Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Begin by caramelizing the apples: melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small saute pan over medium heat. Add chopped apples, and cook over medium heat until they start to caramelize and become tender, 2–3 minutes (you can cover the saute pan with a lid with 60 seconds to trap in the steam to tenderize the apples more quickly).

Mix in 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and 1/8 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Cook apples until brown sugar melts, about 60 seconds. Take apples off the heat and let cool for at least 10 minutes before mixing into the cake batter.

To make the cake batter, in a large bowl, mix together 4 tablespoons of butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar until well-combined and no streaks of butter remain. Add egg and whisk until light and creamy, about 45 seconds. Add vanilla extract and mix.

In another bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the sour cream. Fold in the caramelized apples. Pour batter into a 9-inch cake pan greased with cooking spray, oil, or butter.

To make the crumble, place remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter into a small bowl. Mix everything together thoroughly until crumble looks like wet sand.

Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the top. Bake the coffee cake until golden brown and set, 35–40 minutes. Let cool before topping with powdered sugar glaze.

To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar and heavy cream until a thick glossy glaze forms. Add more heavy cream or more powdered sugar depending on how you like the consistency.

Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. Let the cake sit overnight if you want the glaze to harden, or serve immediately.

Enjoy! See the related blog post for a link to the step-by-step video.