This is a very basic everyday cake I’ve been making a lot lately. Just a good simple apple crumb coffee cake. I drizzle it with the caramel sauce (or dulce de leche), but it doesn’t have to be – it’s good on its own. And, I want to clarify right away: there is no coffee in this cake (or any other coffee cake). You’ll be surprised how many people think there is coffee in a “coffee cake” & some even avoid coffee cake recipes because of that! This cake is just meant to be served with a cup of coffee or tea. And, I am not even a coffee drinker (I quit drinking coffee 6 years ago), so I should call this cake a “tea cake” or, even more accurate, a “water cake”, since I usually drink just water with my desserts.
This cake has a lot of “crumb” on top, which makes it very special and delicious. It also has lots of apples, which makes the cake very moist longer, and keeps this cake as fresh and moist a week later as on the first day!
If you’re looking for a simple and easy-to-make dessert – this cake is for you! And, it’s so yummy and light, it will start disappearing really fast from your counter!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft, room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
- 3-4 medium apples, cored and chopped
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2/3 cup (or more) flour, sifted
- 5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- caramel sauce or homemade dulce de leche
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a medium bowl, beat 6 tablespoons of very soft, room temperature butter, 1 cup brown sugar and 2 eggs on high speed for about a minute until fluffy and light in color. Add Greek yogurt and beat some more to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and just a pinch of salt.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in chopped apples.
- To make crumb topping: In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 2/3 cup flour and mix to combine. Add 5 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter and mix until the mixture is very crumbly and has coarse texture. Add more flour if necessary.
- Grease 9x13 inch baking pan or 9 inch springform pan. Pour cake batter into the pan and top with the crumb topping. Bake for about 50 minutes until the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Optional: Drizzle with caramel sauce or homemade dulce de leche
Notes
Important note about properly measuring flour using measuring cups:
The proper way to measure flour using measuring cups is to aerate it first. This is done either by sifting flour, or aerating it by fluffing it up and whisking it well, then spooning it into the measuring cup, then carefully removing any excess flour with a knife. If you just stick that measuring cup in the bag of flour and scoop some out, you will get a lot more flour than what the recipe calls for. Do aerate the flour, or you will end up with dry cake batter!
Adapted from Martha Stewart