Applesauce Crumb Cake
This applesauce crumb cake is soft, moist, and full of warm fall flavor from applesauce, apple cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. A thick buttery crumb topping adds plenty of texture, and the simple no-mixer batter makes it an easy cake for brunch, snacking, or dessert.*Quick Note Before You Dive In: This recipe card covers the basics, but if you want to know how to get a crunchy crumb topping or how to store and freeze the cake, scroll back up! Everything you need for foolproof results is in the post.
Ingredients
For Crumb Topping:
- 1 ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (142g) brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
For cake:
- 1½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (142g) brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (248g) unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup (60g) apple cider
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (57g) sour cream
Equipment
Instructions
Prepare the baking pan & crumb topping:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
- Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture forms crumbles. Place the crumbs in the freezer while you prepare the cake batter.
Make the cake batter:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the applesauce, melted butter, apple cider, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Stir until just combined.
- Fold in the sour cream. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer.
- Gently sprinkle the chilled crumb topping evenly over the batter. Avoid dropping the crumbs from too high so they don’t sink into the batter.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes before slicing.
- Dust with powdered sugar just before serving, if desired.
Notes:
You can use an 8×8-inch pan if you don’t have a 9-inch square pan. The cake will be thicker and take longer to bake. Begin checking for doneness around 40 minutes and continue baking as needed. If the crumb topping browns too quickly, loosely cover with foil.
A note on kosher salt: This recipe uses Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you’re using Morton's Kosher Salt or table salt, use half the amount. Diamond Crystal kosher salt has larger, airier crystals that take up more space, so a teaspoon of kosher salt actually contains less salt by weight than other types of salt.
Baking in grams: I provide both gram measurements and cup equivalents, but weighing ingredients is always the most accurate. Depending on whether you scoop, pack, or level flour, the amount can vary dramatically when using a measuring cup (leading to dry or inconsistent results). A small digital scale removes the guesswork and gives you better results every time.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and provided as an estimate. It is not intended as a substitute for professional dietary advice
Nutrition
Serving: 82gCalories: 314kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 191mgPotassium: 82mgFiber: 1gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 414IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 1mg
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