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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.
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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
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.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I made this for fun to use up some apples that were getting old. I love Bourbon to this was the perfect recipe for me! It was SO DELISH. I made recipe to a T. No changes. I took in to a gathering and had so many people who came looking for me to say they just loved it. Definitely a keeper of a recipe!
Hi Bridgette,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for making this cake and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great week! xx
This may be a stupid question, but it doesn’t look like the bourbon is cooked at all, is the glaze safe for children and pregnant people (I’m pregnant and found this recipe and now I need it!), or is there an alcohol content? If there is, is there something I can substitute for the bourbon?
Hi Kelly,
The heat from step 6 should kill the alcohol off, but if you are worried I would just omit it:) I hope you love the recipe! xx
What an incredible cake recipe! Thank you! I made it for brunch and i barely had any myself. I didn’t have the cider or apple butter and still turned out super delicious
Great moist texture and the glaze is incredible
Hi Adriana,
Happy Monday! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out, I am so excited to hear that it was a hit! xx
Made the cake the other day gluten free and was quite delicious. I was wondering how you got your glaze white? When I made it it came off the maple/bourbon color so looks clear/blends with on the streusel?
Hey Katie,
Thanks for making the recipe!! I would try adding more powdered sugar next time:) I hope this helps! xx
Hey! Great recipe, however I can’t find apple butter. What can I replace it with? Many thanks x
Hi there,
You could use apple sauce in place of the apple butter. I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I apologize for taking up SO MUCH space in my prior comment(question, really), as I didn’t see Elizabeth had asked the SAME question! So sorry for bothering you.?
Be well and stay safe.?
Lol no worries at all!! I hope you love the cake!
Hello Tieghan. LOVE your blog, book and recipes!!! A friend, at the recommendation of an employee of the local book store(B & N), bought the book for me as a birthday gift last year. We’ve enjoyed every item I’ve made from both the book and blog. (Thank you for your DELICIOUS recipes!!!) As a matter of fact, I’ve pre-ordered two copies of the new book—one for myself and one for my friend!!!
Looking at the photos of the Apple Coffee cake, it appears to be baked in a tube pan, rather than a Bundt pan(smooth sides and top, not fluted or in a design). Would it bake well in a regular tube pan? Please lmk??
Can’t wait to bake it!
Take care, Tieghan?
Warm regards.
Hey Marcie,
Thank you so much for your kind message and reaching out! I am so glad you have been enjoying the recipes and truly appreciate you making them! Yes, a tube pan will also work well for you here. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I made this for Christmas. The flavor was very good, but the cake was a bit dense. Is it supposed to be dense, or did I perhaps do something wrong?
Hey Joshua,
Awesome! Thanks a lot for making this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed! It’s a dense cake:) Happy Thursday❄️ xxT
I am making this cake right now, and only as I am putting it in the oven do I realize that I might have made a mistake with my pan. It says bundt pan, but then it also says to flip it out of the pan, then flip it back upright to serve. All my bundt pans have a pattern shape that means the bottom during cooking, top for serving, isn’t flat. What type of pan is this. Should I have used my angel food pan with straight sides? Here’s hoping it turns out, but those lovely places apple slices will definitely be on the bottom for my cake.
Hi Elizabeth,
You can use a bundt or tube pan. Let me know how the recipe turns out! xTieghan
This recipe really should be updated to say use a tube pan… a traditional Bundt pan won’t work!
I made this with some homemade apple butter and bourbon maple syrup. It was good but in my opinion the dough rose too much which resulted in a tall cake but slightly too dry. Also, the streusel/apple combo in the center fell short for me. I think next time I’ll use half the baking powder and add brown sugar/spritz of lemon juice to the apples. I would also add streusel and apple slices to bottom of Bundt along with streusel kind of like a pineapple upside-down cake. The streusel will caramelize I think. Solid 7.5/10
Hi there,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! xTieghan
I don’t have any apple cider or apple juice, but plenty of apple butter… how could I sub for apple cider? More apple butter & some milk? Thank you in advance for your help!
Hey Emily,
I would really stick with the apple cider or juice because you will need the liquid. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Made this for a Friendsgiving and it was a total hit! Didn’t have a Bundt pan so I went with a 9×13 pan- took about 45 min to bake. Also added a bit more bourbon to the glaze to make it extra boozy!
Hey Tabitha,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
I’ve made this twice now! It’s seriously so delicious ?
Hey Lacey,
Awesome! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
What can be a good replacement for apple butter??
Hey Natasha,
You can use apple sauce in place of the apple butter. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Thanks so much Tieghan. So excited to try it! I’ve only got store-bought fruit juice, would that work ok?
Yes, that’s just fine:) xTieghan
What can I sub for the apple cider?
Hi Natalie,
You could use apple juice in place of the cider. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Sorry, one more thing Tieghan, i also dont have apple butter. What could i sub for that? Tks so much
Hi Natalie,
I would use apple sauce in place of the apple butter:)
I am so excited to try this tomorrow morning but I’m wondering why my glaze didn’t come out white like yours did?
(Trying to attach photo but it’s not working)
Hi Cari,
Sorry to hear this, can you tell me more about the glaze? Was there anything you adjusted? What does it look like? xTieghan