Apple Crumb Cake
This Apple Crumb Cake is the perfect fall treat! Featuring spiced apples, an extra thick crumb layer, and a tender cake, the easy homemade caramel sauce drizzled on top makes it taste even better!
Apple Crumb Cake
Fall is finally here in Colorado, and I am hoping it will stick around for a while because I am not ready for winter, lol!
Things are still really really busy around these parts. I thought for sure once school started I could get back into a routine. BAH, I was wrong! My husband decided to start up his own business in September, and I couldn’t be more proud of him for taking that leap.
So while that’s been keeping him (and, I’ll be honest, us!) busy, I’ve been working on some new fall desserts like this apple crumb cake with caramel glaze. And what screams fall more than apples and caramel? It also has a nice thick layer of crumble on top — one of my favorite parts!
My apple crumble cake is also super easy to make, trust me. There are a few steps involved, but I promise they’re all very straightforward!
A few of my other favorite fall-time desserts include Homemade Banana Pudding Cups, Caramel Apple Pecan Cake, and my Skillet Blondie with Bourbon Caramel Pecans… try those next!
Why You’ll Love Apple Cake with Crumble
- Full of fall flavors
- Made with simple ingredients
- Ready in just over 1 hour
- Perfect for entertaining
- …or to keep at home for yourself!
Key Ingredients to Make Apple Crumble Cake
- APPLES – You can use any apple you like to eat for apple cake with crumble! I like all apples and just prefer to use what is on sale. Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Jazz, Gala, and Fuji are all good choices.
- SUGAR – I went with regular granulated sugar for the cake, and brown sugar for the caramel and topping.
- FLOUR – All-purpose flour works just fine for this apple crumb cake recipe. You’ll need it for the topping and the cake batter.
- BAKING POWDER & BAKING SODA – Leavening agents that will help the cake rise.
- BUTTER – You need it for every component of your apple crumble cake! Make sure it’s melted for the streusel and the batter.
- SPICES – Cinnamon and allspice flavor the spiced apples, and you’ll also add more cinnamon to the crumble.
- BUTTERMILK – Needed to activate the baking soda!
- HEAVY CREAM – For the homemade caramel. I wouldn’t recommend replacing with milk or even half-and-half — you want the heavier fat content here.
- EGG – The final key ingredient for the cake batter.
- VANILLA – You’ll add it to the crumb, cake, and caramel.
Instruction to Make My Apple Crumb Cake Recipe
MAKE THE TOPPING: Combine the crumble ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
COOK THE SPICED APPLES: Heat a large skillet over medium then add the butter and apples. Allow to cook until tender before adding the sugar and spices. Simmer until thickened and set aside.
PREPARE THE CAKE: Preheat your oven and grease your desired baking pan. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the wet ingredients until just combined.
ASSEMBLE & BAKE: Spread half of the cake batter into your prepared pan and top with the spiced apples and 3/4 cup of the crumble. Top with the remaining cake batter and crumb and bake for 35-40 minutes.
MAKE THE CARAMEL: While the cake cools, heat the caramel ingredients in a small saucepan over medium. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then let cool for 5 minutes before using.
SERVE: Drizzle the cooled apple crumb cake in the caramel glaze before serving it with some vanilla ice cream and enjoy!
FAQ
The base of most crumbles is a mixture of butter, sugar, and flour. All recipes will be slightly different, but my apple crumb cake topping is made with flour, melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon.
Crumb cake tends to be denser and boasts a more indulgent and rich crumble topping. Coffee cake is typically on the lighter side and doesn’t feature as much topping. That said, they are definitely super similar!
It doesn’t necessarily need to be refrigerated, but your apple cake with crumble will last a few extra days if you store it in the fridge.
If the topping on your caramel apple crumb cake isn’t as crispy or crunchy as you’d like, you probably didn’t bake it for long enough! Be sure to leave it in the oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the crumble is golden-brown.
Caramel Apple Crumb Cake Pro Tips
- When choosing your apples, know you’ll get the best flavor if you use a few different varieties! My all-time favorites are Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith, but you can use your preference.
- To save time you can prep the apples the night before. After cooking and seasoning them, let them cool before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. This extra time will actually make them even more flavorful!
- Another note on apples… don’t overcook them! They can go from nice and soft to overly mushy very quickly. Ideally, you want them to keep a bit of a bite so they become tender-crisp.
- Cool the topping slightly before using. This will help it hold its shape and keep it from melting into the cake batter. That’s why I make it first — it has plenty of time to cool down while you work on the apples and cake.
- My apple crumb cake is freezer-friendly. Just skip the caramel topping before freezing and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before drizzling with caramel topping.
More Apple Desserts To Try
Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you think about this apple cake with crumble!
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Apple Crumb Cake
Ingredients
CRUMB (STREUSEL) TOPPING:
- 1½ cups (180g) all purpose flour
- ¾ cup (145g) packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup (113g) butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
SPICED APPLES:
- 3 cups (300g) thinly sliced, peeled apples (about 2 large)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼-½ teaspoon ground allspice
CAKE:
- 1½ cups (180g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (110g) sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (56g) butter, melted
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ½ cup (118ml) buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
CARAMEL GLAZE:
- ¼ cup (56g) butter
- ¼ cup (45g) packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
CRUMB (STREUSEL) TOPPING:
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter and vanilla. Stir with a fork to combine. Set aside.
SPICED APPLES:
- In a large skillet cook apples in the butter over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until tender. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Simmer, uncovered until slightly thickened (about 30-60 seconds). Set aside.
CAKE:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch square or round baking pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add melted butter, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla. Stir just until combined.
- Spread ½ of the batter in prepared baking pan. Top with spiced apples and ¾ cup of the reserved crumb topping. Top with remaining batter by dropping batter in small mounds and carefully spreading. It will not cover the entire top of the cake and that's ok. Sprinkle with remaining crumb topping. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean with no wet cake batter.
- Cool in pan for 30 minutes. Serve with caramel glaze.
CARAMEL GLAZE:
- In a small saucepan heat the butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Boil for 1 minute without stirring.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Let stand 5 minutes to cool slightly.
Notes
- For the best flavor when baking with apples choose a couple different varieties. A few of my favorite apples to bake with are Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Jazz.
- Freezer Friendly: Just skip the caramel topping before freezing and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before drizzling with caramel topping.
Nutrition
This post was originally part of the A Fall Festival Blog Hop, a week during which a huge group of amazingly creative bloggers shared different fall themes… one for every day.
If you’re hopping over from Cherished Bliss, welcome! I’m so glad you stopped by!
Now be sure to hop on over to Love In My Oven for some more fall fun!
Mantles on Monday
Joy In Our Home | County Road 407 | Poofing the Pillows |
Follow The Yellow Brick Home | City Girl Meets Farm Boy
Tablescapes on Tuesday
The Latina Next Door | My Creative Days | Elizabeth Joan Designs |
The Crowned Goat | Farmhouse Flare Designs
Recipes on Wednesday
Cherished Bliss | Countryside Cravings | Love In My Oven |
Chocolate with Grace | Making It In The Mountains
Vignettes on Thursday
anderson + grant | DIY Beautify | Timeless Creations |
The Painted Hinge | Rain & Pine
Front Porches on Friday
great
Thank you!
I making this cake now. I’m using a dark spring form pan. I turned the oven down 25 degrees. I’m cooking it about 10 mins longer. I was wondering does the crumb get browned up? I can’t really tell if it’s done enough because of all the apples. I also didn’t put the juice from the apples in the cake, I was worried it might make it soggy.
Hi Renee! So sorry I didn’t get to your comment sooner! I hope everything turned out alright with your cake. The top will be about the same color as when it went into the oven. If you stick the toothpick only in the top half and not down to the apples you should be able to get a better read on the toothpick. Thanks for asking and let me know how your cake turned out!
Thank you for the reply, it came out very nice. I did have issues with the caramel sauce. It got gritty. It’s been a long time since I have made caramel sauce. I followed the directions perfectly I’m not sure where I went wrong. Everyone seem to enjoy the cake.
Sorry about the caramel sauce. I needed to be more clear with my instructions. I should have mentioned not to stir while it boils for 1 minute. When caramel sauce gets stirred too much it will form crystals and can become grainy. Thank you so very much for your comment and I will fix the recipe!
Amazing!! Will save this one for future baking again & again. Quite easy to make too
Thank you so much!! I am so glad you liked it and found it easy to make!
This and a cup of coffee was the perfect end to a great meal. Great recipe!
Thank you Deb!! So glad you liked it
A delicious cake, and it didn’t last long around here as my husband loves desserts. The caramel sauce was to die for! Wondering if it would be good on ice cream?!
Thank you so much and yes the caramel sauce is so good on everything, lol!!
I can picture myself with a hot cup of coffee and a nice, big piece of the amazing looking apple crumb cake! Yum!
Thank you!! 🙂
WOW! I had some fresh apples off our tree and was looking for a new recipe. This was AMAZING. Can’t wait to make it again!
Thank you very much!! 🙂
WOW! WOW! WOW! I want to stick my head in that right now!!
Thank you so much Julie!! 🙂
Hi Malinda! This looks positively divine! This would make the perfect weekend breakfast treat with a cup of coffee on a cool fall morning. So happy to be hopping with you this week!
Yes it would!! Thank you!!
This looks so yummy!! I love it!!!
Thank you so much Kelly!! 🙂
Oh my goodness – this looks so so good! Thank you for sharing! It has been fun touring with you this week!
Yes it has and thank you so much!!
This cake is so perfect, and just screams FALL! I can’t wait to try!
Thank you so much!!
This looks SO delicious I want to make it right now! And with apples leftover from our backyard tree, I might just have to! Thanks for shading!
Thank you and I hope you enjoy!! Thanks for having me on the blog hop!!
Looks so good! Thanks for the recipe 😉
Thank you and you’re welcome!! 🙂
Oh my gosh, the caramel! Everything about this cake is divine!
Thank you so much Melissa!! 🙂
This sounds delicious! I am headed to the grocery store right now. So excited! Woo hoo! Thanks for sharing. Lovin this tour! Oh yeah, pinned!
Thank you so much Cindy!! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the pin!!
Hi Malinda, I love any kind of a crumb cake and this looks amazing. Happy Fall to you I will be pinning this!
Thank you so much Christine! I too love a good crumb cake!! 🙂
This looks so yummy Malinda! Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you so much!! Let me know how you like it!!
Malinda, this sounds wonderful! I can just imagine how wonderful the texture of this must be just be looking at your beautiful pictures. Pinning and sharing so I can make this too. Happy to be on this blog hop with you. 🙂
Thank you so much Stacey!! Thanks for stopping by and thank you so much for the pin!!
You had me at caramel glaze, Malinda! This looks fantastic. I’m definitely going to try it because I love all of these flavors and it will be perfect for a rainy day. Congratulations on your husbands new business venture. I know it’s an exciting and overwhelming time. My best advice is to prep as much as you can the night before by making a to-do list that way, you can hit the ground running with a plan as soon as you wake up. It sounds so simple but just getting our thoughts down and organized on paper always helps. Good luck, CoCo
Thank you so much CoCo!! I am a sucker for anything with caramel, lol!! And thank you so much for the advice, I need all I can get!! 🙂