Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

This past weekend my friend Luann invited some gals to her lovely home for food and fellowship (OK – there was also something about filming a cooking lesson but we will get to that another day).

I love having something warm and cinnamony coming out of the oven when friends arrive so, with the help of my new precious friend, Ella, I made an Apple Streusel Coffee Cake. I started with a recipe I found from Emeril Lagasse and made a few changes and additions (because I simply can’t leave things alone!) to make it to my liking.

Ella and I hope you enjoy eating this as much as we enjoyed making it! (Was I right about her cheeks, or what? Just look at them. Don’t you want to squeeze them?)

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups white wheat flour, sifted (you can use all-purpose flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt or kosher salt)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup sour cream (can use lowfat)
• 1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups chopped apples (peel and core before chopping)

Streusel Topping Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In another bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.

In yet another bowl (yeah… you might as well use them all), combine the sour cream, apple sauce, and vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, alternating each addition. (Add a third of the flour mixture and beat, then a third of the sour cream mixture and beat, etc… until all ingredients are combined.) Stir in the apples.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish.

Make the streusel:

Combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or with two butter knives until you have course crumbs. Stir in the chopped pecans.

Top the cake batter with the streusel topping mixture. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cake is golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving. (This is best served warm but it is still really good once it has cooled completely.)

Wow… the smell of this baking in your oven will give everyone an appetite, and it will make you crave the fall harvest season which is just around the corner!

For my new friends who came to watch Carol and I completely trash Luann’s kitchen…

First… you are brave women. Second… I appreciate SO MUCH that you took the time out of your holiday weekend to join us. Third… the manicotti recipe will be here on Friday Can you smell the ooey gooey cheese? Oh… wait… you should be smelling cinnamon and apples right about now!

Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn