Apple Coffee Cake Recipe with Whole Wheat Flour

I have been making this Apple Coffee Cake Recipe with whole wheat flour for years and it is one of my favorites.

This recipe is moist and airy and perfect for an after dinner treat.

A lot of the sweetness comes from the apples and applesauce, so it feels like a lighter alternative to traditional coffee cake.

What You Will Need

You won’t need too much kitchen equipment to make this recipe.

I use a 9 inch round cake pan as well as mixing bowls and silicone utensils.

No mixer is necessary.

The Ingredients

There are two parts to this recipe – the cake itself and the cinnamon topping.

To make the cake, you will need:

• unbleached all purpose flour
• whole wheat flour
• baking soda
• baking powder
• cinnamon
• ground cloves
• ground ginger
• salt
• apples
• an egg
• sugar,
• canola oil,
• and applesauce.

For the topping you will need:

• cold butter
• both all purpose and whole wheat flours
• brown sugar
• and cinnamon

You can also dust the finished cake with some powdered sugar, if you would like.

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How to Make this Apple Coffee Cake Recipe

Making this apple coffee cake could not be any easier.

Simply toss all the dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.

For this recipe I like to use a Granny Smith apple because it the cake a little tartness.

Chop the apple into a fine dice.

In a large mixing bowl using a whisk, lightly beat the egg and toss it with the chopped apple.

Then stir in the sugar, oil, and applesauce.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix!

Pour the batter into a greased 9 inch round baking pan.

Sprinkle the batter in the pan with the cinnamon topping (see below) and pop the pan in the oven.

When the cake is done, serve it warm or let it cool.

You can use a shaker to sprinkle powdered sugar over the top of the finished and cooled cake if you would like.

Don’t sprinkle the powdered sugar on a warm cake or the sugar will dissolve and you won’t be able to see it.

Make the Cinnamon Topping

I like to make the cinnamon topping first so it is ready to sprinkle on top of the batter when you pour the batter into the pan.

To make the topping simply put all the topping ingredients into a small mixing bowl and cut the butter into the flour, cinnamon, and sugar mixture using a pastry blender or a fork.

Continue to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture forms small, pea sized pieces.

This cinnamon topping is a little heavy on the butter so the it does not resemble a crumble. Rather it kind of melts into the surface of the cake.

My family really likes it this way so I haven’t experimented with it.

But if you prefer a crumblier texture to your topping you could try a few different things:

• this article on Bon Apetit gives you some options for mix ins in your crumb topping.
• and this article on The First Year Blog shows you how to make crumb topping.

Storing Leftovers

I store any leftovers (if there are any, that is!) in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Because this recipe incorporates fresh fruit as well as the applesauce, it has a high moisture content and is best kept in the fridge.

When you are ready to eat, just pop a slice or two into the microwave for 30 seconds to get that fresh from the oven taste.

A Delicious Treat

This Apple Coffee Cake Recipe is a delicious and healthy-er treat to have anytime.

My whole family loves it!

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