Apple Crumble Cake

Spiced brown sugar sponge with a stewed apple filling, cinnamon buttercream and crunchy crumble topping

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword Cake

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 1 5

Total Time 2 5

Servings

Calories 805kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the stewed apples

5 Apples medium sized, regular eating apples (roughly 600g before peeling/chopping)
75 g Light brown soft sugar
1 ½ tsp Cinnamon
¾ tsp Mixed spice
2 ½ tsp Cornflour (cornstarch)

For the crumble topping

25 g Butter unsalted
15 g Light brown soft sugar
35 g Plain flour
¼ tsp Cinnamon

For the cake

350 g Butter or baking spread softened, unsalted
350 g Light brown soft sugar
6 Eggs large
1 tbsp Milk
350 g Self raising flour
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Mixed spice

For the buttercream

200 g Butter softened, unsalted
400 g Icing sugar
1 ½ tsp Cinnamon
1-2 tbsp Milk

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

To make the apple filling, peel and core the apples, then chop into small chunks. Add to a pan on a low heat along with the light brown sugar, cornflour, cinnamon and mixed spice, and stir together
Cover with a pan lid, and cook the apple for 10-15 minutes until soft
Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely
To make the crumble topping, pre-heat your oven to 180C Fan/200C/375F/Gas Mark 5, and line a baking tray with baking paper
Put the plain flour, light brown soft sugar and cinnamon into a bowl and stir together
Add the butter and use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs. You can also use a fork to do this
Spread it out onto a lined baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until it is golden and feels firmer to the touch (it will firm up more as it cools)
Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line two 8" cake tins (that are at least 2" deep)
To make the cake, mix together the butter and sugar, ideally using an electric mixer, until smooth and fluffy
Add the eggs and milk, and whisk well
Then gently whisk in the self raising flour, cinnamon and mixed spice
Divide the mixture between the tins, use scales for accuracy if you like
Bake them for 35-40 minutes or until a thin skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave them to fully cool either in the tins or remove from the tin and place on cooling racks
Make the buttercream by mixing the butter in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment for a few minutes. Add the cinnamon, icing sugar and milk, and mix until smooth. If the buttercream is too stiff you can add a little more milk
If the cakes have domed on top, level them off with a cake leveller or a sharp knife
Put one of the sponges on your plate or cake stand and pipe small rosettes of buttercream around the edge
Then spread a thin layer of buttercream in the centre, and add half of the stewed apple mix over the top
Add the other sponge on top and pipe larger rosettes around the edge of the cake, and smaller ones in the centre
Fill the centre with the remaining stewed apple, and add the crumble topping all over the top of the cake - or wait and do this later if not serving immediately as it will go softer from being in contact with the buttercream after a little while
Store in an airtight container in a cool place, eat leftovers within 3 days

Video

Notes

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.

Nutrition