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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
Hi, apologies if you’ve been asked this before. But my Bundt pan has pretty elaborate designs. Could it possibly work if I just kept the streusel topping on the bottom like a crust and glazed the designed side?
Hey John,
Totally! That would work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, let me know how it turns out!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Second time making and did in a spring form pan. I didn’t have the apple cider but did have some apple brandy with apple liquor and used a four cup of it and a slight fourth cup of the bourbon. Otherwise didn’t change anything else. Recipe is a keeper.
Hey Lana,
Thanks for giving this recipe a whirl, I’m so glad it turned out nicely! Stay warm!
Sounds and looks amazing- I am going to make this cake tonight. Will you please let me know if the apples inside the cake are peeled?
Thanks! Love your recipes!
Thanks so much, Carolyn!!
Yes, you can go ahead and peel the apples. I hope you love this recipe!
how do you suggest making it ahead and storing it?
Hi Vicki,
I would store in an airtight container on the counter if you make ahead. I hope you love this recipe! xx
Would a tube cake pan work as well?
Oops saw the question below! Disregard 🙂
Hi Heather,
Yes, that will work well for you. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Would this make enough batter for 2x 8″ inch pans? I’d like to make this as a layer cake instead of a bundt.
Hey Richard,
Sure, I bet that would work nicely for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Can I use an angelfood cake or springform pan? My bundt pan is ribbed and contoured and would not allow the cake to sit flat if flipped twice as called for in the directions- or I would only be able to flip it once, and then the apple/streusel layer would be on the bottom of the cake which is not the best plan I would assume :). Thoughts?
Hi Kristi,
Sure, that would work. Your bundt pan will also work, you will just flip the cake once inverted so that the streusel is on top. I hope this helps! xx
Thanks for your prompt reply! I was thinking that if I used a springform pan, I wouldn’t have to flip it at all. This makes me happy as I have had a few disasters lately while flipping Bundt and angel food cakes onto my serving cake stand (cracking, falling…). Anyway, do you think any of the baking specifics (temp, bake time) would need to change if I’m using a 9” pan with no hole? Thanks 😊
Gotcha!! I would keep the recipe as is and just check on it towards the end:)
Can I freeze this please ?
Hi Brittany,
Sure, that would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe! xx
Can I use apple juice instead of apple cider? Will it change the taste too much?
Hi Kerri,
That would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
To make this recipe, or any of your recipes, how can I make gluten free? Will any ‘ol gluten free flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill) do?
Thanks!
Hi Deborah,
Yes, bob’s red mill will work nicely for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Hi there
Do you use light or dark brown sugar??
Hi Ali,
For this recipe, I used light brown sugar:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hi! Is there a substitute for the apple butter?
Hi Ana,
A thick apple sauce should work nicely for you:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Do you think I could make this in my cast iron skillet and not invert it? Leave it in the pan- add the glaze and serve it like that? Thank you!!
Hey Amanda,
Sure, that should work, you will probably have enough batter for 2 skillets though:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Loved this cake! It was the hit of Thanksgiving!!
Hey Laura,
I appreciate you making this recipe and your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Have a great week! xT
Can you please advise on the best way to store if you want to make a day ahead? This looks so delicious!
I’ve stuck mine in the fridge!
Hi Valerie,
You can store in an airtight container on the counter:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
This recipes looks fantastic. Curious about using a Bundt pan. Once it is baked you have to turn it upside down onto a serving plate … does this mean everything will be upside down?
Hi Casey,
You are then going to invert it back to right side up, those instructions are in step 5. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Thanksgiving! xT