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It’s apple season, friends!! I always get so PUMPED for all the apple desserts during autumn. I love some pumpkin spiced things, but apples are where it’s at for me. Hence this Apple Butter Crumb Cake!

I had the idea for this cake with apple butter between the layers and it turned out better than I imagined because the apple butter literally seeps into the cake and it is SO GOOD. The cake itself is already super soft and moist and the apple butter just takes it to the next level. Ultimate cozy autumn vibes right here, friends!

apple butter

You can certainly make your own apple butter for this, or maybe you go a jump on your autumn bucket list and have already made some apple butter! Either way, homemade or store bought will work here. I used some jarred apple butter from the grocery store because I knew this recipe already had a from scratch cake, crumb topping, and frosting. Homemade apple butter on top of that seemed like a little much! Especially because we’re using less than a cup here.

CRUMB TOPPING

SO. Let me tell you about this topping. You can make it a day or two in advance, which is really helpful when you begin assembly. Feel free to use a pastry cutter or two knives or however you like to incorporate butter into dry ingredients for these kinds of things. Personally, I just prefer to use my hands! I like to grate the cold butter and then add it to the dry ingredients. Then just use my hands to combine it all until most of the flour has been incorporated and the crumbs are really holding their shape.

They bake for 10 minutes in the oven and that’s it! Piece of cake.

The crumbs that go between the layers will soak up some of that apple butter too, so they end up being soft and super flavorful.

APPLE BUTTER FROSTING

Because the real star of this show is the apple butter and the crumbs, I didn’t want an overpowering frosting here. I almost went with a straight up plain buttercream, but decided to toss in a couple of tablespoon of apple butter. It doesn’t give the frosting very much flavor at all, but I do think it pairs better with the cake, filling, and crumbs than a plain or vanilla frosting would. It’s a very subtle flavor that just ties everything together.

It’s not required, but this cake will be the best it can be if you make it and then let it sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. All the flavors meld together and the apple butter seeps into the cake and it’s just a good time.

Happy baking, friends!

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Apple Butter Crumb Cake

Prep Time: 45

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 1 10

Ingredients

Crumb Topping:

½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup quick cooking oats
⅓ cup brown sugar packed
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger
Pinch of salt
6 tbsp cold butter grated

Spice Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk

Apple Butter Frosting:

1 cup butter
½ cup vegetable shortening
1 tsp vanilla
5 cups powdered sugar
⅓ -½ cup plus 2 tbsp apple butter divided

Instructions

For the crumb topping:

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
To make the crumb topping, combine all crumb ingredients in a small bowl. Use a pastry cutter, or two knives, or your hands to cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and all dry ingredients have been incorporated with the butter..
Spread crumbs on the prepared baking pan and bake for 10 minutes, or until crumb mixture is golden brown. Remove from oven and let crumbs cool completely. You can break crumbs into small pieces if necessary.
Store crumbs in a sealed container at room temperature. Crumbs can be made a day or two in advance.

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Add both sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla, and milk. Mix on medium speed with an electric mixer until all ingredients are incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
Divide batter evenly between cake pans. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until cakes are golden brown and set in the center. (Test by inserting a toothpick into the center of each cake layer. If it comes out clean, they're done!)
Let cakes cool in pans for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting + Assembly:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and shortening together on medium high speed until smooth. Add vanilla, half of powdered sugar, and 2 tbsp apple butter. Mix on low speed until just combined, then medium high speed until completely combined.
Repeat with second half of powdered sugar.
To assemble the cake, cut domes off of cake layers with a cake saw or serrated knife. Place one cake layer on a cake plate or cake stand.
Pipe a border of frosting around the top edges of the cake. Fill the border with ⅓ - ½ cup of prepared apple butter. You may need more or less depending on how tall the frosting border is.
Sprinkle half of the crumb topping over the apple butter. Place the second cake layer on top.
Spread remaining frosting over the outside of the cake. Pile remaining crumb topping on top.
Store cake covered (or loosely covered) in the refrigerator.