Applesauce Coffee Cake

A close-up of a slice of cinnamon coffee cake with a crumbly streusel topping being lifted from a tray, with apples and a glass of milk blurred in the background.

This Applesauce Coffee Cake is an easy recipe that's great with coffee at breakfast or as a dessert after dinner. Applesauce keeps the cake moist without being heavy, and the cinnamon crumb topping adds a nice crunch and sweetness. It's an easy cake to make, perfect if you're new to baking, and it doesn't take much effort to put together.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Baked Good, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: applesauce coffee cake, coffee cake with sour cream, fall coffee cake

Servings: slices

Calories: 419kcal

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 9x13-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.

Video

Notes

Prepping in Advance: 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.

Refrigerator Storage: 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.

Freezer Storage: 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.

Nutrition