Applesauce Coffee Cake Recipe with Streusel Topping
It’s apple season, which means this delicious applesauce coffee cake is the perfect seasonal treat to make next! Using simple ingredients (applesauce!), pantry staples, and warm spices, this easy coffee cake comes to life in no time. Complete with an optional streusel topping and glaze!
Why You'll Love This Applesauce Coffee Cake Recipe
Pumpkin can just hold on a minute. Apples get first dibs on desserts in September! Coffee cake recipes are one of the most popular desserts I teach and for good reason (see my Grain Free Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping, this Coconut Coffee Cake, or White Bean Coffee Cake for more popular favorites!). They’re flexible, easy to make a reasonable sweetness, and they can be served for brunch, dessert, or a snack with tea or …a hot cup of coffee (see this gingerbread latte or pumpkin spice latte).
This Applesauce coffee cake is full of seasonal flavors, is perfectly moist, and has a delightfully crunchy texture from the streusel topping. This cake is flexible and customizable (see recipe notes below for ways to switch things up!). It’s a great breakfast treat but also makes a yummy dessert (served with a scoop of ice cream!).
You simply can’t go wrong with this seasonal cake (or any of my apple cakes for that matter! Check out my Apple Fritter Skillet Cake, this Cinnamon Apple Cake, and this Olive Oil Apple Spice Cake for more ways to use apples this season.
Ingredient Notes
Streusel
all-purpose flour: Or your favorite GF flour blend.
cane sugar: Any granulated white sugar will work.
powdered sugar
ground cinnamon
sea salt
unsalted butter or plant butter
pure vanilla extract
Apple Cake
unsalted butter, vegan butter, or olive oil
unsweetened applesauce: Make sure you get unsweetened, which has less sugar than its sweetened counterparts.
large eggs or flax eggs
pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
pure vanilla extract
all-purpose flour: Or your favorite gluten-free flour blend.
aluminum-free baking powder
baking soda
spices: We’re using a simple blend of ground cinnamon, ground allspice, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg.
sea salt
chopped apple: Use your favorite sweet-tart apple. Honeycrispy or Granny Smith apples work great!
Glaze (Optional)
powdered sugar
pure vanilla extract
unsweetened milk of choice: This can be dairy free or regular milk.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Grease an 8×8-inch square pan or 9-inch round pan with butter and line it with unbleached parchment paper for easy cake removal.
Step 2: To make the streusel: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter and vanilla and using a fork, or your fingers, break the butter into the flour mixture until crumbs form and you can squeeze the mixture together to form clumps. There should be no dry spots. You’ll end up with crumbs of different sizes. Set aside.
Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter or oil, applesauce, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla until well combined
Step 4: In a separate bowl: whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the chopped apples.
Step 5: Pour the batter into the prepared pan; sprinkle the top of the cake with the streusel mixture. (See notes for other ways to do this.)
Step 6: Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a tester placed in the middle of the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
Step 7: To make the glaze: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Start with a little bit of milk to loosen the glaze. At first, it will seem like it’s not enough liquid, but it eventually becomes silky. You can always add more milk to thin it out. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. Feel free to use as little or as much as you like.
Recipe Tips
Use room temperature ingredients– bring the eggs and butter to room temperature before incorporating into the streusel or cake. This is a key step to making the best coffee cake!
Serve this delicious cake by itself, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or as a treat with your morning coffee (or cup of tea)!
There are many ways to approach this cake, which makes it flexible, adaptable, and such an easy recipe to customize to your liking!
Use the streusel for just the top;
Use the streusel for the top and make a separate filling for the middle with 6 tbsp brown sugar mixed with ½ tbsp cinnamon;
Use half the streusel in the middle and half the streusel on top;
Any combination of the above with or without glaze.
Skip the glaze and dust with powdered sugar.
Storage Tips
Store leftover cake covered in plastic wrap at room temperature for 1-2 days, then transfer to an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze the cake (well wrapped) for up to 2 months. Thaw, slice, and serve once ready to ea!
More Fall Recipes
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Applesauce Coffee Cake Recipe with Streusel Topping
Ingredients
Streusel
- 1 cup all purpose flour or your favorite GF flour blend
- 6 Tablespoons cane sugar
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar sifted
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter or plant butter cut into ½-inch cubes, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cake
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter or plant butter melted or olive oil
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs or flax eggs room temp
- ½ cup pure maple syrup or honey or agave
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour or your favorite GF flour blend
- 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup apple chopped peeled and cored
Glaze (Optional)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tablespoons unsweetened milk of choice to thin glaze to your liking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch or 9-inch round pan with butter and line with unbleached parchment paper for easy cake removal.
- To make the streusel: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter and vanilla and using a fork, or your fingers, break the butter into the flour until crumbs form and you can squeeze the mixture together to form clumps. There should be no dry spots. You’ll end up with crumbs of different sizes. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter or oil, applesauce, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla until well combined
- In a separate medium bowl: whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the chopped apples.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan; sprinkle with the streusel mixture. (See notes for other ways to do this.)
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached. Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing.
- To make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Start with a little bit of milk to loosen the glaze. At first it will seem like it’s not enough liquid, but it eventually becomes silky. You can always add more milk to thin it out. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. Feel free to use as little or as much as you like.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients– bring the eggs and butter to room temperature before incorporating into the streusel or cake. This is a key step to making the best coffee cake!
- Serve this delicious cake by itself, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or as a treat with your morning coffee (or cup of tea)!
- There are many ways to approach this cake, which makes it flexible, adaptable, and such an easy recipe to customize to your liking!
- Use the streusel for just the top;
- Use the streusel for the top and make a separate filling for the middle with 6 tbsp brown sugar mixed with ½ tbsp cinnamon;
- Use half the streusel in the middle and half the streusel on top;
- Any combination of the above with or without glaze.
- Skip the glaze and dust with powdered sugar.
- Store leftover cake covered in plastic wrap at room temperature for 1-2 days, then transfer to an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze the cake (well wrapped) for up to 2 months. Thaw, slice, and serve once ready to eat!
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