Apple Crumble Coffee Cake

This is an amazing recipe - moist, apple-y, perfect pick-me-up. I cut the sugar in the batter (not the crumble) by half to lower the sugar content and it was still great!

I tried this recipe. the texture is excellent and I added some oat on top to get extra crunchiness. the only thing that I will change in the future is the amount of sugar in it. this recipe was too sweet for me

This is great! I didn’t have the correct pan so I used an8x8. It had to bake 20 minutes longer. Fantastic!!

The apples in the batter helped make this the moistest coffee cake I've ever had. Due to a food allergy, I subbed almonds for the walnuts and it came out great!

Made it per the recipe, except didn't have regular plain yogurt so I used 50% full fat sour cream and 50% whole milk greek yogurt for that. Came out SPECTACULAR. In my oven, however, it needed almost a full 60 minutes for the toothpick to come out clean. Mom loved it, dad loved it, housemates loved it, and I loved it. Highly addictive and perfectly balanced. Mmmmmm

I used minkfruit as the sweetener in the dry ingredients and Swerve for the nut mix. I needed to add about a quarter cup half/half to thin the batter also. My family gobbled it down. This is a keeper.

Excellent recipe, moist and tasty! (Next time I’ll half the sugar...just a little sweet for us seniors.) Thanks for sharing this - it really was special for our Mother’s Day Brunch.

Made recipe to the T. Crumb topping started burning halfway through cook time while the inside was still raw. Ended up cooking it to finish but the topping had to be scraped off.

This was soo yummy. I used Greek yogurt, honey crisp apples and pecans rather than walnuts. The pan I had was 90 square inches rather than the 80 specified. The 8 pieces I cut were plenty big. Now, I've made my own Mother's Day dessert and Monday morning breakfast.

Another home run dessert by my fave Chef John! Moist and just sweet enough. Recipe worked very well for me. I added a grating of nutmeg to the dry ingredients.

This was really good. I did have to make some substitutions based on what was in the pantry. I used flaked almonds instead of walnuts and sour cream instead of yoghurt, but other than that, I followed the recipe as written. The sponge was moist and fluffy, and the crumb was crunchy and sweet. I will definitely be making this again.

I had to substitute greek yogurt for the yogurt but it ended up fantastic anyway. The cake itself was fluffy, tender, and moist, with a subtle apple flavor, which were soft without being mushy. I loved the walnuts but found the crumble just a hair too sweet overall, while my brother was fine with the sweetness but hated the walnuts. The cake, however, doesn't seem to last long, with the moisture from the apples turning the cake soggy after few hours. It's still delicious, but the best time to eat it is definitely the same day it was baked.

Made it the night before for Mother's Day breakfast. Wife and I really liked it.

Great Mother's Day coffee cake. Nice texture with the use of sour cream.

Subbed peanuts and granny smith apples.

Turned out great as do all Chef John recipes!

I've cooked other Chef John recipes with tasty results. This coffee cake is another winner. The tips from others were very helpful. I cut back the amount of sugar in the batter to reduce overall sweetness. I had to use a 9x13 inch pan. Since one baker said the batter was thick, I evenly spaced large spoonfuls of batter in the pan. It was easier to distribute than one big pile. The cake cooked to perfection in 30 minutes. And, try some before it's fully cooled. It will put a smile in your belly!

Excellent except... I've never had a 9x12 pan... All of mine are 9x13 (so weird), so it was hard to spread the batter. Also, didn't know how to roast the walnuts, so I (stupidly) cut them first, then toasted them, and they burned a bit. But pretty easy recipe and the family didn't mind the burnt walnut taste too much...

The cake itself is a decent recipe. The "crumble" is horrible. It's literally just nuts and sugar. To call this a crumble is ridiculous, but against my better judgement I decided to try it. Just as suspected, it started to burn before the cake was done. Then when the cake WAS done the "crumble" was just loose sugar in some spots, burnt sugar and nuts in others. Decided to try again using my personal standard crumble topping with some pecans in it instead of walnuts and it came out much better. Double checked my oven temp, which was spot on, so decided to bake at 325 convection and had much better results. Overall not the worst recipe, but about what I expect from "chef" John.

I just make this, and it was delicious! Very moist and loaded with streusel. I used Greek yogurt, so the batter was a bit stiff, but it still came out just fine—another Chef John gem.

This cake is one of the best apple-ingredient based ones I've ever had the pleasure to bake! Thank you Chef John! And for those who cannot use nuts in the crumble mix, substitute with the equivalent measure of crushed Nilla wafers or graham crackers or digestive biscuits. Guaranteed to turn out just as delicious!

Amazing recipe, followed it exactly as a Mother's day surprise and it did not disappoint. Thanks Chef John!

My family loved it! I only made one substitution: sour cream for the yogurt. I had the most trouble evenly spreading the thick batter in my 9x13 pan, but the rise durning baking changed my attitude about using a smaller pan in the future. This one is a keeper! Thanks Chef John! (ps, the photo does not do it justice, but it's the best one I had.)

I baked this yesterday during a big snowstorm here in Maine. I used 1 large apple instead of 2 and I didn't have any sea salt so I used kosher. I also added a vanilla icing drizzle once it cooled a bit. D-Lish

I used pecans instead of walnuts, which is a nice twist to the recipe.

Very good recipe,easy to use

The only substitution I made was sour cream for the yoghurt. I only had a 13x9 pan, so had to increase cooking time by 10 minutes. My main difficulty was spreading the thick batter. It turned out delicious though, like all of Chef John's recipes.

excellent. I had a lot of apples to use up so I added more to the recipe and a layer of apples in the middle and top. delicious. I made two of these. the second without nuts. I added extra apples and cinnamon sugar mixture (doubled the crumble part and added apples instead of nuts. It was a hit.

Wow. This was melt in your mouth!! Will definitely make again and again!

I always love Chef John's recipes. No matter what type of cooking: desserts, main dishes, side dishes -- he's always spot on! I made this with no changes and it was great. Moist, tender, very delicious!

I made several changes just based on what I had on hand, but this turned out to delicious! I used olive oil in the cake itself to replace the butter; sour cream in place of yogurt; and toasted pecans instead of walnuts. This is definitely a keeper!!

Made exactly as written and using the video instructions. I did use my mixer for the creaming process. I had to bake this about 15-20 minutes longer than recommended. I recommend cutting this cake into 16 pieces instead of 6 or 8.

Easy recipe and decadent result! So moist and delicious! I have to confess I cheated on the initial step of creaming butter and sugar by hand...my butter had not softened adequately, but enough so that I used a mixer. Once creamed, every step after was by hand as intended. Can't imagine it made any difference! Used quality plain Greek yogurt and substituted the extra-large Fuji apple I had on hand. This will be my go-to apple coffee cake! Yum!

It was FANTASTIC. I forgot to chop up the walnuts so didn't really have a full layer in the center or on top but even so turned out great. Definitely going to be making again, though I might cut back on the amount of sugar a bit to get a stronger apple taste.

Made this for mother in law and man does the house not only smell great it’s delicious! In the future I’ll try doing pecans instead of walnuts.

Delicious!! Super easy to make and even easier to eat the entire thing afterwards. 40 minutes was a little too long for my oven so I’m going to do 35 minutes and then start checking next time. Also, we took out the walnuts because of personal preference. I would either double and make 1.5 times the crumble but otherwise no changes.

It was good but didn’t spread well in my 9x13 pan. It was tricky to create the middle layer. Also I used 1/2 c applesauce in place of yogurt and it worked fine. I like another reviewer’s idea to add 1/2 cup oats to crumb topping. Smells great while cooking!

I followed the recipe and my husband loved it. Just made it last night and it is half gone!

This cake turned out absolutely wonderful. I used a smaller pan, so I did increase cooking time a bit. Just check with a toothpick. Also, prepare for a lot of steps, but it’s so worth it! Delicious!

Made with dark brown sugar..half brown/half white-topping..crumb part. Cut sugar down to little over half in cake. One recommendation..USE SALTED BUTTER. This calls for unsalted but it needs something to balance out the sweet ... Also instructions for dry ingredients is incorrect...no butter added to it.

This is a perfect recipe. There are absolutely no changes needed, and everybody I've ever fed this cake raves over it (me included). Thanks, Chef John!

As it came out of the oven, the crumble was too dark, but it was wonderful! It is a delicious cake! I have read in the comments that some went for a little less sugar and still tasted amazing, I will try that next time, I think the sugar content is high, but it is definetly worth it!

Very good. The crumble on the top was amazing I baked it for ten more minutes. When I took it out at the time it said it wasnt fully baked. 10 minutes really did the trick. This recipe was amazing I would definitely make it again.

We enjoyed this coffee cake very much. Just follow the Chef's directions! Thanks so much, Chef John!

Loved this coffee cake...Used less sugar in batter and made a gluten free version.Only sorghum in place of wheat flour, with addition of 1 tsp xanthan gum,also a touch of nutmeg.Ready to take out of the oven after 35 min. Used 9x12 baking dish.Next time must add additional 1/2 a portion of crumble mixture with bit more cinnamon and nutmeg ;)))

No walnuts and had no plain yogurt used strawberry yogurt instead

Of course Chef John can make a delicious coffee cake! The apples kept it moist and the flavor was great. The moms were all given some from a safe distance and all the thumbs were up.

I don't see any place for the butter in the dry ingredients as listed. I will try without and follow up later. Got it! The butter is for the baking dish as my brilliant husband pointed out. Fantastic recipe and the house smells amazing too! Delicious treat. Thanks Chef.

We doubled the recipe, but it still turned out great.

A - MAZ - ING !!! So tasty, thanks for this recipe!!

Chef John, thank you for a great recipe! There are only 2 of us so I cut the recipe in half and baked it in an 8x8 pan for 25 minutes. I followed the recipe directions and ingredient proportions exactly, using sour cream and a Honeycrisp apple. This is a tender, luscious cake with bits of sweet filling interspersed. I'll make it again for company. I love all of the Chef John recipes that I've tried!

Great as is, followed the recipe to a tee! Moist, delicious!

I used a 9x12 pan as recipe calls for. Did anyone else not have enough batter for this recipe

Only gave 4 stars since the recipe has problems, otherwise this is really yummy. Why does it call for 2 teaspoons of butter in the dry ingredients? I left that out. Who has a 9x12 pan? 9x13 sure, but that made the cake too thin. “2 apples” is not specific enough; I used 3 that cut into tiny pieces was 2 cups. Measurements please! I am going to try making it in a 10” springform pan, and then cut into wedges.

very yummy! I used a mix of pecans and walnuts, but I didn't toast them. The mix was good, but I think the toasting is important.

I made this cake for work and people actually fought over the last piece. I used sour cream in place of yogurt and left the walnuts out because I was feeding someone who is allergic. I just bought a bag of chopped walnuts to keep on the side. I would suggest if you’re taking the walnuts out to increase the amount of “crumb” you make, I wasn’t able to fully cover the cake, but it still turned out delicious. I will be making this again!

use dark brown sugar instead of light, cut white sugar in half

I've made this several times, sometimes with Pears, sometimes with Pecans. The best substitution was the time I didn't have 2 cups of yogurt and used a 14 oz. can of Coconut Cream and 2 oz. of Whipping Cream in a double batch. I may try yogurt again, but not likely. This is Everybody's favorite.

Thank you, Chef John! Another delicious recipe. It's not difficult to make and came out great the first time.

So easy and delicious - everyone loved it !!!

With the amount of sugar crumble topping, I decided to bake it on the middle rack and it came out fine. Like others have mentioned, yes, this recipe has tons of sugar, you can barely taste the cake in my opinion. But that's what recipes are for. Make sure you read it throughly and alter as you go and make notes for next time. I had to scrape off most of the crumble topping but still too sweet for my own preference because of the middle crumble layer. You still rock Chef John Thank! Thank you!

I’ve made this twice and it all came out perfectly! My company loved it. i even halved the recipe and it came out great. No burning topping(maybe rack too high in the oven?) texture was amazing and apples disintegrated beautifully

I made this yesterday, and it’s definitely one of the best things I’ve baked. I made a few tweaks to the recipe. Instead of 1c of yogurt, I used 1/4c condensed milk and 3/4c sour cream. Since I did that, I cut the sugar in the batter by about a tablespoon. I replaced the sea salt with Himalayan pink salt (I think it’s a better salt for baking). I also used granny smith apples and pecans.

Great recipe! Another gem from Chef John. I was shy 1/4 cup of sour cream so I substituted a with a fourth cup of buttermilk yum!

This is a great recipe. Very popular at work. I added a teaspoon of allspice to the crumble mixture, and only used 3/4 of a cup of white sugar in the wet ingredients. I used an 8 x 11 1/2 inch glass baking dish, which makes it a little bit thicker - which I like.

Didn’t get to try it yet but it looks and smells amazing. Did a little less sugar based on reviews.

Really good! I followed several reviewer comments and reduced the white sugar in the batter to 1/2 cup. Was still delicious and not overly sweet. Will make again!

Delicious!! Suggestion: cube your apples and chop your walnuts ahead of time. This was a little putsy but a delicious result and fun to share with others. Thank you, Chef John!

Made this yesterday and it was amazing! All five of us here at my house loved it. I did have to use sour cream instead of yogurt, as all our Greek yogurt was flavored and I didn’t want it to impact the taste/flavor of the cake. It was very easy to put together and looks great when it comes out of the oven, the top gets nice and golden. Looking forward to making this again.

So delicious! Since it's just me eating it, I make half a batch & bake it in a 9x5 loaf pan. * Be warned though if you also want to make a half batch - don't try to use the calculator on the website that's supposed to allow you to scale down the recipe (in my case, by changing where it says 8 portions to 4 portions). It does not work!

Great recipe! Will be making again and again

We added roughly half a cup of old fashioned oats to the top crumble and it turned out amazing. Served it with a big scoop of ice cream as a dessert or the morning after with a big cup of coffee. Total win in my book!

Very moist and delicious. My new favourite!

WONDERFULLLLLLLL

Chef John is the best.

Made it without nuts (for one family member), but substituted same amount of flour plus extra two Tbs butter, to good effect, Gobbled up happily by family.

Wowza! That is one might fine Coffee Cake. I made mine with Pecans, Sour Cream and I have no idea what kind of Apple variety I had on hand, but use what you've got, right? I also used my 8"x11.5" Pyrex Casserole dish and baked the Cake for 55 minutes, again, that's what I have. I will say that the Cake had a better texture the next day for Breakfast with Coffee. That made a lot too, so I shared with the next door neighbors. I tell ya, this recipe is a keeper!

This was a fantastic treat for Christmas Day!

Really good cake, I thought it would come out horribly because of many things, mostly that once I started putting ingredients together it wasn't mixing but instead making weird flakes, maybe since I only used brown sugar instead of white. The eggs looked like it was separating but I put the flour in anyway, it looked like stretchy dough in the end, used a 9x12 baking dish so I couldn't do the inside crumble layer but somehow despite everything it came out fine!

I wish there was a bit more of a “crumb” in the crumble portion.

Amazing recipe! Although all that sugar is not necessary and makes it a bit too sweet for my taste. I used just 1/3 cup brown sugar in the crumble mixture, and 1/2 cup white sugar in the wet ingredients.

As far as a base recipe, this works out well. I used less sugar and almond instead as well as some almond flour in the cake. Subbed almond extract for vanilla. Used farm fresh eggs and Irish butter. Did not use batter on top, kept it simple, as the streusel is made with homemade brown sugar and almond flour. I also added 2 tablespoons of flour to the streusel, since I was not going to be topping it with batter. If your top starts to burn, cover it with foil to let the rest of the cake bake through.