I have a weakness for coffeecake, and when the temperatures started to dip and Christey from Fotocuisine was coming over for a playdate with the kiddies I couldn’t help but resist to warm up the house with….coffee and coffee cake! I had never thought to add fruit to coffee cake until one day I was eating an apple ugly (aka apple fritter) from our local mom and pop donut shop. If someone could combine diced apple with a donut dough, why couldn’t the same be done with coffee cake? From there I have always been curious how fruit would taste in our basic coffee cake recipe.

I had a few goals going into this recipe: healthier, fruitier and bigger! I wanted to make the recipe healthier so I would not feel guilty about wanting that extra piece or two.  First, I substituted the shortening for applesauce. Then I peeled and apple to shred. The apple was about the size of a baseball, and I only used maybe half of it, and the rest of it was eaten as a snack. Unfortunately, I don’t recall what type of apple it was, but it was not a Granny smith or a Red delicious!

Finally, to make it bigger I used my 11″ tart pan. I wrapped the bottom of the pan with some aluminum foil since I wasn’t sure if any batter would leak out, and it was much easier to do this rather than cut a big circle of parchment paper. Using the tart pan allows you to have a nice size piece of cake, and still have a lot of topping on it.

Before baking
After baking

Christey, me and 3 kids managed to eat about half the coffee cake (or coffee pie as my daughter kept calling it). There was enough for breakfast the next 2-3 days, and Christey even took a slice for her mom that day!

Apple Coffee Cake

  • 11″ tart OR 8×8 pan
  • 1 1/2 cups AP flour
  • 1/4c Unsweetened applesauce
  • 3/4 c Sugar
  • 3/4 c Milk
  • 2 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
  • 1 Egg
  • 3/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1/4 Shredded apple (no peel)
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • Topping:
    • 1/3 c Brown sugar
    • 1/2 c Finely chopped nuts (Pecans were used in this recipe)
    • 2 tsp. Cinnamon
    • 2 tbs. Butter
    • Pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees, and lightly spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Batter: Combine all ingredients together, except the topping in a bowl.
  3. Topping: Combine ingredients together.  (I use my mini-food processor.)
  4. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the surface of the coffee cake batter
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top becomes a light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when placed in the center.
thesugarpixieBakingFriendsRecipesapple,breakfast,cake,easy,RecipesI have a weakness for coffeecake, and when the temperatures started to dip and Christey from Fotocuisine was coming over for a playdate with the kiddies I couldn't help but resist to warm up the house with....coffee and coffee cake! I had never thought to add fruit to coffee...Misadventures and fun in the kitchen and beyond