Can’t decide whether to have apple cake or apple crumble? This apple streusel cake gives the best of both worlds. Whenever I decide to bake this it goes down well with adults and kids alike. It’s incredible on it’s own with a cup of tea, or even better served with custard or ice cream.
What is apple streusel cake?
Like I said, apple streusel cake is a mixture of cake and apple crumble and tastes delicious! A moist layer of sponge at the bottom. Followed by sliced apples. The final layer is a heavenly serving of crumble. This recipe originates from Germany and is known as Apfelstreuselkuchen. It is widely available in cafe’s and a favourite with many home bakers.
Which apples should I use for baking?
When baking with apples ones that hold some firmness are best. Cooking apples are usually best for this. You can eat these apples without cooking them, but they are very sharp. Once cooked they can be lovely and sweet.
I always use bramley apples, as I find these the best for baking. They hold their texture nicely when cooked. You can also use Granny Smith or golden delicious apples. If making an apple pie you may even want to mix it up with different varieties to add an extra depth of flavour.
How to prepare the apples for baking
Start by peeling your apples, the skin gets tough during cooking and doesn’t add a nice texture. Don’t want to waste the apple peels? Check out these great ideas for using them up! To prevent the apple slices going brown place them in some water and lemon juice. I never usually worry as I peel and slice the apples last of all. No-one sees if they are brown when cooked, so I never worry too much.
You can coat the apples in brown sugar and or cinnamon for extra sweetness if you like.
Ingredients for apple streusel cake
Serves 8
Equipment needed:
- Oven
- 9 inch cake tin
- Mixing bowl
For the streusel topping
- 3oz unsalted butter (cubed & at room temperature)
- 3oz caster sugar
- 4oz self-raising flour
For the cake
- 4oz unsalted butter (cubed & at room temperature)
- 4oz caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 6oz self raising flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- 450g cooking apples (2-3 apples)
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180oC/ 350oF/ Gas mark 4. Begin by making the streusel topping. In a mixing bowl add the chopped butter and sift in the flour. This is the fun part! Get your hands dirty, rub the butter and flour together until it resembles large breadcrumbs. Then mix through the sugar. Put it to one side.
2. In a separate bowl mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add one egg and a couple of spoonfuls of the flour. Add the second egg. Gently fold through the remaining flour, add the cinnamon & salt. Add the milk 1-2 tbsp depending on the texture of your batter. The cake batter should be fairly thick. So that you need to spoon it into the cake tin rather than pouring it in.
4. Line your cake tin with baking paper (see top tip) and spoon in the batter. Spread it out to ensure you have a nice even layer.
5. Peel & core the apples, and slice them. Layer the slices up on top of the cake batter.
5. Add the crumble topping evenly over the top.
6. Bake for 1 hour or until the top is nicely browned. Leave until cool before removing from the tin. You can dust with icing sugar before serving if you want to.
Top tips for apple streusel cake
- When using baking paper / parchment paper scrunch it up before using it. This will stop it from rolling back up, and help it fit the baking tin more easily. If you use greaseproof paper remember it isn’t non-stick so you will need to grease your tin.
- I like to use a springform cake tin for baking as it is so much easier to get the cake out.
- This works well on it’s own, but to take it to dessert level serve with custard. Even better, re-heat and serve with some vanilla ice cream!
