Introduction

Remember those cozy mornings, the smell of something sweet baking wafting through the house? This Apple Coffee Cake brings all those nostalgic feelings right back! It’s honestly one of the simplest, most comforting treats you can whip up, perfect for a lazy Sunday brunch or a delightful afternoon pick-me-up. Trust me, once you try this, it’s going to become a staple in your baking repertoire.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Super Fast: You can have this ready to bake in under 20 minutes!
Effortlessly Easy: No fancy techniques needed, just mix and bake.
Perfect for Gifting: Wrap it up beautifully for friends, family, or your favorite teacher.
A True Crowd-Pleaser: Everyone, from kids to grandparents, adores this warm, spiced apple goodness.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to create this little slice of heaven. Don’t worry, most of these are pantry staples!

For the Coffee Cake:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature: Make sure it’s soft, like really soft, so it creams beautifully.
1 cup granulated sugar: The classic sweetener that gives our cake its structure.
¾ cup brown sugar: This adds a lovely depth of flavor and keeps the cake wonderfully moist.
4 eggs, room temperature: Room temp eggs incorporate better, giving you a smoother batter.
1 tablespoon vanilla extract: Because vanilla makes everything better, right?
3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled: Spooning and leveling ensures you don’t end up with a dry cake!
1 tablespoon baking powder: Our leavening agent, for that perfect fluffy rise.
½ teaspoon salt: Balances out the sweetness.
½ cup milk, room temperature: Again, room temperature is key for a silky batter.

For the Apple Mixture:

1½ cups apples, peeled and diced: Granny Smith or Honeycrisp work wonderfully for a little tartness.
1½ cups brown sugar: Yes, more brown sugar! It creates that irresistible gooey apple layer.
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted: This helps coat the apples and makes them extra luscious.
⅓ cup all-purpose flour: A little flour helps thicken the apple mixture so it doesn’t all sink.
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or apple pie spice: This is where all the warm, cozy spice magic happens!
¼ teaspoon salt: Just a pinch to enhance those apple flavors.

For the Glaze (Optional, but highly recommended!):

¾ cup powdered sugar: For that sweet, snowy finish.
1 to 2 tablespoons milk: Just enough to get a drizzle-able consistency.
½ teaspoon vanilla extract: A little extra flavor boost.

How to Make It

Alright, let’s get our aprons on! This is where the fun begins.

Coffee Cake Batter:

First things first, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grab your trusty 9×13 inch baking pan and give it a good grease and flour. This step is super important to prevent any sticking disasters!
In a big bowl, cream together that softened butter and both the granulated and brown sugars. You want to beat them until they’re light and fluffy, like a little cloud.
Now, let’s add the eggs. Beat them in one at a time, making sure each one is fully incorporated before you add the next. Then, stir in that lovely vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt. Give them a good mix to ensure everything is evenly distributed.
Time to combine! Gradually add the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients, alternating with the milk. Start and end with the dry ingredients. Mix everything together until it’s just combined. We don’t want to overmix here, or we might end up with a tough cake. A few little lumps are okay!

Apple Mixture:

In a medium bowl, toss your diced apples with the brown sugar, melted butter, flour, cinnamon (or apple pie spice!), and that pinch of salt. Give it all a good stir so every apple piece is coated in that delicious, spicy goodness.

Assembly:

Now for the fun layering! Spread about half of your coffee cake batter evenly into the bottom of your prepared baking pan.
Next, spoon that incredible apple mixture right over the batter. Try to get it as even as you can.
Finally, gently spread the remaining coffee cake batter over the apple layer. It might not cover it perfectly, and that’s totally fine – the apples will peek through beautifully!

Baking:

Pop your masterpiece into the preheated oven and bake for about 40-50 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Once it’s baked to perfection, let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. This helps it set up. Then, carefully invert it onto the wire rack to cool completely.

Glaze (Optional):

If you’re opting for that extra touch of sweetness, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until it’s smooth and drizzle-able.
Once your coffee cake is completely cooled, drizzle that luscious glaze all over the top. Get creative with your drizzle pattern!

Substitutions & Additions

This recipe is already fantastic, but you can totally make it your own!

Apples: If you don’t have fresh apples, you could try using canned apple pie filling (drained well) or even frozen apples (thawed and drained).
Spices: Feel free to add a pinch of nutmeg or ginger to the apple mixture for extra warmth.
Nuts: A handful of chopped walnuts or pecans sprinkled over the apple layer before adding the top batter would be divine!
Citrus Zest: A little lemon or orange zest in the cake batter adds a bright, fresh note.
No Glaze? If you’re not a fan of glaze, a light dusting of powdered sugar over the cooled cake is also beautiful.

Tips for Success

A few little secrets to ensure your Apple Coffee Cake is an absolute triumph!

Room Temperature Ingredients: I can’t stress this enough! Butter, eggs, and milk at room temperature will give you the smoothest, most well-combined batter.
Don’t Overmix: Overmixing the flour can develop gluten too much, leading to a tough cake. Mix until just combined.
Accurate Measuring: Especially with flour, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with a straight edge. Don’t scoop directly from the bag!
Prep Ahead: You can prepare the apple mixture a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator. The cake batter is best made fresh, though.
Cooling is Key: Let the cake cool properly before glazing. A warm cake will melt your beautiful glaze right off!

How to Store It

This cake is so delicious, it might not last long, but if you do have leftovers, here’s how to keep it fresh.

Once completely cooled, you can store your Apple Coffee Cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you live in a warm climate, or if it’s particularly humid, you might want to store it in the refrigerator to keep it from getting too soft. It’s also wonderful lightly warmed up!

FAQs

Here are some quick answers to common questions!

Q: Can I use other fruits instead of apples?
A: Absolutely! Pears, peaches, or even berries would be delicious additions or substitutions. Just make sure they are diced to a similar size.

Q: My cake sank in the middle. What happened?
A: This could be due to a few things: overmixing the batter, not enough leavening agent, or opening the oven door too early while baking. Try to keep the oven door closed for the first 30 minutes!

Q: Can I make this gluten-free?
A: You can certainly try! Substitute a good quality 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend for the all-purpose flour. You might need to adjust the baking time slightly.

Q: How do I know when the cake is fully baked?
A: The most reliable way is the wooden skewer test. Insert it into the thickest part of the cake (avoiding any apple chunks). If it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached, it’s done!

Apple Coffee Cake

A simple and comforting apple coffee cake recipe that brings nostalgic feelings with its warm, spiced apple goodness. Perfect for brunch, an afternoon pick-me-up, or gifting.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 50

Servings 12 slices

Equipment

9x13 inch baking pan
Mixing bowls One large, one medium, one small
Whisk
Electric mixer Implied for creaming butter and sugar
Wooden skewer For testing doneness
Wire rack

Ingredients

For the Coffee Cake

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature, soft
1 cup granulated sugar
0.75 cup brown sugar
4 eggs room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
1 tablespoon baking powder
0.5 teaspoon salt
0.5 cup milk room temperature

For the Apple Mixture

1.5 cups apples peeled and diced
1.5 cups brown sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
0.33 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or apple pie spice
0.25 teaspoon salt

For the Glaze (Optional)

0.75 cup powdered sugar
1.5 tablespoons milk adjust for consistency
0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and granulated and brown sugars until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs one at a time, ensuring each is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk. Start and end with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined; a few lumps are okay.
In a medium bowl, toss diced apples with brown sugar, melted butter, flour, cinnamon (or apple pie spice), and salt until coated.
Spread about half of the coffee cake batter evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the batter.
Gently spread the remaining coffee cake batter over the apple layer.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack to cool completely.
For the glaze (optional): Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth and drizzle-able.
Once the cake is completely cooled, drizzle the glaze over the top.

Notes

Room temperature ingredients are crucial for a smooth batter. Do not overmix. Accurately measure flour by spooning and leveling. For a gluten-free version, use a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend.