Apple Cinnamon Crumb Cake

When I was a little girl, on occasion my mom would make a Streusel Coffee Cake come Saturday morning.  Oh how I loved it!  It was crumbly, warm and had a great cinnamon flavor, my all time favorite spice as a child.  I savored every bite. That is where my thoughts went when I saw a recipe for Apple Cinnamon Crumb Cake at It's Yummi! 

I learned about It's Yummi! at Secret Recipe Club.  I made a recipe from the blog the very day I got my assignment!  It was that easy to find something...no, many somethings to prepare.  Chef Becca Heflin is a trained culinary professional who loves to prepare healthy food using a common sense approach while being cognizant of the budget.  Her blog is fun to peruse!  I found so many recipes that I felt confident about....I wanted to make them!  Most times, you know when you read the recipe, whether it is going to work.  I considered Asiago Vegetable Risotto....I didn't just consider....I made it.  It was so delicious and easy to make...I will post it later this week. In queue are Chef's recipes for Easy Pumpkin Yogurt Parfait and Bountiful Harvest Sausage and Cranberry Dressing.  I can hardly wait...

Today, I want to share Chef Becca's recipe for Apple Crumb Cake!  Can you imagine a warm, crumbly cake layered around apple slices with a crunchy streusel topping?  Mmmmm....

Apple Crumb Cake

adapted from ItsYummi

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400° F.
(I used a convection oven but will reduce the temperature to 375° F. next time.)
Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan, set aside

Cake
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/4 tsps baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup superfine sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 medium Granny Smith apple, cored, peeled and thinly sliced

Filling
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon

Streusel Topping
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup light brown sugar

In a large bowl, combine the sifted flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, butter and milk.  Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients.  Mix just until combined.

In a small bowl, combine the filling ingredients.  In another small bowl combine the streusel ingredients.  Use your fingers to combine the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal...the pieces will be about the size of peas.

Pour half of the cake batter into the pan.  Sprinkle the filling evenly over the surface.  Place the sliced apples evenly over the filling.  Pour the remaining batter gently over the apples.  Sprinkle the cinnamon streudel topping over the batter.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note:  I did not have a 9-inch pan.  I had to use a dish that was equal in volume.   Since the dish was rectangular, I did not remove it from the pan.  I also thought that the oven was too hot.   I would reduce the temperature the next time I make this and adjust the cooking time accordingly.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

We loved the addition of apple to the crumb cake.  It is perfect for a brunch, breakfast, snack or to just sneak a piece!  Thank you Chef Becca for sharing your great recipe and your fun blog.