You’ll love this recipe if you like this Easy Apple Crisp and Pumpkin Cranberry Bread.
Applesauce cakes have stayed popular because they’re easy, practical, and you usually already have everything you need. Sweetened applesauce is used here — it adds just enough sweetness without overpowering the cake or making it overly sugary. And the applesauce doesn’t give the cake a strong apple taste. It mostly helps with texture, keeping the cake moist and fresh longer.
The crumb topping on this cake is important. If you’ve had crumb toppings melt or get soggy before, the trick is chilling it first. Keeping the crumbs cold right until baking helps them stay crunchy and hold their shape. It’s a small step, but it makes a noticeable difference.
This cake recipe takes 1 hour to make, and you don’t need to be exact or overly careful. It’s forgiving, even if baking isn’t your strong suit. The cake stays fresh for several days, which is handy if you’re the type who wants something homemade around without needing to bake often.
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💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
- Prepped and ready for the oven in 20 minutes.
- Made with everyday pantry ingredients.
- Easy enough for beginner bakers to make confidently.
- Freezes well, easy to prep now and enjoy later.
- Feeds a crowd, makes a generous 9×13-inch cake.
➡️ Ingredients you’ll need
⏲ How to make this applesauce coffee cake recipe
👉 Easy ingredient swaps
- Cinnamon and Cloves: Omit both and use 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.
- Sour Cream: Plain Greek yogurt works equally well.
- Sweetened Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce works fine; the cake will just be slightly less sweet.
✨ Variations
- Add-ins: Mix raisins, chopped walnuts, or pecans into the batter for extra flavor and texture.
- Apple chunks: Fold in 1 cup of peeled, diced apples to the cake batter for added texture and apple flavor.
- Chocolate chips: Stir in about ½ to ¾ cup of mini chocolate chips.
- Cranberry: Add about ½ cup dried cranberries to the batter for a tart contrast.
〰️ How to serve
- Breakfast or brunch — Serve warm slices with fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, bacon, or yogurt.
- Drinks — Pair with an iced latte, morning coffee, chai tea, or even a glass of cold milk.
💬 FAQs
Can I prep this coffee cake ahead?
Yes. Assemble the batter and streusel, layer in the pan, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Add a few extra minutes of baking time if baking directly from the fridge.
How long will leftovers keep?
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Because this cake is moist, it’s best eaten within the first couple of days so it doesn’t get too soft. Warm slices briefly in the microwave or oven before serving.
Does this coffee cake freeze well?
Yes. Wrap cooled slices tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or gently warm in the microwave or oven to serve.
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Applesauce Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Streusel (Crumble Top)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
Coffee Cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 1 cup sweetened applesauce
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Prep Pan and Oven: Coat 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
- Prepare Streusel: To a medium bowl, add flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves, then whisk to combine.
- Cut in Butter: Add cold cubed butter and cut in with pastry cutter or two forks until mixture forms coarse crumbs. If butter warms and mixture becomes greasy, chill streusel in refrigerator until crumbs firm up.
- Chill Streusel: Transfer streusel to fridge while making batter so crumbs stay crumbly and easy to sprinkle. (Don't skip this step. Cold stresuel will ensure the top of the cake is crumbly.)
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In large bowl, cream softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture looks lighter and smooth. If butter is too cold and lumps remain, let soften a few minutes and try again.
- Add Eggs: Add eggs one at a time, mixing each in before adding next and scraping bowl sides with a rubber spatula as needed. If batter looks curdled after eggs, keep mixing briefly; curdling often resolves when wet ingredients are added.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Add sour cream, applesauce, and vanilla extract and mix on low until combined. If sour cream is very cold and causes small lumps, mix a little longer on low to smooth batter.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Add some flour mixture to butter mixture and stir with wooden spoon until flour is nearly incorporated. Add remaining flour mixture and stir until flour just disappears. If batter seems very stiff after adding flour, fold gently rather than stirring hard; if it still seems dry, fold in a splash of milk or sour cream.
- Layer Batter and Streusel: Spread enough batter to cover bottom of prepared pan, smooth top, sprinkle a portion of chilled streusel evenly, add remaining batter in dollops and smooth gently, then top with remaining streusel. Press streusel lightly so it holds but do not compact it.
- Bake: Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If top browns too quickly or oven has hot spots, rotate pan halfway through baking and tent loosely with foil if needed. Check cake starting near end of baking time since oven heat varies.
- Cool Before Serving: Remove cake from oven and cool in pan until just warm before cutting. Cutting too soon while very hot can cause cake to fall apart; if cake seems sticky when slicing, let cool longer.
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