Ultra soft apple crumb cake is loaded with warm cinnamon apples and extra crumb topping. A homemade version of classic New York-style crumb cake, this breakfast cake is buttery and moist, deliciously tender, and drizzled with sweet maple icing.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos and more success tips.
If crumb topping is your love language, you’ve come to the right place. And if warm cinnamon apples make your mouth water, today’s your day. Finally, if soft buttery cake is your ideal indulgence, I’m your baker.
Today’s homemade apple crumb cake is like my apple cinnamon crumb muffins, apple cake, and apple cinnamon bread… but in breakfast/coffee cake form. Those are favorite seasonal recipes to make (along with pumpkin crumb cake muffins), so a cake version is a no-brainer. Readers have loved it:
One reader, Jean, commented: “One of the best crumb cakes I have ever made. The crumb topping adhered beautifully and made the cake. I also like the addition of sour cream to the cake which helped to make the cake moist, not dry like so many crumb cakes. ★★★★★“
One reader, Les, commented: “There is no other word to describe this cake than PERFECT! Tried many recipes from your site and this one is now in our top 3 best cakes… ★★★★★“
One reader, Martha, commented: “There are not enough superlatives to adequately describe this cake. Perfection. This is a keeper recipe. ★★★★★“
One reader, Sarah, commented: “THIS CAKE DESERVES WAY MORE THAN 5 STARS. Absolutely marvelous recipe… this will forever be my ‘go-to’ coffee cake recipe… the crumb topping is delightfully crunchy and is easily the best streusel I have ever had. ★★★★★“
Ingredients You Need & Why
Like my traditional coffee cake recipe, this is a butter- and sour cream-based cake, AKA the best kind of cake, and here’s what you need to make it:
- Flour: All-purpose flour provides the structure of this cake. It’s sturdy enough to support the thick batter and multiple layers of this crumb cake.
- Baking Soda + Baking Powder: Baking soda and baking powder help the cake rise.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the cake, and you need brown sugar for the crumb topping.
- Butter: Butter adds flavor and creates structure in the creaming process.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream gives us an extremely moist crumb cake that’s a little denser than, say, a fluffy vanilla cake. Tight crumbs, like pound cake, but with a much softer texture. Don’t remove the fat from this cake by using a lower-fat alternative. Fat = flavor! We don’t want to skimp there. This is cake!
- Eggs: 3 eggs add richness and bind the ingredients together.
- Salt + Vanilla Extract: Use both for flavor.
- Cinnamon: We can’t have crumb cake without cinnamon!
- Apples: The star of apple crumb cake, of course.
Best Apples for This Cake
Use any variety of apples you enjoy! You need about 2-3 large apples for this recipe. Personally, I love tart Granny Smith apples paired with the sweet crumb cake. If you enjoy a certain type of apple in your apple pie or apple cinnamon scones, you’ll love it here, too.
- Tart apples I love: Granny Smith, Braeburn, Jonathan, and Pacific Rose
- Sweet apples I love: Jazz, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Gala, and Fuji
And here’s a full list of the best apples for baking.
Overview: How to Make Apple Crumb Cake
When I first tested this recipe, I mixed the apples into the cake batter (just like we do in my apple cinnamon muffins recipe). This was tasty, of course, but the pieces of apples each held a soggy outline inside the baked cake. It just… didn’t look appetizing. I found that layering the apples on top of the cake batter was best.
This gives us 3 delectable layers: a soft and buttery cake, topped with tender cinnamon-spiced apples, and then a TRUCK LOAD of crumb topping.
This apple crumb cake comes together easily.
Make the crumb topping first. Place that in the refrigerator or freezer until you need it. The colder the crumbs, the more they will hold shape in the oven.
Whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until combined—the mixture may look curdled, and that’s perfectly fine. Gently mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
Toss the apple chunks with cinnamon, then spread the thick batter into a 9×13-inch pan (this size is just right for the amount of batter). I am using this pan in the photos. Scatter the apples and crumb topping evenly over the batter, pressing the crumbs down firmly so they stick.
Bake until golden and set. If the top or edges begin browning too quickly, loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil to prevent over-baking.
Crumb Cake with Extra Crumbs
You’ll notice A LOT of ingredients in the crumb topping. Not in the number of ingredients, but in terms of the volume of ingredients… like more butter, sugar, and just as much flour as in the cake itself. Why? Because the crumb topping is the BEST PART of a CRUMB CAKE!
You’re using the same ingredients in the crumb topping as you are in the cake, so it’s an extremely convenient recipe. The gang’s all here: granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, melted butter, and flour, plus brown sugar. Make sure some crumbles stay in larger chunks because those are the best bites.
The crumb layer is literally half the cake and I see zero problem with this! Otherwise, you might as well just make a regular apple cake (also delicious, by the way)!
Icing Options
This apple crumb cake truly doesn’t need anything on top, but if the opportunity for sweet maple icing presents itself, we’d be fools to say no. Here are some wonderful icing options for this cake:
- Maple icing from my maple cinnamon rolls (what I use)
- Vanilla icing (my go-to topping for classic coffee cake and crumb cake muffins)
- Caramel icing from my apple cinnamon rolls
- Brown butter icing from my brown butter apple blondies
And if you are looking for more fall dessert inspiration, here is a list of 30+ fall cake recipes.
Apple Crumb Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Crumb Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Delicious New York-style crumb cake with warm cinnamon apples and DOUBLE the buttery crumb topping! Make the crumb topping first, and then place it in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use. Cold crumbs hold their shape in the oven.
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Cake
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375g) peeled chopped apples (about 2–3 large apples, see Note)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- optional: maple icing, vanilla icing, or caramel icing from apple cinnamon rolls
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a glass or metal 9×13-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make the crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Using a fork, lightly mix in the flour until crumbles form. Don’t over-mix. Place in the refrigerator or freezer until you need it in step 6. Cold crumbs hold their shape in the oven.
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Add the eggs, sour cream, and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. The mixture will look curdled; that’s ok. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients until smooth. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick.
- Toss the chopped apples and cinnamon together.
- Spread the batter evenly into prepared baking pan. Top evenly with cinnamon-coated apples. Top with crumb topping. Using a silicone spatula or the back of a large spoon, press the crumb topping tightly down into the cake so it sticks.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top or edges of the cake is/are browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set on a cooling rack. Allow to slightly cool for at least 30-45 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Drizzle with optional icing, if desired.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Prepare cake through step 8. Cover the cake tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature, add icing if desired, and serve.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Apple Peeler | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Sour Cream: Sour cream is a key ingredient in this cake. I don’t suggest subbing the sour cream with a liquid—plain full-fat yogurt would work though. But don’t remove the fat from this cake by using a lower fat yogurt or sour cream alternative.
- Apples: For depth of flavor, it’s best to bake with a mix of sweet and tart apples. For this cake, I usually use about 2 large Honeycrisp apples and 1/2 of a large Granny Smith apple. For slicing, it’s best to chop the apple into thin pieces. Slice the apple, then cut each of those slices in half so you have smaller, thinner, easy-to-eat pieces. See photo above.
- Room Temperature: All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read more about the importance of room temperature ingredients.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Made this for my co-workers and they loved it. I mixed up the apple topping and used Granny Smith, Honeycrisp and Fuji. This combination made for a nice mix of tart and sweet. Will definitely make again.
Great recipe! I used powered sugar instead of icing! Delicious
I made the crumb topping first as instructed but it came out like a paste – definitely not crumbs! Had I made the rest of the recipe, I would have had to use a spatula to smooth out the “crumb topping.” I’ve never added melted butter to a crumb topping – what did I do wrong??
Hi Martha, When you first make it it does kind of resemble a paste! But it cools down as you are making the rest of the recipe by the time you use it it crumbles beautifully with your fingers or a fork!
Definitely resist the urge to add more flour to the crumb mixture, it appears way too wet I initially. Sally, I recommend adding a.note to the recipe to let the crumb mixture set/cool for 5 to 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork to crumbs. Absolutely delicious cake
If I want a smaller cake, 8 or 9 inch square, could I halve the ingredients? There’s only 2 of us & we never seen to finish a 9×13 cake. I don’t want to go the muffin route, we are not muffin lovers. The cake sounds great.
Hi Pamela! You can halve this recipe for a smaller cake. I recommend a 9 inch square baking pan.
Sally, can this recipe be made using reverse creaming method?
Thank you.
Hi Diana! I’m sure it could, but I recommend sticking with the creaming method instructed.
I halved the recipe and baked in a 9×9 for 38 min. It was perfect!
I made it. We loved it. Family wants more. And there is no greater accolades than family requesting it again & again 🙂 A real winner Sally! Thank you for this fabulous recipe.
Since there’s only 2 of us, I made a half recipe in and 8×8” pan. (It took longer to bake, so note to self: next time use a 9×9” pan!). Anyway, hubby says it’s the best cake I’ve ever made. I threw a few leftover plums in with the apples, and it was VERRRRY tasty! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this yesterday, using 2 Granny Smith apples. It was absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and it was amazing. The cake was very moist and that crumb topping heavenly.
Everyone, make this cake!
YUM…….. Like apple all I need to do is go to the store and get some apples
I have some friend who are moving so I can make this for them.
THANK YOU SALLY
Can you sub canola oil for the butter?
This apple crumb cake is out of this world! Absolutely delicious!! Beautiful fall day here in Pennsylvania and decided to make this treat for my husband and friends. Almost gone by the time I finish this review. Love all your recipes Had to use yogurt in place of sour cream due to my husband’s allergy. Came out perfecto!!!! Thank you and a happy fall to you and your family. Now on to making more of your fall recipes.
Hi Sally,
As per my prior comment, I love this cake. The day I baked it, the cake was very tender. After refrigerating the leftovers, the cake seemed to be dense, more like a pound cake. I am not sure why it requires refrigeration but following the directions, I did so. Any insights you can give me as to why it might have become dense after refrigeration ( and I let it come to room temperature after taking it out of the refrigerator) would be greatly appreciated. It still tasted wonderful but was wondering why the change in texture. Thank you.
Hi Sally,
I made this cake today and it is divine! Cake is so tender yet does not fall apart and the crumble is just the right amount.. nice and thick. I doubled the amount of the apples and it came out perfect. I did not use the glaze as I was afraid it would be too sweet. I will be making it again and may try the glaze at that time.
How do I freeze this cake? This cake is absolutely delicious!! I need to freeze it or I will eat the whole thing!!!!!!!
Hi Fran! I recommend following the instructions in my How to Freeze Cakes tutorial.
Could I use this recipe to make donuts?
Yes, you can use a donut pan to make baked donuts with this batter. Yum!
I tried this 1/2 of recipe yesterday and came out well. I added crushed walnuts to my crumble topping to add some texture. I reduced the amount of sugar in both the crumble and cake recipe to make room for the caramel (about 2Tbsp )I drizzled on top of the apples before I covered them with the crumble. Mine baked at exactly 45minutes using a 8×8 square pan. Texture was soft and moist while the top was crunchy. I ate one at room temperature and will also try a chilled version for taste and texture comparison.
Sally, you’ve done it again. I really need to review more of your recipes. Just made this for my roommates birthday and brought some to work. Everyone is obsessed. The cake is so light and fluffy. The crumb topping is to die for. I did have to bake it a bit longer but it might just be my oven. I’m purchasing a thermometer today. I think I need to make this again ASAP. Thanks Sally!
The cake is so tender, the crumb is sweet and crunchy, this entire cake is perfection. DELICIOUS!
Hi Sally! I was wondering if I could use buttermilk in space of sour cream in this recipe? I noticed that you have a coffee cake recipe that uses buttermilk, but I have made this before and LOVE it. Unfortunately buttermilk is all I have on hand right now.
Hi Sadie! That would be too much liquid– how about plain yogurt instead of the sour cream.
I always will try a recipe exactly as written the first time, and then modify it if necessary the next time. I made this today and it turned out just like the pictures. We thought that there was waaaay too much of the crumb topping, and it needed more apples, so next time I will cut the topping recipe in half (maybe even reducing the cinnamon to one teaspoon, and double the amount of apples.
I’ll try to remember to post another comment after I try it with these modifications.
I made this apple cake with gluten free flour and found it needed much longer to cook. I will be visiting USA in the fall and would like to know what apples to use as you do not have the ones I always use available. Thanks
I love Granny Smith, Fuji, and Honeycrisp apples.
Would this work in a loaf pan?
I was asked for an Apple coffee cake in a loaf pan.
Hi CS! This recipe could work in a loaf pan, but you’d need to divide it between 2 or 3 loaf pans.
Thanks Sally. This cake is very good but being an old timer my taste buds aren’t what they used to be so had to change a couple of things. First sour cream doesn’t agree with me so I used the yogurt instead good to go. I like apples with lots of taste so used 3 apples. The first I shred and add just before the mixing is complete, the other 2 I used on top of the cake. This gives me the taste I like. Your cake is good but my changes are for me and make it better. Thanks
I think I might just have a new favorite cake. This cake is AMAZING. It is honestly one of the best things I have ever made! The cake itself is soft, moist, and delicious, and when paired with the cinnamon-y apples and buttery crumb topping..I could eat this every single day and not tire of it! My family adored it as well, though the apple flavor was more prominent on the second and third days (I made it for Mother’s Day on Sunday). I might add some more apples next time, as they were spread pretty thinly…but it tasted SO good still! I’m now planning to make this with all kinds of other fruits, like peaches and raspberries and pears and blueberries and strawberries…yummmmm! Thank you for this fabulous recipe, Sally! Love love love it 😀
Oh wow Sally I made this a few days ago and it turned out amazing! I followed every ingredient and step exactly except I added an additional 1/2 cup of apples tossed with a squirt of lemon juice and added 1/3 cup of toasted pecans to the top of the crumble. Mine baked for around 42 to 43 minutes and turned out beautiful, delicious, and very moist! The crumble stayed crisp and cake stayed moist even over the next 2 days. Thank you Sally!!
I’ve made this recipe twice now. I’m a novice baker and I feel like the recipe is very forgiving as well, and both times came out looking just like the pictures. The batter for the cake has turned out perfectly both times!
The cake does come out a bit apple light and crumb heavy, which seems like the point, but I still ended up with 3 times as much crumb topping as apple. You might want to make the recipe by instructions first, and then after that, adjust the apple to crumb ratio. The second time, I added extra apple (from 2 to almost 3 Granny Smith apples) and still thought I could use more since they cook down so much. The only other change I did was tenting the cake with foil the last 5 minutes or so to prevent the crumb from browning.
Hi Sally,
I absolutely cannot have too much sugar in my diet. Usually 1/4 whatever a recipe calls for. Can you recommend a good reduction amount for this recipe? My husband loves sweets so I don’t want to rob him of that either. Is there a good compromise of not too much and not too little sugar? Thank you for this amazing recipe!!!
You can certainly try to reduce the sugar. Just keep in mind that sugar is used for more than just taste – it is also important for the proper texture and moisture in a baked good. Let me know if you try it!
This looks fabulous! I just bought some ambrosia apples at the store, so I need to use them! Apple pie, apple muffins…and definitely this crumb cake! I was wondering whether I could make this in two 9-inch cake pans? What would the baking time be for those? Thanks, Sally!
Yes, you can bake this in 9 inch round pans. I’m unsure what the bake time would be.
Made this today with pears. Unreal! Wondering if you can recommend other fruits that won’t make the cake too soggy. Would strawberries or peaches work? I’ll be making it in the spring for a bunch of family coming to town.
I bet it was delicious with pears! You can use any fresh fruit for different flavors. You might also like to try this recipe: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/raspberry-almond-crumb-cake/