Three Years!!! (Apple Coffe Cake Recipe)

There are so many things going through my head right now. Has it really been three years since I hit "publish post" for the very first time? Have I really made caramel that many times since? Did we eat all those desserts? Really? And how in the world did three years, three years, go by so freaking fast? Yes, today folks, this little webspace of mine is three years old. Yes, there has been a lot more sweet than savory appearing in these pages. Yes, we ate everything I made, but we did share a lot of it. And yes, there will be more baking, cooking and sharing in the coming years and I wouldn't have it any other way; I've been enjoying myself way too much to quit. I'm hoping you've also enjoyed reading my ramblings and trying some of the recipes I've posted. I've discovered so many new techniques and flavors since starting to blog and I suspect I'm not done learning!

I've made a few changes here and there and I'd like to share them with you. There are some tabs near the top there, under the header and I've finally got that recipe index I've always wanted! It's a work in progress as I'm not sure about the categories I've chosen, but it's there and functional! I've also decided to (finally) write an "About Page". I know, I know, about time, right? This one I've mentioned before, but if you haven't had a chance yet, go on over and visit And then I do the Dishes on Facebook, leave a comment, question, whatever you like! And, last but not least, there's this nifty little "print button" at the bottom of each post and I would not forgive myself if I didn't thank Taylor over at Print Friendly. Best product support ever! Thanks so very much! And thank you guys, readers and friends for your support. For reading and commenting and keeping this little project of mine going. I couldn't do it without you. Thank you!

Now, onto the recipe! If you like coffee cake, this is the recipe you want! As you may already know, I have many, many recipe books and magazines but the best, tried and true recipes often come from those free recipe booklets handed out at grocery stores or stuck to pages of magazines. This recipe comes from such a booklet, Robin Hood Baking Festival 1992. I've long since adapted the recipe to suit my family's tastes but every time I find a little booklet of recipes, I can't help but keep it. You never know what little gem you might find inside.

Apple Coffee Cake
Adapted from Robin Hood

Topping:
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp tonka bean, freshly grated (optional)
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups peeled and grated apples, lightly packed

Topping:
Combine all ingredients. Mix well and set aside.

Cake:
Preheat your oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 10-inch springform pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and tonka bean, if using. Mix well. In another bowl, beat eggs, sour cream or yogurt and melted butter. Stir into dry ingredients until just blended. Stir in grated apples. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan and sprinkle topping over the batter.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake rest in the pan a few minutes before unmolding and placing it on a baking rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Maple Glaze
adapted from Comfy Belly

I added this glaze as an afterthought because I thought the cake looked plain in the photos. It certainly doesn't need the glaze taste wise, but it does add a little more sweetness, and it looks nice. You could also drizzle some caramel sauce on top, that would be just decadent!

1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup maple syrup
Pinch of fleur de sel
1 tsp unsalted butter

In a saucepan, pour the milk and maple syrup. Add pinch of fleur de sel and bring to a boil. Whisk constantly until the mixture is thickened and starts to look like caramel. This can take from 5 to 10 minutes. When you're happy with the consistency, whisk in the butter, strain the glaze into a heatproof bowl and let it cool slightly. Now, you can pour the glaze directly onto the hot cake, in which case most of the glaze will be absorbed into the cake, which would be delicious. But, if you're going for the same look as in my photos, wait until the glaze and cake are cooled and drizzle the glaze onto the cake. If the glaze has hardened too much to pour, you can microwave it a few seconds to get it to the right consistency.