Sweet Apple Spice Coffee Cake
A slice of this cake is just the slice of festive we're looking for!
When we want a sweet treat that has that crisp, sweet taste, with the right hint of warm spices, we whip up this apple spice coffee cake. The soft, sweetened apples, spiced cake and streusel topping with cream cheese glaze are just about perfect.
We love it for brunch, as a grab-n-go breakfast to pair with a morning cup of coffee, even as a sweet dessert; it’s not super sweet or rich, just well balanced sweet and spiced apple-cake goodness. For a late night treat, we like to warm it up and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. Regardless of when or how we eat it, this apple spice cake embodies the spirit of the season.
Apple Spice Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons apple pie spice, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, divided
- 1 cup brown sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large apple, diced
- 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped, divided (optional)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons milk
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9x9-inch baking dish.
- In large bowl, sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, 2 teaspoons apple pie spice, and salt.
- In another bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract. Stir butter and egg mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Fold in apple and all but 1 tablespoon of nuts. Pour batter into baking dish.
- In small bowl, whisk together remaining 1/2 cup flour, 1 teaspoon apple pie spice, and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Cut in 1/4 cup cup butter, and add 1 tablespoon of chopped nuts. Crumble mixture with fingers and sprinkle evenly over top of batter
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick or cake tester inserted into center comes out clean
- While cake cools, make cream cheese glaze by mixing cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk. Add more milk as necessary to thin. Drizzle glaze over cake.
Recipe adapted from Layers of Happiness