Apple Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe with Cinnamon Crumble

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This apple streusel coffee cake combines bright, tart apples with warm spices and a soft, moist cake topped by a crisp, crumbly streusel. It’s easy to prepare, stores well, and makes a lovely breakfast, snack, or dessert for guests.

Flavor – Tart apples tossed with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg balance the brown sugar streusel and vanilla cake, creating a comforting, well-rounded taste.

Texture – The cake is delicate and tender, the apples add a pleasant bite, and the streusel brings a crunchy, buttery contrast.

Make ahead – This coffee cake stores well at room temperature for several days and can be refrigerated or frozen for longer storage, making it an excellent choice for prepping ahead.

Ingredients

• Dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt.
• Dairy & eggs: unsalted butter (both room temperature and melted), eggs, sour cream, whole milk.
• Sugar: light brown sugar (used throughout the recipe).
• Rolled oats: optional in the streusel for extra texture.
• Tart apples: varieties like Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Braeburn, or Honeycrisp work well.
• Thickener: cornstarch to gently thicken the apple layer.
• Acid: lemon juice to brighten the apple filling.
• Spices: ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg for warm flavor.

See the recipe card below for exact quantities and the full ingredient list.

Substitutions & Variations

• Swap full-fat Greek yogurt for sour cream (use a high-fat variety).
• Use ½ cup buttermilk in place of sour cream and milk combined.
• Omit the rolled oats from the streusel if preferred.
• Add up to ⅓ cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds for extra crunch; scatter them on top in the last 10 minutes of baking.
• Add ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon to the streusel for a cinnamon-forward topping.
• Use firm pears instead of apples for a seasonal twist.
• Bake this in a 9″ springform pan and reduce bake time by roughly 10 minutes; watch for doneness.

How to Make This Recipe

One: Cook diced apples with sugar, lemon juice, and spices in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in a cornstarch slurry and cook briefly until the mixture thickens; finish with vanilla and set aside.

Two: Combine melted butter, flour, brown sugar, oats (if using), and salt with a fork until medium and small crumbs form. Set aside.

Three: Whisk together the dry cake ingredients and set aside. In a mixer, cream the room-temperature butter and brown sugar until light, then add eggs and vanilla.

Four: Combine sour cream and milk, then alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the creamed butter, mixing on low and stopping when just combined to avoid overworking the batter.

Five: Spread the cake batter evenly into the prepared 8×8-inch pan, then spoon the cooked apple mixture over the batter.

Six: Evenly sprinkle the streusel over the apples and bake at 350°F (180°C) until the cake is set and a toothpick in the cake layer comes out clean. Cool completely before slicing.

Hot tip! Use a large, sharp knife and wipe it between cuts for perfectly clean slices.

Expert Tips

• Dice apple pieces small enough to be easily eaten in a forkful of cake.
• Line the pan with parchment paper to lift the cake out for cleaner slicing and to protect the pan.
• Avoid over-mixing the batter to keep the crumb tender and moist.
• Cool the cake on a wire rack so air circulates under the pan and it cools evenly.

Tart, firm apples that hold their shape in baking are best—Granny Smith, Braeburn, Pink Lady, or Honeycrisp are all good choices.

Streusel is typically made from flour, brown sugar, and butter. Rolled oats and chopped nuts can be added for texture and flavor.

Storage

Store the cake lightly covered at room temperature for up to five days, or refrigerate for up to one week. Allow a small amount of airflow in the container so the streusel remains crisp rather than soggy.

To freeze, wrap the whole cake or individual slices tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, and place in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to three months. Thaw completely at room temperature before serving.

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

Equipment

• 8×8 inch pan
• Parchment paper
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Rubber spatula
• Vegetable peeler

Ingredients

Apple Layer

• 2 large tart baking apples, peeled, cored, and diced (about 1 cm)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (30 ml)
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar (25 g)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract

Streusel Layer

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (57 g)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (90 g)
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed (150 g)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (50 g)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Cake Layer

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 g)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature (85 g)
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed (200 g)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• 1/4 cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature (57 g)
• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature (60 ml)

Instructions

Prepare

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper.

Apple Filling

• Peel, core, and dice the apples into 1 cm pieces.
• Place apples, spices, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook about 5 minutes until the apples begin to soften.
• Whisk cornstarch with water and stir into the apples. Cook for 30 seconds while stirring until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla; set aside.

Streusel

• Melt the butter, then mix it with flour, brown sugar, oats, and salt using a fork until medium crumbs form. Set aside.

Cake

• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• Cream the room-temperature butter and brown sugar in a mixer on medium-high for about 5 minutes until light. Scrape sides.
• Add eggs and vanilla; mix on medium 1 minute and scrape down the bowl.
• Whisk sour cream and milk together. With the mixer on low, add half the flour mixture, then half the milk mixture. Repeat with remaining flour and milk mixtures, mixing only until just combined. Finish folding with a rubber spatula if needed.

Assembly & Bake

• Spread the batter into the prepared pan, pressing to the edges and corners.
• Top evenly with the apple filling.
• Sprinkle streusel over the apples, covering to the edges.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 45–55 minutes, until the cake layer is set and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
• Cool the pan on a wire rack for at least one hour before removing and slicing.

Notes