cinnamon apple crumb cake

Fall is by far the best baking season (in my humble opinion). Nature provides us with the best raw ingredients to create my favorite treats. Anything involving nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, allspice, pumpkin, apples, almonds, pecans, maple... I could go on forever. Of course there's no rule that says these ingredients can't be used all year long, but there's just something special about autumn spices. They just make me happy. So I decided to kick off the fall baking season with a classic cinnamon apple crumb cake.

Ingredients (cake) - 

• 3/4 cups of butter
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup of light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of diced apples

Ingredients (Streusel topping) -

• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons of butter

Directions -

• Preheat over to 350F.
• Lightly grease and flour a 9'' springform pan.
• Combine cake butter and sugars in a large bowl.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract.
• Stir in Greek yogurt.
• In a separate medium sized bowl, combine cake flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients (don't overstir).
• Fold in apple pieces and pour batter into prepared pan.
• Set aside.
• Begin preparing Streusel by whisking together flour, sugars, and cinnamon.
• Pour melted butter into mixture and combine with a fork until a crumble forms.
• Evenly sprinkle Streusel over the batter.
• Place pan in oven and allow to bake for approximately 45 minutes.
• Allow cake to cool and enjoy!

*Pro tip: whisk up a little whipping cream with a little vanilla extract and confectioner's sugar to make a whipped cream and put a little dollop of it on top for an added sweet touch.

Happy baking!

- D