Apple Streusel Cake

I wanted something perfect for a cold winter’s Sunday morning. This is it. Especially warm out of the oven. I saw this delicious cake on the Joy of Baking blog (among many, mant other things), and knew I had to make it. In a  lot of coffee type cakes, the cake is generally very dry. Not in this cake. The cake is more soft and moist. The only thing I did different is, I only had a 10″ Springform pan, and was worried that the cake would end up too thin, so I doubled the recipe. It did take quite a bit longer to cook, but came out beautifully. And I used my apple, corer, slicer to cut apples, so they came out pretty thin. I don’t think you can see them very well due to their being so thin.

The recipe posted here is the single recipe using an 8″ springform pan.

Apple Streusel Cake

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup (65 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons (40 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup (70 grams) brown sugar
1/4 cup (20 grams) toasted and coarsely chopped hazelnuts (can use walnuts or pecans)

Cake:

1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (56 grams) (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
2 large Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin (1/8 inch) slices
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).  Butter an 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

For Streusel Topping:  In a large bowl, mix together the flour and ground cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the brown sugar and chopped hazelnuts. Set aside while you make the cake batter.

For Cake Batter: In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture, alternately with the milk, and beat only until combined. Spread the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.

Evenly arrange the apple slices on top of the cake batter and then sprinkle with the streusel topping.

Bake for about 45 – 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.

Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream.