Harvest Apple Crumb Cake

Recipe slightly adapted from A Sweet Spoonful


Ingredients
For the cake: 
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 
1/2 cup granulated sugar 
1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 cup white whole-wheat flour 
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
1/4 teaspoon all spice 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt 
2 large eggs 
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 cups diced, peeled yellow apple (2-3 1/2 inch apples)
Non-stick baking spray or butter for greasing


For the crumb topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
4 tablespoons butter, melted 
1/2 cup pecan pieces


Serves 12-16 slices.


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9*13" pan with baking spray or grease with butter. In the bowl of an electric mixer equipped with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cinnamon, all spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Add the eggs to the creamed butter one at a time, beating after each addition to incorporate. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold the apples into the batter, ensuring that they are distributed evenly throughout. Do not overmix. Spread the batter evenly onto the prepared pan.
3. For the crumb topping: In a small bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together with a fork. Pour in the butter and work it in with your hands to form pebbles. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cake. Bake for 50 minutes. Allow the cake to cool completely at room temperature before serving.

           Since I began blogging a little over a year ago, I have grown passionate about homemade, delicious food and baked goods made from scratch with fresh, high quality ingredients. Now, I carefully assess everything I eat, paying attention to even the most minute details. Having visited several outstanding restaurants and bakeries throughout my travels, I sometimes find it difficult to compare my at-home creations to those made by experienced professionals. Doing so is especially challenging when my recipes do not turn out as well as expected. But, recognizing one's failures is equally important as recognizing the successes, especially when it comes to food. With that in mind, I have recently embarked upon replicating some of my favorite items from outside in my own kitchen. Which leads me to this cake.
          Moist, flavorful, speckled with soft diced apples, and topped with crunchy pecan crumb topping, this homemade harvest apple coffee cake blows any store-bought version out of the water. On a brisk autumn afternoon, the cake can be optimally enjoyed with a mug of pungent, hot coffee in front of the fireplace. I can identify no better way to celebrate fall's delicious apples and its mild weather than with this quintessential item. So, for those of you who have been demoralized by recent failed baking ventures, this recipe is for you. Stop what you are doing, take out the measuring cups, get to work, and you will realize that sometimes the best baked goods can come from one's own kitchen.