This post has been sponsored by McCormick®. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make A Latte Food possible!
This homemade Apple Cinnamon Crumb Cake recipe makes a perfect holiday brunch or dessert! Vanilla cake batter is filled with a layer of spiced cinnamon apples and topped with a brown sugar crumb topping. It’s sweet and perfectly spiced thanks to McCormick spices (which you can grab at Albertsons), and it tastes like the holidays!
Looking for the perfect holiday breakfast or brunch recipe?? This Apple Crumb Cake 100% fits the bill.
I mean, with layers of apples, warm spices, and a brown sugar crumb cake topping, how could it be anything but amazing?!
When I was a kid, I would always hear my parents talk about how quickly time passed—especially during the holidays. They would talk about how they couldn’t believe it was the Christmas season again, as it felt like we had just ended summer and started the school year.
Of course, as a kid, I disagreed whole heartedly. Time was definitely not moving quickly, and it felt like ages since summer vacation. And if summer vacay felt like that, then last Christmas was practically forever ago. The holidays could not come soon enough.
Now as an adult, I completely understand. Each year seems to move faster than the year before, and I truly cannot believe we’re back to the holiday season once again.
Buuut, considering my love of the holidays and all things Christmas, I’m 100% okay that the season feels like it comes back quicker and quicker each year. 😉 I’m all about family, friends, taking part in traditions (and starting new ones!), and getting my bake on! (All.Season.Long.)
My family loves the holidays as much as I do, and we have our traditions that we cannot miss.
Of course, as the years have passed and the family has expanded (hello, nieces and nephews!), our traditions may have changed form a bit. However, being with one another and spending as much time together during the season is as important as it was when we were kids.
One of our long standing traditions is Christmas baking (anyone surprised about that one?? 😏), and we make sure to pack in sugar, spice, and absolutely everything nice.
This Apple Cinnamon Crumb Cake does just that. It’s full of rich apple flavor, warm spices, and brown sugar heaven. It’s like a taste of the holidays in every single bite.
Let’s talk about this apple crumb cake! And why I love it with my whole heart.
First of all, let’s break down the spices used in this recipe. In order to make this apple crumb cake taste like the holidays, it needs warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Each spice enhances the flavor of the apples, as well as providing the rich, warm flavor we know and love around the holiday season.
Apple Crumb Cake Spices:
- McCormick® Cinnamon
- McCormick® Cloves
- McCormick® Ginger
- McCormick® Nutmeg
- McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
McCormick herbs and spices are non-GMO, have no fillers, and are well cared for from the source to the bottle. Their extracts are gluten free, made without corn syrup, non-GMO, and have the purest and truest flavors.
Using the right spices truly make all the difference in this apple crumb cake.
The spiced apple filling is layered between a vanilla cake that has a very similar texture to a coffee cake. The cake holds up nicely to the thick layer of apples inside.
The brown sugar crumb cake topping gives the cake added texture and sweetness without overpowering the cake.
Plus, this cake is super easy. It’s made in one cake pan and once it’s baked, all you have to do is let cool and serve it.
Finally, let’s just talk about how you can serve this for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Anytime a dessert can be counted as breakfast, you know I’m in!
Tips and Tricks for this easy Apple Cinnamon Crumb Cake recipe:
- This is a thick cake batter. I like to scoop the batter with spoons and dollop the batter around the cake pan. It makes spreading the cake batter into one layer much easier.
- You need 1 cup of apples for this apple crumb cake, which is roughly about 1 large apple. I kept the skin on the apple, but you can remove it if you prefer.
- The brown sugar crumb cake topping is just a mixture of butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- If the top of the cake is getting dark before the cake is completely baked, tint a piece of non-stick foil on top and continue baking.
- I served this as is, but you can serve with a caramel sauce, whipped cream, or ice cream.
Happy holiday baking!
- 1 cup cold and cubed
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp McCormick® Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 tsp McCormick® Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp McCormick® Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp McCormick® Ginger
- 1/2 tsp McCormick® Cloves
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup chopped apples
- 1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
- 2 eggs
- 6 Tbsp Greek yogurt (vanilla)
- 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9” springform pan well (you can also use a regular 9” cake pan).
- In a small bowl, mix cinnamon, brown sugar, and flour together. With a pastry cutter or fork, cut butter into the mixture and mix until coarse crumbs form. Set aside.
- Mix granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves together.
- Add in melted butter and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
- Add in chopped apples and mix until apples are coated in the sugar mix. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk milk, eggs, Greek yogurt, canola oil, and vanilla extract together. Set aside.
- Mix flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
- Mix the batter until just combined.
- Dollop half of the batter in the bottom of the springform pan, spreading into an even layer (batter will be thick).
- Spread the apple filling evenly on top of the cake batter.
- Dollop the remaining half of cake batter on top of the apples, spreading into an even layer (covering all of the apple filling).
- Sprinkle crumb cake topping over the cake.
- Bake for 28-32 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. (Tent a piece of non-stick foil over the top of the cake if the top is browning quicker than the center is baking.)
- Allow to cool.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Enjoy!
Are you ready to get your Christmas bake on?! (That is, if you haven’t already 😜)
Head over to Albertsons where you can find all of these ingredients, including McCormick spices and extracts. Look for McCormick products in the baking/seasonings aisle!
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