Mini Apple Cake

This mini apple cake is a soft and moist sour cream coffee cake layered with cinnamon apples and buttery brown sugar streusel. Baked in a loaf pan and finished with cinnamon icing, it’s a cozy fall dessert without making a full-size cake.

 

When Fall hits I love making just about anything apple and one favorite is my apple crumb cake. But I don’t always want a full-sized version sitting around. So enter this mini apple coffee cake.

I wanted to turn my small batch coffee cake into an apple version with plenty of apple flavor without making the cake heavy or soggy. Layering the diced apples with the batter and streusel gives you tender apples and cinnamon crumbs in every slice.

I use sour cream to keep the crumb soft and moist and the batter thick enough to support all those apples. And because the streusel is layered in the middle and sprinkled on top, you get buttery cinnamon crumbs throughout the cake.

Ingredients Needed

For the Streusel Topping

• Light brown sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Ground cinnamon
• Unsalted butter: Make sure the butter is softened so you can easily work it into the dry ingredients.

For the Apple Coffee Cake

• All-purpose flour: For the most accurate measurement, weigh your flour with a kitchen scale. If measuring by volume, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off without packing it down.
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Unsalted butter: Soften the butter to room temperature before starting. It should be soft enough to indent with your finger but shouldn’t look greasy or melted.
• Granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar
• Egg: Bring the egg to room temperature so it blends more easily into the creamed butter.
• Vanilla extract
• Sour cream: I recommend using full-fat sour cream for the softest, richest crumb. Plain full-fat Greek yogurt can also work as a substitute.
• Apples: Peel and dice the apples into small pieces so they soften completely as the cake bakes. I like using a firm baking apple that will hold its shape, such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady.
• Ground cinnamon

For the Cinnamon Icing

• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Milk: You only need enough to thin the icing to a drizzling consistency.
• Ground cinnamon

How to Make Mini Apple Coffee Cake

1. Prepare your loaf pan.

Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.

Using the correct loaf pan size is important here. A smaller loaf pan will make the cake thicker and may require a longer baking time, while a larger pan will give you a thinner cake that bakes more quickly.

2. Make the cinnamon streusel.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.

Add the softened butter and work it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until crumbs form.

You want a mixture of smaller and larger crumbs rather than a smooth paste. Refrigerate the streusel aside while you prepare the cake batter.

3. Whisk together the dry ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Mixing these separately helps distribute the leavening evenly before it goes into the batter. This also means you won’t need to mix the batter as much later, which helps keep the cake tender.

4. Cream the butter and sugars.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Don’t rush this step. Creaming isn’t just about combining the ingredients—the process incorporates tiny pockets of air into the butter that help give the coffee cake a lighter texture.

5. Add the egg and vanilla.

Beat in the egg until completely incorporated, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Mix in the vanilla extract.

Using a room-temperature egg helps it blend smoothly into the butter mixture instead of causing the butter to seize up.

6. Alternate the dry ingredients and sour cream.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour.

Mix just until each addition is incorporated. Once flour is added, you don’t want to keep beating the batter unnecessarily. Too much mixing develops more gluten and can give you a tougher, denser coffee cake instead of a soft crumb.

The batter will be fairly thick—that’s exactly what you want. A thicker batter helps hold up the apples and streusel instead of letting everything sink to the bottom.

7. Prepare the apples.

In a small bowl, toss the peeled and diced apples with the cinnamon until evenly coated.

Keep the apple pieces fairly small and uniform. Larger chunks may still be firm by the time the cake itself is finished baking.

8. Layer the coffee cake.

Spread half of the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. Because the batter is thick, an offset spatula or the back of a spoon works well for gently spreading it into an even layer.

Scatter half of the cinnamon apples over the batter, followed by half of the streusel.

Carefully spread the remaining batter over the top. Finish with the remaining apples and streusel.

Layering everything this way gives you apples and cinnamon streusel throughout the cake instead of concentrating all the good stuff on top.

9. Bake.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.

Try inserting the toothpick into an area of cake rather than directly through an apple. Hitting a juicy piece of apple can make the cake look underbaked even when it’s done.

Allow the coffee cake to cool in the pan before adding the icing. If the cake is still warm, the icing will melt and disappear into the surface instead of creating that pretty drizzle on top.

10. Make the cinnamon icing.

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and cinnamon until smooth.

If the icing is too thick to drizzle, add a tiny splash more milk. If you accidentally make it too thin, whisk in a little more powdered sugar.

Drizzle the icing over the cooled apple coffee cake, then slice and serve.

Recipe Tips

• Dice the apples small. Keep your apple pieces fairly small so they have enough time to soften while the coffee cake bakes. Large chunks can remain too firm even after the cake is fully baked.
• Use room-temperature ingredients. Make sure your butter, egg, and sour cream aren’t refrigerator-cold. Room-temperature ingredients blend together more easily and create a smoother, more evenly mixed batter.
• Don’t overmix the batter. Once you begin adding the flour, mix only until everything comes together. Overmixing can develop too much gluten and make your coffee cake dense or tough.
• Don’t worry if the batter looks thick. This isn’t supposed to be a thin, pourable cake batter. The thicker consistency helps support the apples and streusel so you get distinct layers throughout the loaf.
• Let the cake cool before icing. Drizzling the icing onto a warm cake will cause it to melt. For a thicker cinnamon icing that stays visible on top, wait until the cake has cooled.

Storage

Store the cooled apple coffee cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Because of the fresh apples, for longer storage I recommend keeping it covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Let individual slices come to room temperature before serving, or warm them briefly in the microwave.

You can freeze the baked coffee cake for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely, then wrap the whole loaf or individual slices tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe bag or container.

Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or let individual slices thaw at room temperature.