Apple Crumb Cake

From holiday meals and casual entertaining to easy weeknight desserts, one-bowl Apple Crumb Cake is a go-to dessert for fall and winter–and it even passes as coffee cake!

My grandmother’s apple cake has long been a family favorite. For years, we focused on the sheer deliciousness of it, as well as the fact that we could whip it up at a moment’s notice with ingredients we usually had on hand.

But delicious as it is, the cake is loaded with sugar and oil, and so many of us are trying to keep those ingredients in check these days. As a result, I’ve fiddled with the recipe countless times, replacing some of the oil with applesauce, testing how low I could go with the sugar before the texture and flavor suffered, and so on.

Eventually, I decided that I should stop tinkering with a recipe that holds a special place in our hearts and simply provide a fresh alternative.

This recipe is the answer.

While it’s not intended to be health food, it is designed to be a healthier option that delivers everything I love about my grandmother’s classic recipe.

Lightly adapted from this 2011 recipe, it has less oil and sugar than my grandmother’s cake and—like her recipe—has the uncanny ability to delight whether served as a casual dessert or a holiday coffee cake.

Baked in a casserole dish and sporting a craggy topping with a hint of crunch, this apple cake is rustic in appearance, which I think adds to its charm. The first bite reveals that it’s also light, fluffy and bursting with fresh apples.

For added convenience, all of the ingredients are easy to have on hand, so you can whip up this treat at a moment’s notice － in just one bowl, no less!

If you enjoy nuts, feel free to add a half cup or so of chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter.

Lastly, I’ve included options where the buttermilk is concerned, which will accommodate dairy-free diners or a variety of ingredients you may have on hand instead. Gluten-free flour works well; just use a trusted cup-for-cup alternative. (As an interesting aside, my grandmother’s apple cake was the first dessert with which I had success in the early days of learning to cook gluten-free for my dad－before there were so many worthy products available. I created this blend, which stacks up well to the premixed blends on the market today and provides an economical alternative if you use gluten-free flour regularly.)

Apple Crumb Cake

Yield: 12 servings

This one-bowl apple cake is light and fluffy, bursting with fresh apples and crowned with a crunchy layer of cinnamon sugar. If you enjoy nuts, feel free to add a half cup or so of chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter.

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For the cake:

• 1½ cups (300g) brown sugar
• ⅓ cup (75 ml) neutral flavored oil (I use safflower)
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk (see notes for substitutions*)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2½ cups (310g) all-purpose flour (may sub your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour)
• 2 cups chopped apples**

For the topping:

• ½ cup (96g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325℉, and grease or spray a 9×13 baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients, except the topping, in order given. (This may be done by hand.) Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle them evenly over the batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, give or take a few minutes depending on oven, or until the cake is cooked through the center and lightly golden on top. The cake may be enjoyed warm, with or without whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, or cooled and eaten at room temperature. Once completely cooled, cover the cake and store at room temperature where the flavor will continue to improve over the next few days.

Notes:

*In lieu of buttermilk, you may use 1 tablespoon of white or apple cider vinegar plus milk of choice to equal 1 cup, or you may use ⅓ cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular, fat content of choice) that has been mixed with ⅔ cup milk.

**This is 8 ounces chopped, or about 2 apples—small variations in this measurement are fine. I leave the peel on and chop into small (½-inch) pieces; you may peel the apples if preferred. I like to use one sweet and one tart baking apple—like a Fuji, Gala or Honeycrisp and a Granny Smith or Jonagold—but any apple suitable for baking will work.

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