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This cozy Apple Crumble Cake is full of warming spices, fresh apple chunks, and Greek yogurt, making it super moist. The crumble topping is thick, buttery, and makes for the perfect finishing touch.
I get asked all the time what my favorite dessert is. It seems like a natural question for people to ask, considering dessert is what I do, but what most people don’t realize is that being constantly surrounded by new and exciting desserts makes it so much harder to choose one to hail as your favorite.
When the question comes up, as it inevitably does, my answer usually has something to do with apples (unless it’s a chocoholic sort of day – you know the ones). Apple crisp is a pretty standard answer, but sometimes it’s an apple crumble pie, or this amazing apple berry crisp. It almost certainly includes apples, cinnamon, and a crumble of some sort. I included a bunch of apple recipes in my cookbook, so you know I love them!
So, considering this apple crumb cake has a whole lot of apples, cinnamon, and crumb, it’s not a surprise that this became one of my favorites as soon as I tried it. I couldn’t resist stealing a bite as soon as I could…even before the cake was entirely cooled. I was immediately swooning. If you love apples and cinnamon and crumbles the way I do, I think you’ll love this one.
The recipe is inspired by the two other crumb cakes I’ve posted on Bakerita – Pumpkin Crumb Cake and this Banana Crumb Cake. Both of them turned out to be big hits, and I knew an apple iteration would turn out just as delicious as the previous flavors.
What makes this apple crumble cake so great?!
The cake itself is kept super moist from the Greek yogurt and apples, yet fluffy and also sturdy enough to hold up all the crumb topping! To make it, you’ll chop the apples into small chunks, as well as thin half slices. This gives a variety of textures to the cake that is so lovely! You can chop up the apples however you like, but if you do slices, make them thin, and if you make chunks, make them small. You want the apples to get nice and tender.
This cake is also super flavorful. You’ll spice the cake with cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, and allspice. It’ll make your house smell like the best of fall when it’s baking!
The crumb topping has big, thick crumbles of butter and brown sugar. This crumble topping isn’t joking around. It forms a pretty thick layer on top of the cake. The crumb adds a crunchy texture that works so nicely with the flavors and texture of the cake. All together, it makes for a cake that is irresistible for dessert or as an afternoon snack cake. It would be absolutely perfect served with tea on a cold fall afternoon. Bonus points if it’s raining!
What types of apples are best to bake with?
For baking, I always prefer to use firm apples that have a good balance of tartness and sweetness, like Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Jonagold, or Gala. Avoid any apples that are softer or mealy, like Red Delicious.
Does this cake need a frosting or glaze?
You could drizzle a glaze on top of the cake, but I found a sprinkle of powdered sugar was enough to pretty up the cake and give it that finishing touch. You could also do a drizzle of maple butter or a simple powdered sugar + apple juice glaze if you want something more frosting-like.
This is a quick and simple cake with a big-time flavor. This is definitely a new favorite of mine – I hope you’ll give it a try. Enjoy!
Want more fantastic apple recipes?
Fresh Apple Crumb Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 cups peeled & diced apples
For the crumb topping
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
- 8 tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and still warm
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan or a 9-inch cake pan with 3-inch sides.
- Prepare the crumb topping: Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough. Set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the Greek yogurt and mix. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the chopped apples. The batter will be quite thick.
- Spread batter in the prepared pan. Top with the crumb topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 60-70 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 15 minutes. Remove the sides from the pan and slide the cake onto the rack.
I made this cake and added 4 tablespoons of maple liqueur to the butter mix in the cake, it was fantastic!
I made this today for my friend’s birthday. I used two medium granny smith apples and reduced the cinnamon in the cake to 1.5 tsp. It’s really hot here in Sydney at the moment so I kept the diced apple, crumb topping mixture and buttered pan in the fridge till 5 mins before using. The topping mixture was a bit hard out of the fridge, so I broke it up with a butter knife till it was a bit more ‘crumbly’ and it turned out great. Cooked for 65 mins, covered with foil at 45 mins to stop from over-browning. Next time I’ll add chopped pecans or walnuts to the topping.
Thanks for the great recipe, the cake was a hit :)
So thrilled to hear you enjoyed it, Ramila! Thanks for sharing your feedback :D
Hi Rachel! I was wondering if I could use almond or coconut or oat flour for this recipe? Excited to try this recipe!
Hi Amanda, I haven’t ever tested this with gluten-free flours so I can’t recommend any with confidence, unfortunately!