Apple Crumble Cake – Soft, fluffy apple sponges sandwiched together with custard buttercream and topped with caramelised apple slices, fudge chunks and sprinkled with a buttery crumble topping! The classic British dessert in cake form!
I’ve been craving apple cake for weeks and I finally made one! I’ve wanted to make an apple cake ever since the first signs of Autumn started to creep in.
I already have a recipe for a caramel apple bundt cake that uses apple butter in the sponge, but I really wanted to try one using fresh apples. I tried making one with cooked and pureed apples, but I just wasn’t happy with the texture.
After a few tries I settled on this recipe. The sponges are soft and fluffy with chunks of apple and just a hint of cinnamon spice.
There are a few steps in making this Autumnal apple crumble cake, but it’s really worth it!
how to make an apple crumble cake
(Ingredient amounts and detailed instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post!)
- Start of by making the sponges. It’s an all in one cake – nice and easy! Mix together all the ingredients for the cake apart from the apple until just combined. Fold in the chopped apple – I used Cox’s apples but any eating apples would work fine
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer emerges from the cake clean.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the crumble. Rub cold butter into flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in soft light brown sugar. Place the crumble in a baking dish and bake at 180C/160Fan/350F for about 15 minutes or until golden.
- Make the Custard buttercream. Cream soft unsalted butter, sieved icing sugar and custard powder together until very light and fluffy, adding a little milk to the mixture if it seems too thick.
- Finally, make the caramelised apples for the filling and topping.
how long does apple crumble cake keep?
This cake will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container. Because the cake contains fresh fruit, I keep it in the fridge. Remove the cake from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
can you freeze this apple crumble cake?
You can freeze the undecorated sponges if you’re making this cake in advance. Wrap the layers tightly in cling film/plastic wrap and a layer of tin foil before freezing for up to 3 months.
want to see More easy cake recipes?
Chocolate Caramel Mars Bar Cake
Coconut and raspberry jam loaf cake
Lemon elderflower and strawberry cake
Did you make this apple crumble cake? Let me know what you thought of the recipe by leaving a comment below. Don’t forget to rate the recipe out of 5 by clicking on the stars in the recipe card. If you’ve taken a picture of your cake, I would love to see it! Tag me on Instagram #sweetsavouryblog
Apple Crumble Cake
Apple Crumble Cake - Soft, fluffy apple sponges sandwiched together with custard buttercream and topped with caramelised apple, fudge chunks and a buttery crumble topping!
Ingredients
- 300G (about 3 medium sized) eating apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped into 3-4cm pieces (you should have around 130g chopped apple pieces)
- 250g Light brown muscavado sugar
- 250g Soft Butter
- 250g Self Raising Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 4 Large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1-2 tablespoons Milk
- FOR THE CUSTARD BUTTERCREAM:
- 500G Icing Sugar, sifted
- 250G Soft unsalted Butter
- 2 Tbsp Custard Powder
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1-2 Tbsp Milk
- FOR THE CARAMELISED APPLES:
- 1 Large or Two small/medium apples, cored and sliced into wedges (no need to peel them)
- 25g Butter
- 1 Tsp white Sugar
- 1/4 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING:
- 100G Plain Flour
- 50G Cold Butter, cut into cubes
- 50G Soft light muscavado sugar
- Fudge chunks for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160Fan/350F. Grease and base line the bottom of two 20cm round cake tins.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, butter, flour, baking powder, mixed spice, ground cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, eggs and milk. Using an electric mixer or whisk, mix for about 2 minutes
- until the mixture is smooth and well combined. Don't overmix. Lightly fold in the diced apple.
- Pour the mixture into the cake tins and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cakes are springing back when lightly pressed and a cake tester comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Leave to cool completely.
- Make the crumble. Place the 100g flour in a medium bowl. Add the cold diced butter and rub in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crumble is golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Make the custard buttercream. Cream together the soft butter and half of the sieved icing sugar until light and fluffy. It's easier to do it this way as opposed to dumping all the sugar in one go - plus your buttercream will be much smoother! When the butter and sugar has combined nicely, add the remaining icing sugar, custard powder, vanilla extract and 1 tbsp milk. Beat on high speed for 1 least 5 minutes until very light and fluffy. If the buttercream is too thick, add a little more milk
- Make the caramelised apples. Melt the butter in a small frying pan. When the butter is sizzling, add the apples. Cook on a low to medium heat for 5 minutes or until the apples are beginning to soften. Add the 1 tsp sugar and the vanilla extract. Cook the apples for a further 2-3 minutes until they are soft but still holding their shape - you don't want them to turn mushy. Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl. and set aside to cool completely.
- To assemble the cake, spread or pipe the custard buttercream onto one of the sponges. Place a few of the caramelised apples and sprinkle some of the crumble onto the buttercream (or you can skip this and just have them on the top of the cake if you prefer.) Top with the other sponge (being careful as the cakes are quite delicate) and spread or pipe the remaining buttercream on top. Top with the caramelised apples, generously sprinkle over the remaining crumble mixture and decorate with fudge chunks.
Notes
This cake will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge in an airtight tin. Remove the cake from the fridge and allow to come back to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 14 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 687Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 517mgCarbohydrates: 89gNet Carbohydrates: 0gFiber: 2gSugar: 65gSugar Alcohols: 0gProtein: 5g