Applesauce Coffee Cake with Walnut Crumb Topping
This applesauce coffee cake has a soft cinnamon-spiced crumb, fresh apple pieces, and a thick buttery walnut topping. Applesauce adds moisture without making the cake heavy, so it stays tender for several days.
Servings 9 squares
Ingredients
Crumb topping:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled but pourable
- ½ cup roughly chopped walnuts
Cake batter:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice mix see Notes below for alternative
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled but pourable
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 medium Granny Smith apple peeled and cut into small cubes
Vanilla glaze:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice or apple juice or cider
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Grease a 9-inch square baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy lifting.
Cinnamon crumb topping (streusel):
- In a medium bowl, stir together 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Pour in ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and warm, and stir with a fork until large crumbs form.
- Fold in ½ cup roughly chopped walnuts, then refrigerate the topping while you prepare the cake batter. Don't skip this step!
Applesauce cake batter:
- In a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons apple pie spice mix.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to warm, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, ¾ cup brown sugar, and ¼ cup granulated sugar until smooth.
- Add 2 large eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in the ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. Avoid overmixing. Fold in the 1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced. The batter will be thick.
- Spread the applesauce batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. Remove the crumb topping from the refrigerator and sprinkle it evenly over the batter, pressing it down very lightly so it adheres. If necessary, break down large clumps.
- Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the crumb topping is golden brown and crisp. If the topping begins to brown too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil after about 30 minutes.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Glaze it right there before lifting and cutting it. Don't glaze until it's completely cool, or the glaze will thin out. Use the parchment to help you remove the whole cake from the pan. Cut and serve.
Powdered sugar glaze:
- Whisk together ¾ cup powdered sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth and pourable. Add a little more juice or water if needed to reach your desired consistency; it should be like thick honey. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake using a spoon or a pouring jar.
Notes
If not using apple spice mix, use 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger and a pinch of ground allspice or ground nutmeg. If some are unavailable, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon can do the job. It will not be as spiced, but still great.
Nuts: use pecans or almonds instead of walnuts.
Make the topping ahead: refrigerate it in an airtight container or tightly covered bowl. A thin shell will probably form on the top. Simply beat it again before using it. If needed, add another teaspoon or two of liquid.
