High Altitude Apple Walnut Crumb Cake
Moist and dense apple cake made with grated honey crisp apples, crunchy walnuts and warm spices, topped with buttery brown sugar walnut crumble.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups (10 oz) grated honey crisp apples (from 2-3 medium to large apples)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ½ cup finely chopped walnuts, optional
Topping
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts, optional
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Getting Ready
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Lightly grease a 9x9 inch square baking pan with non-stick baking spray, or brush with a little butter.
Cake
- Peel and core the apples, then use a box grater or food processor to coarsely grate the apples. Weigh out 10 ounces or measure 2 cups of grated apples.
- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract, until smooth. Add the brown sugar, melted butter and grated apples, and whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, spices and chopped walnuts. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and use a spatula to stir the batter together until moistened.
Topping
- In a bowl, combine the flour, sugars, cinnamon, salt and walnuts.
- Add the melted butter, and stir together until moist and crumbly.
Bake
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, then add the crumble topping.
- Bake the cake for about 38-42 minutes, until a cake tester or sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for 30-45 minutes, then cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Let the cake cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Reheat pieces of leftover cake in the microwave at 50% power for 30-40 seconds.
Pecans can be used instead of walnuts, or the nuts can be left out altogether.
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