Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

4.67 from 6 votes

A river of cinnamon apples runs through a light and flavorful sour cream coffee cake that stays softly delicious for days under a cake cover.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1 15

Total Time2 15

Course: Coffee Cake

Cuisine: American, Breakfast, Snack

Keyword: Coffee Cake, Coffee Cake, Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake,, Snack Cake

Servings: servings

Calories: 569kcal

Author: Helen S. Fletcher

Equipment

9" x 3" Cheesecake or springform mold

Ingredients

Apple Filling and Crumb Topping

1 cup waffle pretzels (50 grams)
½ cup pecans (60 grams)
1 ¼ cups brown sugar, packed (250 grams)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided (210 grams)
½ teaspoon salt
14 - 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (200 to 225 grams)

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

1 ½ cups peeled and shredded apples, packed
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (245 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup sour cream (170 grams)
¼ cup milk
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick or 114 grams)
1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
2 large eggs

Instructions

Apple Filling and Crumb Topping - Each step is shown in the Step by Step Photos.

Place the pretzels in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground.
Add the pecans to the processor and pulse to chop coarsely.
Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and the pretzel/pecan mixture.
Set aside ¾ cup of this mixture to use as the middle layer of the coffee cake. Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour from the measured amount. Add the vanilla. Set aside.
To the remaining mixture, add the rest of the flour and salt and stir until evenly combined. Add 14 tablespoons of the the melted butter to the flour mixture, tossing with a fork until everything is moistened and crumbs form. If crumbs do not form, add the remainder of the butter a bit at a time. Cover with plastic wrap. This crumb topping will be used on top of the batter. Set aside.

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

It is very important the butter be softened to about 72 to 74°F for the creaming to be effective. If the butter is too cold, the mixture won't be light and fluffy and the cake can be more dense.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 3” round cheese cake or springform pan with a non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Peel and shred the apples. Measure 1 ½ cups, packed. Cover them directly with plastic wrap. Set aside.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Whisk together the sour cream and milk. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until completely combined. If they curdle, beat on high. See my post on How to Avoid Curdled Batter.
Add ½ of the flour mixture, beating until completely mixed. followed by the sour cream mixture and last add the remainder of the flour mixture, beating each time until completely combined.
Pour half the batter into the pan and smooth flat.
Add the shredded apples to the ¾ cup brown sugar mix, stirring well. Distribute evenly over the batter.
Dollop small bits of the remaining batter over the entire apple filling and carefully spread it out.
Cover the batter with the crumbs.
Bake 65 to 75 minutes until a tester or toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan.
Release from the pan and place on a cake board or serving plate.
The Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake will last for at least 4 days covered. It can also be frozen then well wrapped for several months. Thaw at room temperature.

Notes

There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post above.

As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest.

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Granny Smith apples are the apples of choice for this cake. They are more tart and juice less.

Add the apples to the reserved crumb topping just before spreading them over the batter to prevent them from over juicing.

For the lightest cake, make sure the butter is softened to about 72° to 74°F in order for it to mix well with the sugar and form the necessary air pockets to aid in the rising of the batter. Under creamed or creaming with too cold butter will make a denser cake with a heavy texture resulting in less batter.

Flours can be more or less dry which is why the recipes gives a range of butter needed to make the crumbs for the topping.

Use a fork to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients for the crumbs. A spoon will not yield crumbs as much as mix the ingredients together.

A cheesecake or springform pan is necessary to remove the cake as it shouldn't be turned upside down to release it or the crumbs can be damaged.

Add ¾ of the butter for the top crumbs initially. If they are dry or don't form crumbs, add additional butter a little at a time. Use only enough butter to make the crumbs. More will make a paste.

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