Apple Coffee Cake

Perfect for a relaxing weekend morning, apple coffee cake showcases a vanilla coffee cake lightly spiced with a layer of apples in the middle. I topped the coffee cake with a crumble topping. You can omit it and the cake will still be delicious; but, according to my youngest son, everything's better with a crumble topping!

Coffee Cake:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of cardamom

Filling:
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thinly
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 Tbs. of cinnamon

Crumble Topping (optional):
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13x9 baking dish. For the filling, mix the sliced apples, 1/3 cup of sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder,vanilla, eggs, salt, orange juice, apple sauce, and vegetable oil. Beat at medium speed until mixed well. Pour half the batter into baking dish and arrange apple slices on top. Pour and spread the rest of the batter on top of the apples.Sprinkle with topping if using.  Bake for 45-55 minutes or until done.

To make the topping: In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake as directed above.

Recipe adapted from Savory Sweet Life.