delicious!

    Ingredients

    For this recipe for apple crumb cake, you will need some very basic ingredients. As long as you have apples on hand, I bet you have all of the other components.

    Cake

    • All-purpose flour
    • Sugar: Light brown sugar + Granulated sugar
    • Baking soda
    • Baking powder
    • Salt
    • Butter: Unsalted butter is used in this recipe.
    • Eggs: 1 egg and 1 yolk - an extra yolk is added for extra richness!
    • Vanilla extract
    • Buttermilk: I usually make my own buttermilk by adding 1 teaspoon to ⅓ cup of milk for this recipe.
    • Apples: Be sure to use a firm apple for this recipe. I like to use Granny Smith or HoneyCrisp. I usually will use a mixture of both for a tart and sweet combo.

    Crumb Topping

    • Sugar: Light brown sugar + Granulated sugar
    • Spices: Cinnamon & pinch of salt
    • All-purpose flour
    • Butter: Unsalted butter

    Brown Sugar Glaze

    • Sugar: Light brown sugar
    • Vanilla extract
    • Water

    See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

    Substitutions & Variations

    • Use your favorite type of apple. I like to use Granny Smith or Honeycrisp.
    • Don’t have apples? Sliced pears can be used in place of apples.

    How to make apple crumb coffee cake

    • For the cake: Whisk together all dry ingredients. Beat in butter until consistency resembles a coarse crumb. Add rest of cake ingredients and mix until everything is fully incorporated.
    • For the crumb topping: Whisk together all dry ingredients and pour in melted butter. Mix until combined and large crumbs form. Set aside.
    • Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Scatter apple slices on top. Sprinkle crumb topping on top of apples.
    • Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
    • For the brown sugar glaze: Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake before serving.

    Recipe Tips

    • Be sure to cut your apples very thin. If they are cut too thick, they may not cook through in the cake.
    • If you notice the topping is browning too fast before the cake is done, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.

    Storage

    Room Temperature

    Cooled cake will stay fresh stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

    Freezing

    Wrap the entire cake without the glaze tightly in plastic wrap. Place in a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and allow to come to room temperature before serving. I recommend popping it in the oven to warm it up a bit before serving. Prepare brown sugar glaze and drizzle on cake just before serving.

    Recipe FAQs

    What kind of apples should I use?

    Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Gala are all great options. I love using a mixture of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp in all of my apple recipes!

    What is the difference between coffee cake and crumb cake?

    To put it simply, crumb cake has more crumb topping than cake and coffee cake has more cake than crumb topping. This recipe is a cross between both!

    Does coffee cake have coffee in it?

    Nope! Coffee cake does not have coffee in the recipe. It is meant to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee, which is what gives it it's name!

    More apple recipes you'll love

    • Apple Cinnamon Streusel Bread - The softest bread filled with warm spices, tender apples and topped with a sweet streusel topping.
      Apple Cinnamon Streusel Bread
    • Plate full of apple cider donuts.
      Baked Apple Cider Donuts
    • Caramel apple pie bars on parchment.
      Caramel Apple Shortbread Bars
    • Caramel apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a bowl.
      Caramel Apple Crisp

    Did you make this recipe?

    Please leave a ⭐️ review below and tag @sprinkle_some_sugar on Instagram!

    Apple Crumb Coffee Cake on a plate.

    Apple Crumb Coffee Cake

    Jessica
    This Apple Crumb Coffee Cake has a soft and buttery vanilla cake that is filled to the brim with spiced apples and topped with a cinnamon crumb topping. A sweet brown sugar glaze is drizzled on top just before serving for the ultimate treat.
    PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 55 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 5 mins
    Course Breakfast, Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 1 9" cake

    Ingredients
      

    Cake

    • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • ¼ cup brown sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • pinch salt
    • 6 tbs unsalted butter cubed and room temperature
    • 1 egg
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ⅓ cup buttermilk*
    • 1 ½ apples* peeled, cored & sliced thin

    Crumb Topping

    • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
    • ⅓ cup light brown sugar
    • ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
    • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • pinch salt
    • ½ cup + 2 tbs unsalted butter melted

    Brown Sugar Glaze

    • ½ cup light brown sugar
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 tbs water

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9" x 2" round pan and lightly dust with flour, set aside. Springform pans work best for this recipe!

    Cake

    • Combine all dry ingredients and whisk together for about one minute until fully combined. Add softened butter chunks and beat on medium-high until consistency resembles a coarse crumb and no large butter pieces remain. Add egg, egg yolk, vanilla and buttermilk. Beat on medium speed until everything is fully incorporated.

    Crumb Topping

    • Whisk together all dry ingredients and pour in melted butter. Mix until combined and large crumbs form. Set aside.
    • Pour batter into prepared baking pan and spread out into an even layer. (It will be a thin layer of batter. Scatter apple slices on top. Next, sprinkle crumb topping on top, breaking into large pea-sized pieces until no bare spaces remain.
    • Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Start checking cake at 40 minutes.
    • Brown sugar glaze: While cake is cooling, make glaze combining brown sugar, vanilla and water. Mix until smooth and set aside.
    • Cake is best served warm with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired! You can drizzle the brown sugar glaze on top of the whole cake or on each individual piece before serving.

    Notes

    • To make homemade buttermilk, add one teaspoon of white vinegar OR lemon juice to ⅓ cup of milk. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before adding to recipe.
    • Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples are my favorite types of apples to use in this recipe.
    • Cake will keep fresh for 2-3 days stored in an airtight container.
    • Freezing Instructions: Wrap the entire cake without the glaze tightly in plastic wrap. Place in a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and allow to come to room temperature before serving. I recommend popping it in the oven to warm it up a bit before serving.
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    Share
    Pin636
    Tweet
    636Shares

    See more

    • Cranberry Apple Pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top on a plate.
      Cranberry Apple Pie
    • Carrot Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze - Sprinkle Some Sugar
      Carrot Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze
    • Mini Oreo Cheesecakes with Dark Chocolate Whipped Cream - These creamy mini Oreo cheesecakes with dark chocolate whipped cream are chock full of Oreos with an Oreo crust and topped with homemade whipped cream!
      Mini Oreo Cheesecakes with Dark Chocolate Whipped Cream
    • Coconut Pound Cake - This pound cake has the softest, velvet-y texture and is loaded with lots of coconut flavor.
      Coconut Pound Cake

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    1. Josey says

      April 13, 2015 at 10:47 pm

      Jessica I made the apple crumb coffee cake oh my it was scrumptious ! The whole thing was devoured in no time thank you for sharing your awesome recipes

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        April 14, 2015 at 6:00 pm

        Thank you, Josey! That's so great to hear! This is one of my most favorite recipes. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Nafi says

      October 29, 2016 at 9:23 am

      Thank you for the recipe.
      I have made it but it is toooo sweet!
      However I didn't serve with brown sugar glaze.

      Reply
    3. Liz Hughes says

      March 14, 2020 at 1:41 pm

      This cake is amazing! Turned out perfectly! Xx

      Reply
    4. MJ says

      September 28, 2021 at 5:19 pm

      is the instruction correct?
      For Cake 6 tbs unsalted butter cut into chunks and softened ? and For Crumb topping 1/2 cup + 2 tbs unsalted butter melted
      It seems swapped?

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        October 06, 2021 at 7:02 am

        Nope! The recipe is correct. I see why you might think that though! Haha

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    About Jessica

    I'm so excited you're here! I’m Jess, a self-taught baker, recipe developer & food photographer in New Jersey! Here you will find recipes ranging from decadent desserts to savory dishes. Take a look around and I hope you stay a while.

    Learn more about me →

    Summer Favorites

    • Super Lemon Bundt Cake - The softest, lemon-packed cake on the face of the earth. If you are a lemon lover, this will be your new favorite!
      Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake
    • Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls
    • Lemon loaf with lemon glaze on a cooling rack.
      Starbucks Lemon Loaf Recipe
    • Guacamole in a bowl.
      Small Batch Easy Guacamole

    Trending Recipes

    • Strawberry icebox cake slice on a plate square.
      Strawberry Icebox Cake
    • Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls after baking and slathering icing on top.
      Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls
    • Waffles stacked on a plate with syrup and butter.
      Thick and Fluffy Homemade Buttermilk Waffles
    • Meatballs in sauce on a bed of spaghetti.
      The BEST Authentic Italian Meatballs (with sauce recipe!)
    • Mother's Day
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Footer

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Work With Me
    • About
    • Subscribe