Breakfast apple cake is the absolute best thing to happen to fall. Paired with a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee, you now have an excuse to slow down and enjoy the crispy cool fall morning.
This apple cake has a light crumble texture, soft, moist and not too sweet, it’s the best any-time cake – breakfast, afternoon snack or dessert. It’s a crowd pleaser of all ages.
Breakfast Apple Cake – Picking the Apple
Choose your go-to snack apple. I will die on the gala-apples-are-the-best hill and buy them bags full at tthe grocery store. They are sweet, mild and soft. Usually galas grow smaller so they are ideal for quick kid snack as well.
The only apple I would stay away from would the green granny smiths, they are tart and pucker-y and I don’t think that it will go well with the other flavors of the cake.
If You Read Nothing Else.
This section will set you up for success!
In culinary school, we made a few cakes. We used this one technique that I loved. I use it for this recipe to achieve the soft, light crumb texture. I highly recommend reading this step by step instruction first.
In the recipe below you will use two bowls and a liquid measuring cup. In the first bowl will be your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, apple pie spice). The second bowl will have your wet ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract). The measuring cup will have a 1/2 cup of milk at room temperature.
The goal is to fold the flour and milk into the wet ingredients. This technique allows the ingredients to combine without over mixing, using a spatula, scoop up from the bottom rather than stirring around vigorously.
You will need to eye-ball-divide your flour mixture into thirds. You will alternate folding in your flour and milk, back and forth, ending with flour.
With that in mind:
Step 1: Add 1/3 of your flour mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients, and fold with a spatula.
>Step 2: Add 1/2 of your room temperature milk (1/4 cup) just-before the flour is completely combined to avoid over mixing.
>Step 3: Fold in another 1/3 of your flour.
>Step 4: Fold in the remaining of your milk.
>Step 5:Fold in the remaining of your flour. It should be thick.
Step 6: Then dump in your apples and fold one last time.
Apple Pie Spice
Use apple pie spice to help elevate and activate the apple flavor. It smells like home.
You can buy this or make it homemade, there are a lot of recipes online.
Breakfast Apple Cake with a Crunchy Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Apple Pie Spice see blog notes
- ½ cup Butter (at room temperature) (1 stick)
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Milk (at room temperature)
- 2 cups Apples - peeled and diced into mini cubes 3-4 small apples
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1 cup Chunky Peanut Butter
- ½ cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 cup Milk - divided
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Spray and dust your 9 inch cake pan with flour.
- Peel and dice your apples and set aside.
- In a bowl measure the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, apple pie spice) whisk to combine and set aside.1 ½ cups Flour, 2 tsp Baking Powder, ¼ tsp Salt, 2 tsp Apple Pie Spice
- Using a mixer, cream together your butter and sugars. Add in your egg and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.½ cup Butter (at room temperature) , ¼ cup Brown Sugar, ½ cup Sugar, 1 Egg, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Divide your flour mixture into thirds and the milk into half. You will want to alternate folding in your flour and milk into the butter and sugar mixture, ending with flour. See blog notes for more explanation if needed.½ cup Milk (at room temperature)
- It will be thick when you're done.
- Carefully fold in the diced apples, try not to over mix the batter.2 cups Apples - peeled and diced into mini cubes
- Pour into your prepared cake pan, spread around to be even.
- Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool on a rack.
Peanut Butter Frosting
- Once the cake is cool, make your frosting. Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine your crunchy peanut butter, powdered sugar and ½ cup of milk. Keep adding milk a tbsp at a time until the frosting is smooth and the perfect consistency, it may take the full 1 cup of milk.1 cup Chunky Peanut Butter , ½ cup Powdered Sugar, 1 cup Milk - divided
This cake is super delicious and my whole family enjoyed it! Loved the texture and the recipe is super easy. I didn’t have apple pie spice on hand, so I used cinnamon instead, but it was still very flavorful. Excited to try it with apple pie spice next time. Thanks Nicole!
Thank you so much for sharing! I’m so happy you loved it!
The peanut butter frosting with this cake is perfection! This is my new favorite dessert! So easy to make and the flavor is delish. Thanks so much for sharing this awesome treat, Nicole.
Thank you! I’m glad you loved it.