Copy Cat Creations: Apple Crumb Cake

Hi Everyone!! Hope you're all having a great week so far. It's been going pretty well for us but sometimes these January and February months just seem to drag on. I am headed out to Anaheim for a conference next week so maybe that will help break things up a bit. In the meantime, between work and the gym and in order to keep a smile on my face I've been busy in the kitchen. After my last few posts though, I was ready for something simple! I had a few apples left that I didn't use for the apple pie so I went searching for an apple muffin or cake recipe. I found one and modified it quite a bit and I have to say that even I was surprised with how yummy this turned out to be. I even snuck a piece last night after it came out of the oven. ;) I think it's probably best served warm so if you eat some the next day, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds first. Try this one- it's easy- and let me know what you think!

APPLE CRUMB CAKE

What you need to make the cake:
1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large (or 3 medium) granny smith apples
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

*Now, I made a crumb topping because c'mon, who doesn't love crumb topping? However you can leave it plain if you want to keep this really simple.*

What you need for the crumb topping:
1/2 heaping cup packed brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar- I think it adds a more intense flavor!)
1/3 heaping cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter, melted

To make the cake:

1. Peel, core, and cut your apples into 1/2-inch chunks.

Don't worry...my counters are very clean!

2. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Spray or butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

4. Add the apples, butter, oil, vanilla, and eggs; mix together until combined. (You can use your hands as this gets really thick!) Your batter will be VERY chunky, which is mostly the apples.

5. Spoon batter into pan, smooth with a spatula or with your fingers.

6. Prep your crumb topping by mixing all dry ingredients with the melted butter in a large bowl with a pastry cutter.

7. Once combined, sprinkle evenly on top of the cake batter.

8. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan. Feel free to serve with whipped cream or icecream! Or, have it plain as a breakfast treat.