Apple Cider Crumb Cake has a fluffy and flavorful apple cider cake base topped with a cinnamon crumble topping. This cake is soft, tender, and bursting with fall flavor.
Crumb Cake Ingredients
- Cake Flour: Normally, I’m all about all purpose flour. However, in this recipe, cake flour creates a softer, lighter cake. I use Swans Down. I do not recommend using a homemade version of cake flour in this recipe.
- Granulated Sugar: Simple, plain granulated sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness and moisture to this cake.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps this cake rise and assists with the light, fluffy texture!
- Salt: Salt is an essential ingredient in this recipe, as it brings out sweetness AKA flavor!
- Cinnamon + Nutmeg: Cinnamon and nutmeg add extra kicks of flavor, and they pair really well with the apple cider.
- Butter: You will use cool, unsalted butter in this recipe. Uniquely, you’ll add the cool butter to the flour mixture, which is a different technique from your normal creaming of butter and sugar.
- Egg + Egg Yolk: You’ll use one egg, cool and one cool egg yolk to add additional softness and moisture. The egg and egg yolk do not need to fully be at room temperature, but they should not be straight from the fridge. Out on the counter for about 20 minutes or under hot water for 1 minute should do the trick!
- Sour Cream: Sour cream, at room temperature, adds moisture and softness.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is so important in creating a more tender texture. You’ll want it at room temperature. You can make homemade buttermilk by adding vinegar or lemon juice to a dairy milk. Read "Expert Tips & Tricks" for more detail.
- Apple Cider: The most important ingredient is Apple Cider, and the most essential part of using it is that it needs to be reduced. See below for more information, as your cake will be ruined if you simply add the apple cider from the bottle.
Reducing Apple Cider
Apple cider needs to be reduced in this recipe. To reduce apple cider:
- Heat the apple cider in a medium saucepan over medium heat
- Stir often to ensure the mixture does not burn or stick to your pan
- After about 15 minutes, pour the mixture into your measuring cup to check how much liquid you have
- If necessary, return the cider to the heat until it reduces to about ¼ cup
- Allow the cider syrup to cool before using
Crumb Topping Process
- Combine flour, sugars, Together in a medium bowl with a fork to help disperse the brown sugar
- Add melted butter to the bowl
- Use a fork to rake the butter through the flour mixture
- Patiently continue pressing and pulling your fork until crumbs form
FAQ
This cake is meant to be made with reduced apple cider. Apple cider and apple juice have different textures, colors, and flavors. I do not recommending substituting apple cider with apple juice.
In this recipe, you will need to reduce apple cider by heating it over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. The liquid will decrease in volume into more of a syrup. If you add 1 ½ cups of apple cider to this cake, the cake will have way too much liquid, and the texture and rise of the cake will be jeopardized.
Crumb cake, traditionally, has a slightly drier, more tender crumb where a coffee cake may be moister. Crumb cake has a thicker layer of streusel topping.
Expert Tips & Tricks
Homemade Buttermilk: You can make buttermilk at home if you don’t have it in your fridge and can’t make it to the store. To do this, add 1 teaspoon of white distilled vinegar or lemon juice to your measuring cup. Add any dairy milk to the measuring cup until you reach ⅓ cup. Stir the mixture and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it thickens in texture and turns slightly chunky.
Baking Time: This cake can bake anywhere between 35 and 50 minutes depending on your oven and pan. This cake is done baking when the crumbs are dark golden brown in color, the top is only slightly shiny, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs. The cake will continue to bake and firm up as it cools, so baking until a toothpick comes out clean will likely overbake your cake.
Serving and Storing: Though it might be tempting, I highly recommend waiting to slice this cake until it has cooled. It will completely fall apart if you try to cut it any sooner. Store this cake at room temperature tightly covered or in an airtight container to preserve moisture. The cake is actually more flavorful the longer it sits, but it will lose moisture over time. You can freeze the cooled crumb cake in individual slices or as a whole pan by wrapping in cling wrap and placing in a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months.
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Apple Cider Crumb Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: 8x8 pan 1x
- Category: Cake, Apple Cider, Apple, Fall
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Apple Cider Crumb Cake has a fluffy and flavorful apple cider cake base topped with a cinnamon crumble topping. This cake is soft, tender, and bursting with fall flavor.
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened/melted
For the Cake
- 1 ½ cup apple cider, reduced to ⅓ cup
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 tablespoons butter, slightly cool
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- ¼ cup sour cream, room temperature
- ⅓ cup buttermilk, room temperature
Instructions
For the Apple Cider Reduction
- In a medium saucepan, heat apple cider over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring often.
- At the 15 minute mark, dump the liquid into a liquid measuring cup. If there is more than ⅓ cup of liquid, return it to the heat. Continue checking until the cider reduced to about ⅓ cup.
- Allow the reduction to cool for at least 20 minutes before using.
For the Crumb Topping
- In a large bowl, whisk flour, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and corn starch.
- Add melted butter, and use a fork or your hands to combine the ingredients. Use the fork to compress the ingredients, raking through the mixture to disperse the butter. This process may take a few minutes for the ingredients to turn light brown and crumbly. Use your hands to squeeze the crumbs in your hands. Let the mixture sit until placing the batter is ready.
For the Apple Cider Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Slowly, add cool butter in pieces. The mixture will look incredibly dry, but continue mixing. It is important that you be patient in this process, as the fat needs to incorporate into the dry ingredients.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and sour cream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Slowly pour the buttermilk and the apple cider reduction into the mixture with the mixer on low speed. After the buttermilk is incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium speed for about 30 seconds. The batter will be thick and smooth.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan, using a knife to disperse it evenly.
- Form the crumbs using your hands, and place them on top of the batter. Start by placing them around the edges and then begin working the crumbs in towards the center. This ensures that the cake isn’t weighed down.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes. Check on your crumb cake at the 35 minute minute mark. A toothpick will come out with moist crumbs when the cake is finished. It will be light golden brown on top.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 45 minutes before cutting and serving. Using a sifter, sprinkle powdered sugar over the cake if desired. Store in an air-tight container or cover tightyl at room temperature for up to four days.
Keywords: Apple Cider, Apple Cake, Crumb Cake, Streusel Cake, Apple Cider Cake
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