Who loves apple streusel cake, with cinnamon-baked apples and a beautiful oaty crumble topping? Cinnamon apples on porridge, or covered in glossy toffee on a stick, served with vanilla ice cream or in a crumble ā€“ I can’t get enough you guys. My Omi {Oma} used to make the most delicious German apfelkuchen which was effectively freshly grated apple, sandwiched between two slabs of vanilla cake and topped luxuriously with glossy white icing. I’ve never quite been able to make it just like her, but the warmth and nostalgia it brings back is magical.

Apple streusel cake

What makes this apple streusel cake so special?

This cake is a traditional German recipe, passed down through generations. Similarly, my Grandad’s British apple crumble was always a winner. He’d make perfect custard every time to go with our dessert. As a result, for this recipe I decided to marry two slices of my heritage and make a cake that fulfilled both criteria. Therefore, this cake has a fluffy vanilla sponge with cinnamon-baked apples, and an oaty crumble topping.

It’s a dessert that is super easy to make, even if you arenā€™t completely confident in the kitchen. The simple vanilla cake batter bakes up around the cinnamon apples, and the streusel topping gives a beautiful texture. It’s usually served with coffee for breakfast, or as a mid-morning snack. My Omi used to eat it traditionally with a dollop of whipped cream, but if you’re a custard aficionado, then it pairs seriously well with that too. Nevertheless, if you’re one for eating cake straight from the oven, you can serve it as is.

Apple streusel cake

How can I adapt this apple streusel cake?

Firstly, you can transform this entirely into a traditional German apple cake. Simply:

  • Double the amount of cake batter
  • Pour half into your tin
  • Add the apples ā€“ grated or sliced
  • Finish with the second half of the batter
  • Bake
  • Finish with a simple icing, made with icing sugar and water

Secondly, you could also try this with any of the following fruits instead:

  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Plums
  • Pitted cherries
  • Cranberries
  • Sticks of rhubarb
Apple streusel cake

Tips for the best bake:

Be careful not to over-bake this cake, as it can easily be dry if you do. I suggest baking it for 50mins, and then keeping an eye on it thereafter if your skewer doesn’t come out clean the first time. If you have a question, simply drop me a DM on Instagram and I’ll be more than happy to help.

Cinnamon apple streusel cake

Apple streusel cake

Thinly sliced cinnamon baked apples sandwiched between a beautiful vanilla cake, and an oaty cinnamon crumble-streusel topping.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine German
Servings 10 slices

Ingredients
  

For the cake

  • 200 g self-raising flour
  • 200 g soft brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 150 g unsalted butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 tbsp whole milk
  • Pinch salt

For the filling

  • 25 g salted butter
  • 4 large apples I like Pink Lady apples
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the streusel topping

  • 200 g plain flour
  • 100 g soft brown sugar
  • 100 g demerara sugar
  • 50 g Jumbo rolled oats
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 150 g unsalted butter

Instructions
 

  • Butter a deep, springform 23cm round cake tin and line with baking parchment, then preheat your oven to 180C/350F.
  • Peel and quarter your apples, removing the core and thinly slice.
  • Place the 25g of butter into a large saucepan and heat gently to melt. Add in your apple slices and the cinnamon, then pop a lid on. Leave to simmer for 5-10mins on a low heat, stirring occasionally until the apples have softened slightly.
    N.B. You can check this by sticking a knife through them.
  • In the meantime, make your cake: combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter using yours hands until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
  • Whisk together your eggs and 4tbsp of milk, then add this to the breadcrumb-like mixture and combine thoroughly until a batter/dough forms. Spoon into your tin and level the surface with a spatula.
  • Your apples should be a little softer by now so remove them from the heat and evenly layer onto your cake. I like to concertina them from the outside-in, spiralling and layering until you have no more apple slices left.
  • To make the streusel topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Rub in the butter using your fingertips again to make a course crumble mixture. Scatter this on top of your apples.
  • Bake for 50-70mins until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Keep an eye on it ā€“ overcooking will make it dry, so I suggest checking it after 50mins and if your skewer isn't yet clean, monitor it every 5 mins thereafter.
  • Leave to cool in the tin before unwrapping the springform tin. Serve with cream, custard or vanilla ice cream.
Keyword apfelkuchen, apple, cake, cinnamon, crumble, oat, streusel

Subscribe to my coffee chats

Subscribe to my bi-monthly newsletter for exclusive recipes, as well as early access + discounts to newly launched workshops and e-courses. You can unsubscribe at any time.

RELATED POSTS

LEAVE A COMMENT

Recipe Rating





The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.