Enjoy this moist and sweet Apple Coffee Cake with a brown sugar streusel and an apple cider glaze. The best fall breakfast or dessert!
We love using applesauce in baked goods; try this applesauce cake or applesauce muffins next!
Apple Coffee Cake
Apple Coffee Cake has become my new excuse to enjoy cake for breakfast on as many Fall mornings as possible. Is anyone else with me?!
Packed with flavor, this cake is dense, moist, and rich, just as a good coffee cake should be. The streusel topping adds a crisp and sweet touch, and the glaze is the perfect finishing touch!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients for Coffee Cake
- Flour: Provides structure.
- Cinnamon, apple pie spice, nutmeg: Add flavor.
- Baking soda, baking powder: Helps the cake rise.
- Salt: Enhances flavor.
Wet Ingredients for Coffee Cake
- Oil: Adds moisture.
- Brown sugar, maple syrup: Sweeten and add depth.
- Heavy cream: Increases richness.
- Vanilla extract: Adds aroma to your apple coffee cake.
- Applesauce: Adds moisture and sweetness.
Streusel Topping
- Flour, sugar, spices: Create a crumbly texture.
- Butter: Binds the streusel and adds flavor.
How To Make Apple Coffee Cake
- Preheat: Oven to 350°F. Grease the pan.
- Dry Mix: Whisk together dry ingredients.
- Wet Mix: Combine wet ingredients.
- Combine: Mix wet into dry ingredients. Spread evenly in the pan.
- Streusel: Mix streusel ingredients together. Sprinkle over batter.
- Bake: 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- Glaze: Mix together glaze ingredients. Drizzle over cooled apple coffee cake.
Tips For Success
- Cool Melted Butter: Allow melted butter to reach room temperature before using in the streusel to avoid melting the sugar and causing greasiness.
- Avoid Substitutions:
- The cake’s dense texture is crucial; substitutions can alter this.
- Do not replace heavy cream with milk or maple syrup with other sweeteners, as it may negatively impact the cake’s outcome.
Quick Tip
Alternative to Apple Cider in Glaze: If you don’t want to buy apple cider, use apple juice, heavy cream, or milk as a substitute. Add the liquid gradually, as a small amount is enough. If the glaze becomes too thin, thicken it with more powdered sugar.
Storage
Apple Coffee Cake Storage
- Storage Tips: Store unglazed cake wrapped at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. Keep the glaze in the fridge.
- Freezing: Wrap individual pieces of the unglazed cake and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge.
More Apple Treats
- Apple Crumble Bars
- Apple Crumble
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake
- Apple Fritter Bread
- Apple Muffins
Apple Coffee Cake
The perfect fall treat, Apple Coffee Cake is delicious, moist, and topped with a brown sugar streusel and apple cider glaze.
Equipment
- Baking pan 9 x 13-inch, with liner
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- Cooking spray
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups applesauce sweetened
Streusel
- 1-1/4 cups flour divided
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons apple cider
- tiny pinch salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, or you can line with parchment or foil and then grease for easy cleanup.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the Coffee Cake ingredients—flour, cinnamon, apple pie spice, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the Coffee Cake ingredients—oil, packed dark brown sugar, maple syrup, and heavy cream. Add in the vanilla and applesauce. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until just combined, be careful not to overmix the batter. The batter is very thick. Spread and then smooth the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Melt the butter for the streusel in the microwave and then let stand at room temperature until cooled (don't add hot butter to the streusel—that makes it greasy).
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the Streusel ingredients—1 cup of flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, apple pie spice, and salt. Add the cooled, melted butter and mix until the streusel is evenly combined and forms small clumps. Gradually add in the remaining 1/4 cup flour until larger clumps form. Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the apple batter. Do not press the streusel into the cake. Use all of the streusel.
- Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached, about 35–40 minutes. My oven always takes 35 minutes. Let cake cool completely in the pan before glazing.
- Combine all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Start with 1 tablespoon apple cider and add more as needed until a thick glaze forms. Whisk with a fork until smooth. Drizzle over the individual pieces and serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
Storage: To maximize the shelf life of this Apple Coffee Cake, only glaze the pieces you'll be eating right away. Then, store the bars and glaze separately. Cover cake with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out and keep the glaze in an airtight container in the fridge. You will likely need to microwave the glaze for 10 seconds and stir it briskly before serving again. Covered coffee cake lasts 2 days at room temperature, or 1 week refrigerated. Heat cake in microwave and glaze warm. You can freeze leftover cake by wrapping each piece tightly with plastic freezer wrap and then placing individual pieces in a freezer bag. There is some loss of texture and flavor when frozen and thawed, especially if the cake has been glazed. Coffee cake can be frozen for 2–3 months; thaw the bars at room temperature or in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 352kcal | Carbohydrates: 52.3g | Protein: 3.3g | Fat: 15.1g | Cholesterol: 15.4mg | Sodium: 5.4mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28.2g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t own a metal 9 x13 baking pan, but I do have a glass baking dish. Do I need to make any adjustments to the oven temp or cooking time?
I’ve only tested this recipe in a metal pan, so I can’t give you exact recommendations (sorry!), but I would think lowering the oven temperature by 25 degrees and checking it at the lower end up baking time (glass transfers more heat than metal)