Brown Sugar Crumb Apple Coffee Cake
This brown sugar crumb apple coffee cake recipe is the perfect fall treat, featuring chopped apples, cinnamon, and a brown sugar crumb topping. This easy coffee cake is perfect for breakfast, dessert, or as a snack. It’s great for holiday and seasonal gatherings—and perfect for packing on the go!
Coffee cake always makes a good breakfast (at least in my opinion); it’s great for weekends, holidays, brunches, and pretty much everything in between. And the fact that it can be prepped ahead of time makes it perfect for busy seasons—and for bringing to friends!
This apple cinnamon coffee cake has been a seasonal staple around my house for the last five-plus years. It’s something that nearly all of my younger siblings request the moment the air turns chilly.
And honestly, I can’t blame them. This coffee cake is perfectly moist, not too sweet, and packed full of apples and seasonal spice. I mean, what’s not to love?
If you’re looking for a new easy breakfast recipe, something to bring to your next potluck or seasonal get-together, or the perfect Thanksgiving breakfast, then this recipe is for you!
Featuring any kind of apple you like, a super simple cinnamon brown sugar streusel topping, and an easy, moist coffee cake batter, this recipe takes little time to make and is sure to be a hit with everyone who tries it.
Not to mention, it’s a great way to use up fresh apples and is the perfect recipe to kick off the fall season. Serve it with a hot cup of coffee or tea to create the ultimate weekend breakfast!
Apple Coffee Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the coffee cake batter:
- Cold butter, cubed
- White sugar OR cane sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Sour cream
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Sea salt
- All-purpose flour
- Fresh apples, peeled and cubed (I love using McIntosh apples for this recipe and all my fall baking. But any baking apples—such as Red Delicious apples, Honeycrisp apples, or Granny Smith apples—will work well. To avoid adding too much extra moisture, I recommend avoiding overly sweet varieties such as Gala apples.)
For the brown sugar crumb:
- Brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Ground cinnamon
- Cold butter, cubed
How to Make Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake
See notes below if you do not have an electric mixer.
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line a 9″x13″ pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine all the crumb ingredients except the butter, and whisk to combine. Add the cubed butter and mix using your hands or a pastry cutter until crumbly. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the cold butter and white sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined. Then add the baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt, and mix again.
Add 1 cup of flour at a time, alternating with 1/2 cup of sour cream, beating on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Repeat until all the flour and sour cream have been added.
Add your chopped apples and fold them into the batter with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined.
Spoon half of the batter into your prepared pan and spread it out evenly to cover the bottom.
Sprinkle half of the brown sugar crumb mixture over the batter as evenly as possible.
Spoon the remaining batter over the crumb layer and gently spread it out, doing your best to keep it as evenly spread as possible. Be sure to completely cover the crumb layer with the batter.
Finally, sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture evenly over the top.
Place the finished coffee cake into the preheated oven and bake for 55–60 minutes, or until the top is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Any leftover coffee cake can be tightly covered with plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
If you don’t own an electric mixer, you can easily mix this coffee cake by hand! I love using my Danish dough whisk when I don’t feel like getting out my beaters. If you are mixing by hand, though, I would recommend letting your butter soften slightly before you start, to make mixing a little easier on the wrists!
This coffee cake is great served on its own, with a dollop of whipped cream, or even a scoop of vanilla ice cream! It also pairs perfectly with brunch spreads or any of your favorite seasonal breakfasts. This coffee cake is also delicious served with a hot cup of coffee or tea, as a sweet afternoon snack, or easy dessert!
Be Sure to Check Out These Delicious Apple Recipes, Too!
Homemade Apple Pie with McIntosh Apples
Easy Homemade Apple Crisp Recipe
Classic Dutch Apple Pie Recipe
Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe | with Free Printable Labels
Brown Sugar Crumb Apple Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the coffee cake batter:
- 3/4 cup cold butter cubed
- 1 1/2 cups White sugar OR cane sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream you can also use full-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cups peeled and cubed fresh apples I love using McIntosh apples for this recipe and all my fall baking. But any baking apples—such as Red Delicious apples, Honeycrisp apples, or Granny Smith apples—will work well. To avoid adding too much extra moisture, I recommend avoiding overly sweet varieties such as Gala apples.
For the brown sugar crumb:
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 6 tbsp cold butter cubed
Instructions
See notes below if you do not have an electric mixer.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Line a 9″x13″ pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine all the crumb ingredients except the butter, and whisk to combine. Add the cubed butter and mix using your hands or a pastry cutter until crumbly. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the cold butter and white sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined. Then add the baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt, and mix again.
- Add 1 cup of flour at a time, alternating with 1/2 cup of sour cream, beating on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Repeat until all the flour and sour cream have been added.
- Add your chopped apples and fold them into the batter with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined.
- Spoon half of the batter into your prepared pan and spread it out evenly to cover the bottom.
- Sprinkle half of the brown sugar crumb mixture over the batter as evenly as possible.
- Spoon the remaining batter over the crumb layer and gently spread it out, doing your best to keep it as evenly spread as possible. Be sure to completely cover the crumb layer with the batter.
- Finally, sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture evenly over the top.
- Place the finished coffee cake into the preheated oven and bake for 55–60 minutes, or until the top is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
