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This Apple Crumble Cake is a perfect cake for making during autumn or fall, or any cold weather really! It really captures the flavours of the season with a golden brown sugar sponge, stewed spiced apple filling and cinnamon buttercream. It's packed with so many lovely textures too - light sponge, soft apples, silky buttercream and a crunchy crumble topping. It's a treat for all of the senses and it's ideal for enjoying on a cosy evening! You can even level up this cake by enjoying it with custard or ice cream!

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Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I used unsalted butter for the buttercream and the crumble topping, for the cake I used a baking spread.
Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento and ginger. If you can't get hold of it, you can use a mix of ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, or use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead.
I really recommend using light brown soft sugar if you can, as it gives the cake and the stewed apples a lovely caramel flavour. But if you can't get hold of it, you can use golden caster sugar or regular caster sugar (superfine sugar) instead.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Apple Crumble Cake

Make the stewed apples and crumble topping first so that they can cool down. For the stewed apples, heat the apple, light brown sugar, cornflour, cinnamon and mixed spice in a pan on a low heat, cover with a lid and cook until soft (10-15 minutes). For the crumble topping, mix the ingredients together and spread out on a baking tray, bake until golden. Leave both things to cool before adding them to the cake.

For the cake, mix together the light brown soft sugar and butter until fluffy. Then add the eggs and milk, and mix in. Next add both of the spices and the self raising flour and whisk in gently.

Divide the batter between the cake tins and bake them until golden. To make the buttercream, mix butter, icing sugar, cinnamon and milk together until smooth.

To assemble the cake, pipe rosettes around the edge of the bottom layer of cake, and spread a thin layer of buttercream in the centre. Then add half of the stewed apple in the centre. Add the second layer of cake and pipe larger rosettes around the edges, and smaller ones in the centre. Fill the middle with the rest of the stewed apple, and then add the crumble topping all over the top.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How should the cake be stored and can it be frozen?

The cake should be stored in an airtight container in a cool place and will last for 3 days. You can freeze the sponges either alone, or decorated. Once the sponges are fully cool, wrap them well with cling film or put them in an airtight container with some baking paper between them. You can freeze the buttercream on it’s own in a tub, or you can decorate the cake and freeze it fully assembled. To do this and avoid damage to the decoration, freeze it either in an airtight container. Or let it freeze solid on a cake board or plate, then wrap in cling film. Remove the cling film when you take it out to defrost it, if you don’t it could damage the decoration as it defrosts and softens. You can also freeze slices of the cake, again well wrapped in cling film or in airtight containers.

Can you make the cake with plain/all purpose flour?

Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some additional baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. So for this recipe you'd need to add 3 + ½ teaspoons baking powder. Please note, I have not tested this recipe using plain or all purpose flour.

Can this recipe be made gluten or dairy free?

Yes! For gluten free you can replace the self raising flour with a gluten free self raising flour blend, and the plain wholemeal flour with a gluten free plain flour blend. If you only have a gluten free plain flour blend, you will need to add additional baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp baking powder per 200g flour, so for this recipe you'd need to add 3 + ½ teaspoons baking powder. You may also like to add ½ tsp xanthan gum for better texture. For a dairy free version, use a dairy free baking spread and dairy free milk for both the cake and buttercream. Please do check the labels for everything you use to make this recipe if you are serving it to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

Can this cake be made in different size cake tins?

Yes! If you would like to make this cake in different size tins, please check my Conversion Guide to find out how to adjust the recipe.

Can this recipe be made into cupcakes?

Yes! Check out my Apple Crumble Cupcakes recipe for the details.

What kind of apples should you use?

I have used Jazz and Pink Lady apples to make this cake, but any sweet eating apples will work.

More tips for making the Apple Crumble Cake:

I like to pipe the buttercream between the layers, but you can also spread it with a spoon or palette knife.
The crumble is lovely and crunchy, but it will eventually go soft after being in contact with the moist buttercream and stewed apple. So sprinkle it on right before serving, or as close to serving as possible.
I used a Wilton 8B nozzle to pipe the buttercream onto the cake, but you can use any nozzle you prefer or spread it on with a spoon.

Troubleshooting

If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

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