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
Just had a slice. What a delight! Everybody raved. We have an Asian pear tree and I was in search of recipes for this year’s harvest. So glad I found this one. Thank you for your creative, delicious recipes.
Sally, you have done it again! I swear you’re my go-to girl for a new recipe. I’ve made countless of them and they never disappoint. This was nothing different! I added another small apple and will probably even add more next time to increase the apple flavor. Such a hit and love how big of a batch it makes. We couldn’t wait to let it cool completely and it was still great. But I assume even better tomorrow in the morning with coffee. Thanks again for the best recipes!
wow I baked this for my neighbours and my husbands work colleagues, with the covid at the minute wanted to treat them, this was a big success first time I,ve mde it they loved it thankyou sally
My family really loves this apple crumb cake! It is so good! All that crumb topping is amazing! I am considering making this with rhubarb as I have a bunch in my freezer. Would you recommend thawing it first and draining the juices or just throw it in frozen? Thanks!
Hi Courtney, We haven’t tried this with frozen rhubarb, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. If you thaw it first, just blot some of the moisture off.
Another success! Only thing I will change for next time is more apples! They got lost between the dense cake and the amazing crumble. Took this to my belly dance class practice (outside and safely distant) and it received all thumbs up. Will definitely add this to my baking rotation.
Hi Sally:
I only have red apples on hand….Can I red apples instead? Thank you
Hi Lupe, Yes, you can use any variety of apples you enjoy.
Thought I followed this to a t besides extra cinnamon on the apples but when my husband asked why the 3 eggs were still on the counter realized I hadn’t. He declared we need to make it this way from now on because it was insanely good and moist . I think we need to try it with the eggs to see if it’s somehow better but it was so good I’m not sure how it could be.
The reason for my post is perhaps you want to list this duplicate recipe or notate it can be made without the eggs for kids with allergies because it was amazing without the eggs
Always looking for eggless recipes for this very reason – appreciate the comment!
I hate people like me that say “I loved the recipe; but did A,B&C”; but here goes. In the topping subbed 1C oats for 1C of the flour. Added 1/2 t of baking powder and baking soda to topping. Also added 1/2C chopped walnuts. In batter subbed 1C whole wheat pastry flour for 1C of the flour and increased baking powder to 1t. Also added 1t cinnamon to batter. Doubled the amount of apples and added more cinnamon and a bit of granulated sugar. After the apples were on top of the batter sprinkled w cinnamon before adding streusel.
I have made this 3 Times in the last 2 weeks! I love it! I consider myself a crumb cake snob and I am always looking for a good recipe…this one is by far, my favorite…I want to try with the Granny Smith apples but am afraid to ruin my streak lol…want to know if I can make it in a smaller Pyrex than 9 x 13 though? How would I lessen the ingredients/cook time to make in an 8 x 8 square Pyrex?
I’m thrilled you enjoy it so much, Erin! You can try cutting the recipe in half for a square pan and shortening the bake time.
This was delicious and got even better the next day!! Amazing, love your desserts and your helpful and informative tips 🙂
Hi Sally,
1st of all, love your recipes! Question for this one: does it not have a good consistency without sour cream, or can you substitute plain yogurt? I don’t mind if it’s less ‘fattening’, but I don’t want it to come out too dry either 🙂
Hi Alessia! You can use plain yogurt instead of sour cream.
I decided to make this cake this morning because I had some apples that needed to be used. My husband is in love- he had it for breakfast. 🙂 I used about double the amount of apples- I wanted to use them up and I like things extra apple-y. I left it in a little too long, but it is still moist and delicious- the crumb topping really makes the cake!
I absolutely love your recipes so much so that now for baking I just use you unbelievable recipes so delicious everyone I sample on love them
Thankyou so much I never used to bake x
I love this cake. This is my second time making it and it is absolutely delicious.
I was wondering if once it is baked and cooled if it can be stored in the freezer?
Thanks for creating such a yummy recipe.
The cake itself is very bland. You can’t taste the apples either. The only thing giving it flavor is the crumb topping. It’s a shame because I had really high hopes for this cake. I would go with a traditional crumb cake over this one.
Yes I agree. It doesn’t scream with flavor but it’s pretty good. the cake is Quite dense. I prefer a more moist and fluffy over a dense cake.
Hi Sally! I baked this cake for daughter’s first birthday and several other time: we all love it (so we do for may of your recipes)! Couple of ideas:
– If you double the crumb, you use half for the cake and you add two eggs to the other half: result is a delicious cake + a batter of amazing butter cookies (Danish style). They are delicious.
– If you have some crumb and apple leftovers (I usually do), you can put them together, add some oatmeal and an egg and bake delicious muffins for breakfast (I didn’t add any baking soda or baking powder, but they result being very good).
This cake rocks! A hug from Italy !
Sally I want to make this for New Year’s Day brunch. If I make it the day before can I warm this up in oven in morning before brunch without it getting dry?
You can prepare cake through step 7. Cover the cake tightly and refrigerate. In the morning simply bring to room temperature, add icing if desired, and serve.
I halved the recipe for an 8×8 square pan successfully (for the eggs, crack and beat 3 which should give you about 3/4 cup, then measure 3 oz egg out of that for the cake. Save your leftover egg for tomorrow’s omelet). Reduce the baking time to about 35 min for this size pan. Also I highly recommend cream cheese icing and Cosmic crisp apples as variations on this 🙂
I made this recipe last week using dairy free yogurt (Silk Almond Milk Alternative Yogurt) and it came out delicious! I received so many compliments on it. Your website is always my go to for baking recipes! 🙂
Third time making this cake and love love it!!
I made a mistake and baked in a pan I know I will never see again if I send it in this.
after cooled …tomorrow…can I carefully lift it out and put on a pretty dish? ever try it?
Yes! I do that all the time. Once the cake has completely cooled, lift it out using the parchment paper lining and cut into squares.
Hi! Was hoping to make a crumb cake of yours this weekend but wanted to make one in a springform. First stumbled across your super crumb cake but then saw this. Any way this would work in a springform?
Hi Riva! If you have a 10-inch springform pan, this cake would definitely fit. The bake time will be about the same or a little longer.
My niece, who doesn’t like chocolate or desserts in general, loved this cake. I’ve been making desserts with your recipes for years now but never stopped to say thank you. THANK YOU for the amazing recipes that require no tweaking.
Hi Sally! You are my favorite blogger 🙂 Is it possible to make this the day before and refrigerate as is? I’m hoping to make it the night before and put it in the oven in the morning. Thanks for any tips!
Hi Emily, Do you mean put the raw batter in the refrigerator? I don’t recommend that as the leaveners (baking soda and baking powder) are activated as soon as they are mixed with the wet ingredients and must be baked right away. Bake the cake and then cover the cooled cake tightly and store in the refrigerator overnight. Before serving bring it back to room temperature and top with the icing if desired!
This is so good! Made it for a youth group s d it was practically gone. My only beef with this recipe….more apples!!! So I’m going to double the chopped apples and put down 1/2 the batter then a layer of apples, then the rest of the batter abs then the last half of the apples THEN the crumble. Thank you!!!
Absolutely delicious! I misread the recipe and mixed the apples into the batter. Still fabulous! I’m going to make it for family visiting over thanksgiving. One of the best cakes I’ve ever had!
Hi Sally! I frequently try your recipes and bring them into work to share. This cake was a winner! Thanks for making me look good! PS your coconut cake is to die for!
Amazing!
Husband says it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made. Glad I froze half the cake or the whole thing would be gone in 2 days – and there only 3 in the family. And so easy!
Can you make this crumb topping a day ahead and refrigerate and then make cake next day? Love your recipes 1
You can, but you will likely need to let it come back to room temperature for a bit to crumble it up. Enjoy!
Hi Debbie, I haven’t tested this exact recipe this way so I can’t say for sure how long it the bake time would be. Let me know if you try it!