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This Salted Bourbon Apple Crumble Coffee Cake is fall baked up into a sweet little cake, infused with warming autumn spices, bourbon, and swirled with crisp autumn apples. This cake is no fuss, easy to mix up, and SO DELICIOUS! Every bite is layered with sweet cinnamon streusel, apples, and bourbon-vanilla coffee cake crumbs. Finish with a light drizzle of sweet glaze for a cake that no one can turn down…breakfast or dessert.
I’m taking a pause from all the pumpkin recipes to bring back an autumn apple recipe! Once October hits I feel like we can all get sidetracked by baking (and cooking) with so much pumpkin. It’s easy to do, something about baking with pumpkin just feels so quintessentially perfect in October.
But, I’m here to remind us all that it’s still very much apple season. And we can’t forget about baking with fall apples too!
Enter this cake. It’s honestly one of the more delicious recipes I’ve baked up all month.
Here are the details
There are three steps to this cake…the batter, the streusel, and the glaze. The batter is pretty simple but has a few special ingredients: apple butter, apple cider, bourbon, apples, and a bit of sour cream to give the cake a perfect moist crumble.
Simply mix together the wet ingredients in a large bowl, then add in the dry…very simple, nothing fancy.
For the middle of the cake, you’ll need to make a streusel. You’ll also need some Honeycrisp apples. For this cake, I opted out of any creamy cheese, as I wanted the flavors of the apples and bourbon to really shine through.
I swirled the middle of the cake with chopped apples and then added a layer of streusel mixture.
For the very top of the cake, I like to arrange a few apple slices around the cake. Then I finish it off with streusel. It’s so delicious and perfect atop this apple cake.
Now on to that glaze
I don’t love a straight powdered sugar glaze. I find it to be pretty bland, and really, it’s just too sugary for my taste.
With this glaze, I wanted it to be exciting, but not overpowering. I wanted the flavors within the glaze to help highlight the flavors in the cake. Apples pair so well with maple. They help to make this my favorite buttery glaze. The bourbon adds a warmth and richness to the glaze, and the small pinch of salt ties it all together.
Not too strong, not too sweet, but just right. Especially when drizzled over this warm cake.
Insanely delish.
When everything is combined into one cake, you have a truly special fall apple cake. Make it today for something sweet tonight. But don’t forget about it when Thanksgiving rolls around next month as well.
It makes for a great brunch cake too!
We all really loved this. Especially my dad, who highly agreed that the apples really do make this cake.
Looking for other apple fall recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Maple Icing
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Chewy Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
Lastly, if you make this Salted Bourbon Apple Crumble Coffee Cake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Salted Bourbon Apple Crumble Coffee Cake
Servings: 12
Calories Per Serving: 479 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1/3 cup apple butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup apple cider
- 1/4 cup bourbon (or more cider)
Streusel
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons cold butter, grated
- 1 1/2 cups chopped apples, plus 1 small apple, thinly sliced
Glaze
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 9-inch bundt pan.2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until combined. Add the sour cream, apple butter, and vanilla, beating until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Slowly mix in the apple cider and bourbon until just combined, being careful not to overmix.3. To make the streusel. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter and use your fingers to mix the butter into the flour until a crumble forms.4. Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the apples over the batter, sprinkle half the crumble over the apples. Spoon the remaining batter over in an even layer. Evenly layer on the apple slices, then top with the remaining streusel mix.5. Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool 30 minutes and then invert the cake onto a plate, flipping it back upright onto a serving plate.6. To make the glaze, add the butter and maple to a small pot set over medium heat to melt. Whisk in the powdered sugar, bourbon, and salt. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and let set 10 minutes. Serve the cake slightly warm or at room temperature. Keep cake stored, covered in the fridge.
This post was originally published on October 19, 2021
Ah wow! Looking to make this on Saturday to eat on Sunday, how is best to make it ahead? Also what would you serve it with for dessert?
Hi there! I would recommend making the night before and serving the next day! You could even refrigerate unbaked and then bake it the day of! And I would serve with a yummy vanilla ice cream or maybe fresh whipped cream! 🙂 xTieghan
The recipe sounds lovely . Can you use almond flour instead of white flour?
Definitely! Enjoy 🙂 xTieghan
This looks amazing. Any suggestions on how to make this dairy-free? Could I sub oil (coconut or canola) for butter in the cake and almond milk for sour cream? Thanks!
Hi there! You can definitely sub oil and almond milk or a dairy free greek yogurt for the sour cream! 🙂 xTieghan
Is this recipe already adjusted for altitude? Are most of your baking recipes adjusted for the altitude? I live at 9300′ in CO(Dillon). Thank you, I can’t wait to make this cake!
Hi Heather! Honestly, I never really evaluate altitude into my recipes! I just tend to under bake everything so it isn’t an issue! Hope this is delish 🙂 xTieghan
Would the apple butter be missed if it were not added in and one did not have applesauce on hand to substitute?
Hi there! I would recommend subbing apple sauce for the apple butter, as it will give it such a nice moisture! 🙂 xTieghan
Can you clarify what pan is best? The photo you show looks like it was a spring form pan but recipe says bundt? Would cook time be the same for both type pans?
Want to make this for Tgiving!
Thanks for your beautiful recipes!
Hi Christine! Either pan should work just fine! 🙂 xTieghan
The recipe does not state how many apples. Please correct, thanks
The recipe states the weight/measurement of apples. A quantity of apples won’t be very accurate, one apple will vary quite a bit in weight/volume to another so how the recipe is listed is much better than saying X number of apples.
Hi Marla! The amount of apples is stated under the streusel section of the recipe, sorry about that! It says: “1 1/2 cups chopped apples, plus 1 small apple, thinly sliced”. Enjoy! xTieghan
Good morning, do you recommend a Bundt pan or a tube pan? I’m a little bit confused by the layering of the apple and the streusel which seems like it would be on the bottom of a Bundt cake if using a Bundt pan since the Bundt pan cook the cake upside down. Thank you! (And I ❤️ Your recipes – all are winners at my house!)
Yes, Michele, I agree. From the pictures, it looks like the cake has a flat bottom. Bundt cake would be curved and look strange without the roundness at the top. It looks like it was baked in a tube pan to me.
Hi there! You can use either, but I would probably recommend a bundt pan in this instance! Enjoy 🙂 xTieghan
I would like to make this to send with my husband on a “boys” weekend. How desperately does this need to be refrigerated?
Put some extra bourbon in, and it should be fine.
Hi there! It should be just fine as long as it’s not in a super hot place 🙂 xTieghan
Can you freeze this?
I haven’t ever tried freezing it, but it should freeze well! xTieghan
What can you substitute for the Bourbon?
Put some extra bourbon in, and it should be fine.
This reply wasn’t intended to be on this comment. My apologies.
Hi Ginnie! You could sub scotch, rum, or for a non alcoholic option you could use Bourbon Vanilla extract, or even some brown sugar! xTieghan
Is this cake made in a springform pan or Bundt pan? What size works best for this recipe? Thank you!
I have a traditional bundt pan but just ordered a 12 cup Nordic Ware flat bottomed tube cake pan (Amazon $19.50) that I think will work great & I like the look of the flat bottom.
Hi there! Either will work just fine 🙂 xTieghan
Do you think you could do this in a loaf pan?
Definitely! It would probably fit in two small-ish loaf pans 🙂 xTieghan
Looks wonderful but I have the same question about apple butter, I have not seen that in France.
Hey Patricia! I would use apple sauce, or create your own apple butter by using my recipe 🙂 xTieghan
This looks soooo amazing. My only question is. I’ve never seen ‘apple butter’ in Australia, is there a substitution option?
You can use applesauce!
Make some homemade apple butter! It’s fairly simple and OH so delish!!!
Hi Helen! Yes, you can use apple sauce or just mash up apples really well with some cinnamon and a bit of sugar 🙂 xTieghan