I have had more than one person tell me they don’t love apple desserts but that they love this apple streusel cake. Maybe that’s because, relative to the cake, apples are an accent, not the star. Who can resist streusel? Double the topping if you’re a super streusel lover.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons soft butter, melted
- Optional: ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter, room temperature
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1¼ cups sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups peeled, diced apples
Instructions
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray a 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray (you can also use a 9- by 13-inch baking pan or a 9-inch springform pan). Dust the pan with flour and set aside.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar together in mixing bowl. Stir in eggs 1 at a time, blending well and scraping the bowl. Stir in sour cream and extract. Add flour and stir until just combined. Stir in apples.
Place batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle cinnamon streusel topping on top.
Bake for 75 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. (Your cake may need longer, depending on the moisture content of the apples.) Cool. Run a knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the pan, and as best you can around the interior tube. Lift the cake out of the pan. Cut pieces away from the interior tube, or use 2 broad spatulas to lift the cake off the pan bottom and place the cake on a platter.
