This coffee cake makes me think of a bevy of my favorite kitchen treasures. Apple fritters, cinnamon rolls, tender biscuits, and - of course - coffee cakes. I always wonder how long this particular dessert will stay fresh because my family demolishes it in short order every time I make it! To be sure, I almost always have the first piece … it's amazing with coffee, tea, or just a fork!

While I would not recommend tweaking this recipe, I would like to address apples for a minute. A great many apples will work for this recipe though which you choose will impact texture and flavor, so keep that in mind. A firmer apple like Fuji or Honeycrisp will render a sweet piece of coffee cake with clearly delineated pieces of apple throughout. Macintosh apples will give you a soft, nearly apple sauce like texture throughout. Granny Smith apples will give you a little tartness with your sweet base and so on. The only variety I would suggest you avoid is a Red Delicious. They are not made for baking at all and I've never found one that can compete with the oodles of other varieties found at markets and in orchards all over.

Let this coffee cake cool completely before slicing it or it will crumble as you try to serve it. That might actually be the hardest thing about making this lovely sweet treat in the end. Don't worry - the wait is worth it!
Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup milk
- 2 apples, peeled and chopped, mixed with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1-3 tablespoons of milk or cream - depending on your desired thickness of the glaze
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease an 8 or 9 inch baking pan with Crisco or spray with non-stick spray; set aside.
Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl; set aside.
In another medium-sized bowl, beat the granulated sugar and butter together using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Add the vanilla extract and stir.
Combine & whisk the flour and baking powder together in another bowl and add the creamed butter mixture and stir until blended. Mix the milk into the batter until smooth.
Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan; add half the apple mixture, then half the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Pour the remaining batter over the apple layer and top with the remaining apple mixture, then the remaining brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Swirl the brown sugar mixture through the apples using a knife or spoon.
Bake the cake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean, approximately 50-60 minutes. To make the glaze, mix powdered sugar and milk or cream together until well mixed. Let cool for about 15 minutes before drizzling with glaze. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
- Yields: 9-15 servings, depending on the size of your pan and how you slice the cake
- Preparation Time: 90 minutes, not including the time for the cake to fully cool