Apple Butter Crumb Cake
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A tender and moist coffee cake with a thick swirl of spiced apple butter in the center and topped with a fat layer of buttery crumb topping…what is not like?! This apple butter crumb cake is perfect for all your apple season occasions.
What is apple butter crumb cake?
I am SO excited to share this multilayered call coffee cake with you all! Made with layers of moist vanilla cake, spiced apple butter and a buttery crumb topping, every single bite you’ll have of this apple butter crumb cake is just as tasty as it sounds. You’ll make a classic vanilla cake, spread half the mixture in your pan, top with a thick layer of spiced apple butter, spread the remaining half of cake batter, and sprinkle all over with a crunchy brown sugar crumble topping. Bake it off and prepare for your house to smell amazing.
What ingredients will you need to make this fall coffee cake?
You’ll need the usual suspects for homemade coffee cake, along with some added spices and apple butter! If you can’t get your hands on apple butter you can always swap it out with a different fall spread (the Bonne Maman pumpkin spice spread would be delightful), thinly sliced apples tossed in sugar and spices or homemade apple butter!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Apple butter
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Ground nutmeg
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- salt
What is apple butter? Can I make it?
You can! But you also don’t have to, so don’t worry if you’re not trying to spend a whole day playing Nara Smith (my dream day, obviously). You can buy apple butter seasonally at most grocery stores, but you can also make it yourself at home,
Fun fact: I do a farm share every year from June through October and by the time September arrives it’s pretty much exclusively apples so you have to get real creative about what to do. You can only eat so many apples and apple pie gets old surprisingly quickly. I love making apple butter because the delicious version if absolutely delightful and it uses up a whole bunch of apples. When I make homemade apple butter I use this recipe!
Depending on if you make your own apple butter or use store bought, you might want to adjust the spices! You’ll want to add in all those spices if you use a store bought one like this, because they don’t have added spice!
How to store apple butter crumb cake
Great news: the cake keeps really well and also freezes like a dream. If you have leftovers, don’t you worry. If you want this cake to stay fresh for as long as possible keep it tightly covered or in an airtight container in the fridge. It also tastes amazing cold. If you want to save it for a later date, wrap it up in plastic wrap or a freezer safe plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months!
Happy baking, my friends!
XXX
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Yield: 16 servings
Category: breakfast
Method: oven
Cuisine: american
Units:
Ingredients
for the apple butter layer
- 1 cup apple butter
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
for the cake
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
for the crumb topping
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt”
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Set aside.
- First, make the apple butter layer. Combine the apple butter, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together in a small bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.
- Next, make the cake. In a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Turn off the mixer, then add the eggs one at a time and beat at low speed, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding in the dry ingredients and the sour cream in 3 additions (you’ll add half the dry, then all of the sour cream, then the other half of the dry). It’s okay if the batter still has a few lumps in it–you don’t want to overmix.
- Transfer half the batter to the prepared pan, using a silicone spatula to spread it into an even layer. Top with the apple butter mixture and spread it all the way to the edges. Spoon the remaining half of the batter over the apple butter, carefully spreading it onto an even layer. It will seem a little thin, but don’t worry–it will rise! Set aside.
- Next, make the crumb topping. In a large bowl, add the melted butter, flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Use a fork (or your hands!) to cut the mixture together until the mixture is pebbly. Sprinkle the crumb evenly over the batter.
- Bake until a butter knife inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow the cake to cool completely in the pan. If desired, dust the top with powdered sugar. Slice and serve!