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Easy Fluffy Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake Recipe with Streusel Topping

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A soft, fluffy apple cinnamon coffee cake with a crunchy streusel topping, perfect for cozy mornings or brunch. This easy recipe uses simple pantry ingredients and yields a tender, flavorful cake.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
  • ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (120 ml) milk (whole or 2%)
  • 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced (Granny Smith preferred)
  • 1 tablespoon (8 g) ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons (25 g) brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon juice
  • ¾ cup (90 g) all-purpose flour (for streusel)
  • ⅓ cup (65 g) brown sugar, packed (for streusel)
  • 1 teaspoon (2 g) ground cinnamon (for streusel)
  • 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed (for streusel)
  • ¼ cup (30 g) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional, for streusel)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease an 8-inch (20 cm) square or round baking pan. Lightly dust with flour.
  2. Prepare streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine ¾ cup flour, ⅓ cup brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Add cold cubed butter and mix with a pastry cutter or fingers until coarse crumbs form. Stir in nuts if using. Chill in fridge.
  3. Mix dry batter ingredients: sift together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
  4. Cream butter and sugar: Beat ½ cup softened butter with ¾ cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes).
  5. Add eggs and vanilla: Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla extract.
  6. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk: Add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with ½ cup milk, starting and ending with flour. Fold gently until just combined.
  7. Prepare apple cinnamon filling: Toss diced apples with 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
  8. Assemble cake: Pour half the batter into the pan and smooth. Sprinkle apple mixture evenly over batter. Dollop remaining batter on top and gently spread to cover apples.
  9. Sprinkle chilled streusel topping evenly over batter.
  10. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Check starting at 35 minutes.
  11. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Notes

[‘Use cold butter for streusel to achieve crumbly texture.’, ‘Do not overmix batter to keep cake light and fluffy.’, ‘Tart apples like Granny Smith hold shape best.’, ‘If streusel browns too fast, tent cake with foil halfway through baking.’, ‘Cake is best served slightly warm within a couple of hours after baking.’, ‘Store covered at room temperature up to 2 days, refrigerate up to 5 days, or freeze slices up to 3 months.’, ‘Reheat slices in microwave for 15-20 seconds or in oven at 325°F for 10 minutes.’, ‘For gluten-free, substitute all-purpose flour with gluten-free blend and reduce baking powder to 1½ teaspoons.’, ‘For dairy-free, use coconut oil instead of butter and almond or oat milk instead of dairy milk.’, ‘Vegan adaptation: use flax eggs (2 tbsp flaxseed meal + 6 tbsp water) instead of eggs.’]

Nutrition

Keywords: apple cinnamon coffee cake, streusel topping, easy coffee cake, fluffy cake, brunch recipe, fall dessert

Find it online: https://bitefuljoy.com/easy-fluffy-apple-cinnamon-coffee-cake-recipe-with-streusel-topping/