In my opinion, there’s not really a better combination than caramel and apples. This time of year, our orchard is supplying us with bounty and twice now, we’ve picked some apples to make this layered beauty to share with our family and now, you!

Made of three layers, this is packed with fall spices and yummy textures. The bottom is a spiced cake, followed by a layer of cinnamon-y apple slices, and then blanketed with crunchy, sweet, buttery crumbs. At our house, I whip up a salted caramel sauce to drizzle over the top, but any caramel will do quite nicely!

You’ll need a springform pan to make this beauty, so before you begin grease it with some butter and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar if you’d like and then begin your layers.

The first thing you’ll want to do in prep to save yourself some time is to melt 1/2 c. unsalted butter and then set it aside to cool for the crumb topping layer. Just trust me on this.*

Layer One: THE CAKE

In your mixer bowl, mix the following dry ingredients:

• 3/4 c. flour (I use unbleached, all-purpose)
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

In another small bowl, mix the following wet ingredients and then add them to the dry and mix well:

• 1/4 c. + 2 tsp. melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 c. + 2 T. plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1 egg

Add this batter to the springform pan and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Layer Two: THE APPLES

Peel and slice 2-3 medium, tart apples to equal about 2 c. of apple slices. To them add 2 T. sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1 T. apple cider vinegar. Layer the apples on top of the cake batter.

Layer Three: THE CRUMB TOPPING

*Do you remember that butter we melted? Mix it well with the following ingredients until it comes together into all different sizes of beautiful crumbs:

• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 1/2 c. flour

Blanket the top of the apples with the crumbs and give it a gentle press all around to make sure its evenly coated. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the crumbs have turned golden brown. Let it cool almost completely, but it is so delightful when served warm! I make a salted caramel sauce that will be demonstrated very soon on TWN’s FB page, but any caramel sauce will top this beautifully.

And that’s it! You now have a showstopping brunch, coffee break treat, or dessert that you’ll be proud to share and the happiest to enjoy!

It must be said that I began developing my recipe from crunchycreamysweet.com and her recipe for The Best Apple Crumb Cake.  I changed quite a few items, but used her knowledge as a base (especially the tip for the melted and cooled butter to make the perfect crumb texture!!) so many thanks!