Apple Crumb Cake

This incredible apple crumb cake is packed with fresh apples and warm spices, topped with a cinnamon crumble, and drizzled with a brown sugar toffee sauce.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings - 14

Calories 441kcal

Author Allison Mattina

Ingredients

Crumb topping:

¼ cup (60g) brown sugar packed
½ cup (104g) granulated sugar
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (104g) all purpose flour
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
generous pinch of salt
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter melted
⅓ cup (42g) finely chopped walnuts optional but highly recommended

Cake:

2½ cups (313g) all purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened
1 cup (205g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
½ cup (115g) sour cream room temperature
scant ½ cup (113g) unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Apples:

2 cups (278g) finely diced peeled apple*
¼ teaspon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Toffee sauce:

½ cup (120g) brown sugar packed
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter cut into pieces
⅓ cup (80g) heavy cream
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Crumb topping:

Combine both sugars, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter and stir until well combined. Stir in walnuts, if using. Place in the refrigerator while you continue with the cake.

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until well combined, at least one full minute. Add eggs, sour cream, applesauce, and vanilla, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The mixture might look curdled, that's ok.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until almost fully combined. A few streaks of flour are fine, be careful not to overmix. In a separate bowl, combine apples, cinnamon and flour. Stir the apple mixture into the cake batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Remove the crumb topping from the refrigerator and sprinkle it over the top of the cake batter. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (mine took exactly 30 minutes, begin checking it at 25). Place the pan on a wire rack to cool.

Toffee sauce:

Add brown sugar, butter, cream, and salt to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, and simmer for one full minute (the brown sugar should be fully dissolved). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow it to cool down at room temperature. It will thicken as it cools. Serve warm sauce over slices of cake.

Video

Notes

*Apples:

I recommend using apples with a balance of sweet and tart flavors. My favorites are: Honeycrisp, Fuji, Pink Lady, and Cosmic Crisp.

Dice the apples into small pieces. This cake bakes in about 30 minutes and the apple pieces should soften during that time.

Serving and storage:

This cake is best served warm or at room temperature within two days of baking. Leftovers of the cake and sauce should be refrigerated (separately). The sauce will thicken after chilling. Reheat in the microwave as needed.

Recipe updated August 2025: I adjusted the spices, increased the crumb topping, swapped out the oil for butter, and added weight measurements.

Nutrition