Confession: I’m a native Oregonian and I don’t drink coffee. Yep. I said it. I know it is hard to believe, but it is true! I don’t drink coffee, espresso, latte, mocha, frappe-whatevers, or any of the popular coffee based drinks. They’re just not my jam. It’s not that I don’t like coffee. (I love tiramisu and coffee flavored foods.) However, for whatever reason, coffee and I just never became the best of friends.
Oh, and for the record, I don’t like tea either. There. I said it.
So in a culture that practically runs on coffee (and tea!), you may be wondering what I am ordering when out at a coffee shops. Well, while you are getting your cuppa joe or bubble brew, I’m strategizing my attack of the pastry case. I’d much rather spend my calories there, than on a sugary, creamy beverage.
One of my go-to items–and sometimes what I judge a coffee shop by–is the coffee cake. My love of this simple cake dates back to college. Our college cafeteria food for the most part could be rated as, “meh.” However the coffee cake, which was available daily, was something worth talking about.
The coffee cake at in our college cafeteria had a beautiful juxtaposition of moist crumb and caramelized topping. It didn’t matter when you had a slice–morning, afternoon or evening–it was always so tender and delicious. It would practically melt in your mouth.
You would think that coffee cake would be easy to make. However for many corner cafes, the moist crumb eludes them. Often, the coffee cake they serve up is more of a dry yellow cake. Not exactly what I’m looking for in a snack.
While I love coffee cake for breakfast or a mid-morning break, I wanted to make one that also could be enjoyed as a dessert. With autumn in the air, the addition of apples sounded like a perfect solution. What resulted is what I’m calling an Apple Crisp Coffee Cake.
The Apple Crisp Coffee Cake is really a mashup of apple crisp and coffee cake. I took the moist crumb cake found in coffee cake and then paired it with apples and a streusel topping. Even better, this mashup makes a great morning snack OR after dinner dessert, depending on what you pair it with. (For dessert, try caramel ice cream sauce and some fresh whipped cream!)
Give it a try. With the apple crisp topping, this cake is like autumn in a bite. It would certainly make a great accompaniment to your next Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Apple Crisp Coffee Cake
Course: Breakfast, DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy12
servingsIngredients
- Topping
6 tbs granulated sugar
4 tbs light brown sugar
4 tbs all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tbs unsalted butter, cold
½ cup rolled oats
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled
- Cake
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tbs baking powder
5 tbs unsalted butter, cold
Caramel ice cream topping, optional
Whipped cream, optional
Directions
- For the topping: Pulse granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter in food processor until just combined. Transfer to bowl and stir in oats. Set aside for later. Do not wash food processor.
- Peel apple and slice into thin slices, about 1/8″ of an inch thick. Cut slices in half again so that they are roughly 1″ long. Set aside for later.
- For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 8″ square baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Whisk eggs, sour cream, and vanilla in small bowl.
- Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in food processor until mixture resembles sand. Transfer flour mixture to a large bowl. Using rubber spatula, gradually fold in egg mixture until just combined. The batter will be thick like a biscuit batter and NOT thin like a cake batter.
- Place batter in the prepared pan. Cover with apple slices, pushing apple gently into the batter. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over the apples.
- Bake until a light golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few dry crumbs attached, 40-45 minutes. Cool cake in the tin for 30 minutes, then carefully transfer to rack to cool. Serve as is for breakfast. Or as a dessert, drizzle with caramel ice cream topping and top with whipped cream.
Notes
- To make as muffins, divide batter between 12 cupcake liners. Definitely use liners! The baked sugar has a tendency to stick. Bake for 22-28 minutes.
- I like to make mine as mini cakes using this pan. I simply use a piece of square parchment to line each well. This creates little handles, making the cakes easier to remove. Baking time is about 28-30 minutes.
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