Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake has the texture of cinnamon rolls without all the work! It’s topped with a layer of spiced apples and crisp cinnamon streusel. Enjoy this as a perfect breakfast pastry or mid-day snack.

Love breakfast pastries? Try our easy cheese danish recipe next. Or give our sopapilla cheesecake a whirl for breakfast or dessert.

A delicious Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake with the texture and flavor of cinnamon rolls! No need to shape or knead the delicious dough!


Yeast Coffee Cake Recipe

The texture of this cake batter is similar to cinnamon rolls, apple sweet rolls, or homemade bread. It’s stretchy and pliable, but you don’t have to knead or shape it.

  • Easy preparation. No need to bloom the yeast in water, and peeling the apples is optional! 
  • The best blend of textures. A crumbly cinnamon streusel tops off baked apples and soft coffee cake. 
  • Fruity, sweet, and comforting. A layer of fresh apple slices over the cake gets doused with melted butter and cinnamon sugar. 
  • Beautiful and decadent! A generous drizzle of cinnamon glaze serves as the finishing touch.

You could also use our fried apples on top instead!

We love breakfast pastries that use fresh apples, like our apple cider donuts and apple fritters.

Ingredients You’ll Need

A delicious Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake with the texture and flavor of cinnamon rolls! No need to shape or knead the delicious dough!
  • Flour – All-purpose flour is the base of the cake batter, which is a yeasted dough. Use our easy tips and tricks on how to measure flour so you don’t end up with a dense or dry cake.
  • RapidRise™ Yeast – Also known as “instant yeast.” This type of yeast gets added to the flour instead of water. It’s used in bread baking and doesn’t require pre-mixing or blooming!
  • Unsalted butter – Butter adds that rich, buttery taste we all know and love. It’s in the bread dough, the sauce that goes over the apples, and the streusel.
  • Egg – An egg helps bind the dough together and adds richness. 
  • Apples – Use your favorite baking apple. Be sure to slice the apples thin so they’ll bake to a soft texture. 
  • Brown sugar – Brown sugar adds a delicious flavor to the streusel topping, and goes great with cinnamon.
  • Powdered sugar – Otherwise known as icing sugar, powdered sugar is the base for the cinnamon glaze.
A delicious Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake with the texture and flavor of cinnamon rolls! No need to shape or knead the delicious dough!

How to Make Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake

Be sure to scroll to the end of the blog post to print the recipe card with full instructions and ingredients.

Make the dough.

    Make the apple streusel topping.

    • Lay the sliced apples over the dough. 
    • Melt the butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Once bubbly, pour it over the apples. 
    • Combine the streusel ingredients in a small bowl. It should have a crumbly texture. Sprinkle over the apples.

    Let it rise, then bake. 

    • Cover the pan with a clean, dry towel. Let the cake rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
    • Bake the uncovered cake in a 375°F oven for 25-30 minutes. Cool the cake on a wire rack. 

    Cool, glaze, and slice.

      A delicious Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake with the texture and flavor of cinnamon rolls! No need to shape or knead the delicious dough!

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      Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake

      4.88 from 8 votes
      By: Aimee
      There’s no dough to knead or shape, and you don’t have to peel the apples. The result? A delicious Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake with the texture and flavor of cinnamon rolls!
      Prep Time: 30 minutes
      Cook Time: 30 minutes
      Additional Time: 1 hour
      Total Time: 2 hours
      Servings: 20 slices

      Ingredients 

      For the dough:

      • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour divided
      • cup granulated sugar
      • 1 envelope Fleischmann’s® RapidRise™ Yeast
      • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
      • ½ cup water
      • ¼ cup milk
      • cup unsalted butter
      • 1 large egg

      For the apple layer:

      • cup unsalted butter
      • 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
      • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
      • 3 cups thinly sliced apples cored, skin on or off

      For the streusel:

      • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
      • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
      • ¼ cup granulated sugar
      • ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
      • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon

      For the glaze:

      • 1 cup powdered sugar
      • cup heavy whipping cream
      • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
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      Instructions 

      • Grease a 13×9 baking dish with baking spray. Set aside.
      • In a large mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cup of the flour, sugar, undissolved yeast and salt.
      • In a small saucepan, combine water, milk and butter over medium heat until very warm (about 120F). Add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of an electric mixer, scraping down sides of the bowl if needed.
      • Add egg and 1 more cup of the flour. Beat an additional 2 minutes on high speed. Add in remaining 1/2 cup of flour and beat until a stiff batter forms. Turn into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with about 1 Tbsp of flour and press gently with fingertips until spread evenly in pan.
      • Arrange sliced apples over dough. In a small skillet, melt butter, sugar and cinnamon for the apple layer. Heat until bubbly and immediately pour over apples.
      • In a small bowl, combine streusel ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Cover pan with a clean, dry towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about an hour. Dough should double in size.
      • Uncover and bake in a 375 degree F oven for about 25-30 minutes. Cool on wire rack before adding glaze.
      • For the glaze, whisk together the sugar, cream and cinnamon until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake. Slice and enjoy!

      Notes

    1. Gather and measure out all your ingredients for the cake ahead of time. Not only will it save time, but you’ll be less likely to forget an important ingredient.
    2. Feel free to keep the skin on your sliced apples for added visual appeal!
    3. To prevent your apples from browning once they’re sliced, toss them with a teaspoon of lemon juice. 
    4. Keep an eye on your rising dough. Depending on how warm it is in your kitchen, it may rise faster or slower than indicated.
    5. Nutrition

      Calories: 207kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 72mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 17g
      Course: Breakfast and Brunch
      Cuisine: American
      Did you make this recipe?Mention @shugarysweets or tag #shugarysweets!


      Avatar photo

      About Aimee

      Aimee is a dessert lover (specifically rice krispie treats), workout enthusiast, self-taught foodie, and recipe creator.

      Learn more about Aimee.

      Affiliate Disclosure:**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**

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      Posted on October 26, 2015

      Comments & Reviews

      1. Great apple cake and very tasty. I made it without coating and it also looks very beautiful. I would like to ask you to give the cake ingredients in weights. Thank you Aimee so much for the perfect recipe.

      2. This cake is fantastic! Love the apple slices all covered in brown sugary goodness! Breakfast FOR SURE

      3. I use to live in Apple Hill , California and miss it so much!  You made a beautiful apple recipe I love that you used yeast for a pastry cake.

      4. This looks utterly crave-worthy. Why am I looking at this before I eat breakfast? I have no cake in the house but after closely analyzing these photos (yummy) I feel like I might need to make a jaunt out. 🙂

      5. Going to the apple orchard is one of our favorite things to do in the fall. This coffee looks absolutely beautiful and the perfect way for using up some of those apples! <3

      6. I’ve been wanting to make an apple coffee cake for a while. I’m intrigued by the use of yeast in this one. Can’t wait to try this with some adaptations for gluten-free!

      7. What a great Fall flavor combination for coffee cake … it looks FABULOUS!
        Tracey @ The Kitchen is My Playground

      8. I love anything with cinnamon! These cake looks absolutely lovely Amy, so fluffy and so many incredible flavours! 

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