This is a tale of two cakes. I had this brilliant idea to take a recipe for an apple coffee cake and put some streusel topping on it. Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it?
Well, what you cannot do is put too many apples and too much streusel and expect it to rise and be nice and cakey. AND, if you put it in a normal size cake tin and fill it to the top with the streusel topping, you’re going to clean the oven for an hour. Just take my word for it.
See how all the cake bits had to squeeze out the sides because the inny bits were too heavy? Did we eat it anyway? Absolutely
If you cover it with pouring custard, you’ll never regret that there’s a foot of streusel topping. I got the streusel idea from Martha Stewart but she must have made a cake the size of Georgia because I had heaps left over for cake #2 and I’ve still got a container of it. I’ve adapted the recipe for human consumption.
John and I enjoyed the cake with a good friend who’d stopped by on their way north and John doesn’t like cake as a rule but he had 3 pieces of it. I think having the custard over the top made a difference. The only thing left were those big side lumps that were stuck to the tin, looking like the ramparts of a fort.
I got up this morning and thought I’d try the cake again and this time I’d chop the apples and add to the mix and layer very thin slices on top.
Once I skillfully (not) placed the thin apple slices on top, I dusted it with the stresel topping.
Then it went into the oven for 30 minutes and 10 minutes after that it looked like this.
Now I’m pretty sure everyone has the same problem I do of getting the first slice out of the way. I call that one “the photographer’s slice.” The second and all subsequent slices come out just fine. Only the first one comes out looking like a dog’s breakfast.
This was perfect as a treat for a young visitor today. I couldn’t resist drizzling it with some homemade caramel sauce.
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp coarse salt
- 113 grams (4 oz, ½ stick) butter
- ½ cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts
- 2 medium apples peeled and chop one and slice the other thinly
- 60 grams butter, melted
- 200ml milk
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 190 grams self-rising flour
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 100 grams sugar (I used raw)
- pinch salt
- Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt together.
- Cut the butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers.
- Mix in pecans and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 180C / 350F
- Prepare apples just before making cake so they don’t turn brown and ugly
- Place melted butter in in mixing bowl and add the milk, egg and vanilla extract and mix well in a mixer or with a wire whisk.
- Add flour, sugar and salt and mix till well combined.
- Add chopped apple and pour into a greased and floured tin
- Place apple slices on top in a circular pattern.
- Dust the top with streusel mixture.
- Bake for 30 minutes or til cake is risen and done.
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This sounds SO good. It’s gorgeous too!
Thanks for coming by, Dorothy and I just love your crusty site!
It looks perfect to me! Duly noting the observations you made about this cake. I have banana bread in the oven right now and I went a little overboard with the bananas and making substitutions to my original recipe. I have my fingers crossed that it will rise properly. It smells good–hoping it will taste good!
Instead of banana bread what I have been really wanting to make is coffee cake but I’ve been too lazy to make streusel. If only I could have knocked on your door to borrow some of your leftovers! I would invited myself inside for a slice of this gorgeous cake, too.
you can drop by anytime for streusel. I’m sure I’ll have some in the fridge for you.
Maureen, this cake looks fantastic! I would love have it with my morning coffee…always something sweet is welcome. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe and have a lovely week!
That caramel drizzle really drew me in. Fantastic addition. Who could resist it. I’m sure as you were putting that first cake in the oven you thought to yourself, that’s probably too full. I’ve done the same thing.
Yes, the coffee cake was outstanding with just the streusel, but then you had go and pour on that lovely caramel sauce! If I were you visitor, I’m not sure I’d leave until every last piece was gone!
yeah, I’m bad like that
Combining two recipes sounds like a perfect idea! Double pleasure for the people who consumed it! Looks scrumptious!
oh lordy this cake looks amazing!
it tasted pretty good too
if only we could sit and have a slice of this together! WOW! Is all i know to say. it looks amazing
This cake looks soo good, just my kind of dessert. Lovely!
Wow Maureen! This cake sure looks great…now that I am sipping on my coffee I wish I could have a slice of this cake.
Hope you are having a great week
Your cake looks WONDERFUL, especially the top picture with the drippy caramel sauce yum! I could with some right now with a nice cuppa.
Nazneen
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Oh, man! I love coffee cake! The apple addition sounds fantastic!
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That’s so true about “the photographer’s slice”!! So hard to take that out. What was your trick?
Maureen, this coffee cake looks so good and I love the streusel! That alone makes this cake 120% better. I need a cup of good coffee for this! YUM!
I broke it into pieces and ate it
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