Spiced Apple Crumb Cake

Everyone knows that the best part of an apple crisp is the crumble topping. So when I was tasked with making a fall-themed cake, I knew I HAD to top it off with a good crumble. It adds the perfect crunch to the top of a soft, moist, apple-filled cake.

Now you know if I'm going to make a cake, I'm going to make a few swaps to add in some extra nutrients. This cake is made with half whole wheat flour to up the whole grain factor and increase the fiber. Additionally, I cut a lot of sugar out of this recipe because I really wanted to highlight the apples in the cake. Fall in Minnesota is known for apple orchards and rightfully so, the fresh apples are delicious! The last thing I threw in was a hint of ginger into the crumble topping just to spice things up.

Aside from that, this is your pretty standard apple cake. The cake batter will be pretty thick and dry looking, but as the apples cook they will release moisture into the batter so don't worry! Just make sure not to over bake it. Lastly, if you don't have apple cider on hand, you can definitely just use milk in the glaze and it won't make a huge difference. Let me know what you think and enjoy!

Spiced Apple Crumb Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Crumb Topping

• 1/2 C flour

• 1/4 C butter, softened

• 2 tsp sugar

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tbsp grated ginger

Cake

• 3/4 C whole wheat flour

• 3/4 C flour

• 1/2 C oil

• 1/4 C coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

• 1/4 C maple syrup

• 1 egg

• 1/2 C greek yogurt

• 2 apples, diced

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp allspice

Glaze

• 1/2 C powdered sugar

• 2 tsp apple cider

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. In a large bowl, combine the dry cake ingredients: flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices and apples.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet cake ingredients: oil, maple syrup, egg, greek yogurt and vanilla.

4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry just until combined--do not over mix _note: the batter will seem too dry and thick, but as the apples cook they will add moisture into the cake_.

5. In another small bowl, add all of the crumb topping ingredients and mix with your hands, pinching off small bits of butter, until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

6. Pour batter into a greased 9x9 inch baking dish and top with crumb topping.

7. Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8. While cake is in the oven, make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar and apple cider.

9. Once the cake has cooled completely, top with glaze.

10. Enjoy!