The homemade apple butter does double duty here: some goes directly into the batter to add moisture and flavor, while a thicker layer is sandwiched through the center of the cake.
If you love buttery crumble toppings, try my easy vegan apple crumble next, or my apple crumble cheesecake for a more decadent fall dessert.
Note: You can make the homemade apple butter up to a couple of weeks in advance and store it in a sealed jar in the fridge!
🧾 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this apple coffee cake:
Ingredient Notes
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Apple Butter: Homemade is best using this apple butter recipe which uses warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. If you must use storebought, make sure it's super thick as if too runny it may not hold up inside the cake.
- Apple Cider: This is unfiltered pressed juice, but you can also use apple juice or even carbonated English cider (I've tried them all!). Please do not use apple cider vinegar though!
- Fresh Apples: Go for sweet apples like Honeycrisp, Gala, or Fuji rather than Granny Smith apples which are too sour.
- Vegan Unsalted Butter: You need block-style butter sticks, not spreadable margarine from a tub.
- Vegan Yogurt: I use dairy-free Greek yogurt, but you can also use vegan sour cream, skyr, or thick coconut yogurt. This makes for an incredibly moist cake.
- Ground Cinnamon: For the crumb topping which adds a lovely cinnamon apple flavor.
- Powdered Sugar: Also labeled as confectioner's sugar or icing sugar, is used for the apple glaze.
Get Your Free E-Book!
Sign up to the Addicted to Dates newsletter for your FREE Guide To Vegan Cheesecakes!
🔪 Instructions
Here are step-by-step images showing how to make this apple crumb cake recipe. Please refer to the detailed printable recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions:
Step 1: Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and vegan butter to a medium bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a crumb consistency. Set aside in the fridge.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl with a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the yogurt, 80g (⅓ cup) of apple butter, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Step 3: Alternate between adding the apple cider and dry ingredients (all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt) to the wet ingredients in 3 increments, folding to combine each time.
Step 4: Add half of the cake batter to the baking pan.
Step 5: Carefully add 300g (1 cup) of apple butter on top and use an offset spatula to smooth it out in an even layer, being gentle not to press it down into the batter.
Step 6: Top with the remaining batter and smooth it out. Scatter the cubed apple pieces on top of the batter.
Step 7: Sprinkle the crumble topping on top of the apples and bake in a preheated oven.
Step 8: Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the glaze. Mix the icing ingredients and drizzle on top of the cake.
Christina's Recipe Tips
Line the pan well. Parchment on the bottom and sides makes this tall, filled cake much easier to remove without damaging the crumble.
Use a digital scale. Accurate flour and apple-butter measurements matter here because both affect the consistency of the batter
.
Don't overmix the batter. Once the flour goes in, stop mixing as soon as there are no visible streaks. Overmixing can give the cake a gummy crumb.
Cool completely before slicing. The apple-butter layer is softer while warm. Letting the cake reach room temperature gives the filling time to settle and makes much cleaner slices.
Using a square pan: You can also bake this in an 8- or 9-inch square pan for more of a traditional coffee-cake shape.
Storage: Keep the cake covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 1 week. Let chilled slices come to room temperature before serving for the softest texture. You can also freeze individual slices in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Serving Suggestion: Serve with a cup of coffee or tea, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of vegan whipped cream. Yum!
More Apple Desserts
📖 Recipe
Vegan Apple Crumb Cake with Gooey Apple Butter Filling
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 120 g (1 medium apple) apples cubed
- 80 g (⅔ cup) all-purpose flour
- 30 g (2 ½ tablespoons) granulated sugar
- 30 g (2 ½ tablespoons) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 50 g (3 ½ tablespoons) vegan butter
Cake
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 380 g (≈ 1 ⅓ cups) homemade apple butter room temp *note 1
- 120 g (4.25 oz) vegan butter room temp *note 2
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 120 g (½ cup) vegan Greek-style yogurt room temp *note 3
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 240 ml (1 cup) apple cider or apple juice not apple cider vinegar! *note 4
Icing (optional)
- 120 g (1 cup) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep ahead of time: Make the apple butter ahead of time and divide out 80g / ⅓ cup for the batter and 300g / 1 cup (for the filling).
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to 320°F (160°C) fan or 355°F (180°C) conventional.Line the bottom and sides of a 9- or 10-inch (23-25 cm) springform pan with parchment paper.
- Make the crumb topping: Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter to a medium bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a crumb consistency. Set aside in the fridge.
- Mix dry ingredients: Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt into a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar: In a large bowl with a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes.
- Combine the wet ingredients: Add the yogurt, 80g (⅓ cup) of apple butter, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Make the batter: Alternate between adding the apple cider and dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 increments, folding to combine each time. Do not overmix the batter.
- Assemble: Add half of the cake batter to the baking pan. Carefully add 300g (1 cup) of apple butter on top and use an offset spatula to smooth it in an even layer, being gentle not to press it down into the batter.Top with the remaining cake batter, smoothing out the top.
- Topping: Sprinkle the cubed apple pieces on top, followed by an even layer of crumb topping.
- Bake: Bake for 60-70 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the cake portion should come out with a few moist crumbs but no wet cake batter. You may see some apple butter on the toothpick from the center layer - that's fine. If you see wet batter, continue baking in 5-minute increments.
- Cool: Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then carefully remove the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool further. Wait for the cakes to cool completely before adding the glaze.
- Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, apple cider, and vanilla extract until smooth. Cover and set aside until ready to use. Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze all over the top.
Notes
- Fresh apples: Honeycrisp, Gala, and Fuji are good choices here. Their sweetness works better with the cake than very tart Granny Smith apples.
- Apple Butter: This can be made up to a couple of weeks ahead of time following this apple butter recipe.
- Vegan butter: Use firm block-style butter rather than spreadable tub margarine.
- Vegan yogurt: Thick Greek-style yogurt, vegan sour cream, skyr, or thick coconut yogurt add moisture without loosening the batter too much.
- Apple cider: Here this means pressed apple cider or apple juice, not apple cider vinegar. You've also tested carbonated alcoholic cider successfully.
- Apple butter: Homemade is ideal because you need a very thick consistency for the center layer. A runny apple butter can disappear into the cake batter rather than staying distinct.
© addictedtodates.com. All content and images are protected by copyright. If you want to share this recipe, please do so using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or republish the recipe or content in full. Instead, include a link to this post for the recipe. Thank you!
