Apple cheesecake crumb cake featuring a light and buttery coffee cake, a thick layer of cheesecake, cinnamon apples & streusel.
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apple crumb cake with cream cheese filling
Cheesecake, coffee cake and apples are coming together in this recipe to make the ultimate crumb cake. The cake is super buttery and moist, it’s got a THICK layer of cheesecake, cinnamon apples, and cinnamon streusel. I’ll admit, it will take quite a few bowls to put this together, but it’s worth it for the deliciousness in the end.
why you’ll love this cream cheese apple crumb cake:
- Moist crumb cake: the crumb cake itself is super moist and buttery, making it the perfect base for the apples, cream cheese & streusel.
- Spiced apples: there’s a *ton* of sliced & spiced apples in every bite.
- Cream cheese filling: aka cheesecake filling, which is super rich and creamy.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your butter, milk, and sour cream about an hour before starting the cake.
Mix the cake batter carefully:
It is super important to not overmix the cake batter or you end up with a tough and chewy cake rather than a light and moist cake. When alternating between adding the wet and dry ingredients, be sure to only mix just until the ingredient is fully combined and no more.
line your pan tall with parchment paper
This cake is not one that you want to flip upside down to get it out of the pan. Butter your pan, and get out a sheet of parchment paper. Crinkle up the parchment paper, then un-crinkle it and place it in your buttered pan, pressing the parchment up the sides of the pan. This will give you a way to lift the cake out of the pan (plus I happen to enjoy the little crinkles it puts in the sides – it’s a little rustic almost!)
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for cream cheese apple crumb cake:
cinnamon apples:
- Granny smith apples: I used green apples because the tartness really compliments the sweetness of the cake and streusel, and the tanginess of the cream cheese. You can also fuji, gala, jonathan, pink lady, honey gold, or braeburn!
- Ground cinnamon: for flavor! You could also sub in apple pie spice.
streusel:
- Unsalted butter: the base of the streusel, really what makes it buttery and delicious. You can use salted butter here as well!
- Light brown sugar: sweetens and adds flavor to the streusel. In a pinch granulated sugar will work here as well.
- All purpose flour: adds structure to the streusel.
- Ground cinnamon: for flavor!
cheesecake:
- Cream cheese: the base of the cheesecake and what makes it tangy, rich, and creamy.
- Eggs: binds the batter together.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetness and helps lock in moisture.
- Sour cream: for moisture and richness. You could also substitute in buttermilk.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- All purpose flour: for a little bit of structure.
butter cake:
- All purpose flour: the structure of the cake.
- Baking powder: for helping the cake rise.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the cake.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cake and giving it that classic buttery taste. You can substitute in salted butter, just omit the extra salt from the recipe.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the cake and keeping it moist. The sugar also helps aerate the butter to give this cake it’s rise and keep it light and fluffy.
- Eggs: for moisture, structure, and binding the batter together.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Sour cream & whole milk: for tenderizing & adding moisture into the cake.
how to make cream cheese apple crumb cake
Here are just some photos of what the cake looks like at various stages of making it. The full recipe is at the end of the blog post!
- Wash, peel and slice up the apples. Then, mix them thoroughly with the cinnamon and brown sugar.
- Combine the streusel ingredients and set them aside.
- Beat together the wet ingredients for the crumb cake.
- Then alternate folding in the dry ingredients with the sour cream & milk.
- Top the cheesecake with the remaining cake batter, then carefully spread the apples on top of it, followed by the streusel. Bake, serve, and enjoy!
cream cheese apple crumb cake recipe q&a
what size cake pan do I need?
You’ll need a 7″ springform pan for this cake. You can use a non-springform pan, you’ll just want to make sure that it is at least 3″ tall. You can also use an 8″ cake or springform pan, just note that it will be a tad thinner and will bake up a tad quicker.
can I double this recipe?
Definitely! Simply double all of the ingredients in this crumb cake then split evenly between two cake pans.
how to store apple cheesecake crumb cake
Like most baked goods, this cake will taste best served on the day it is baked. The safest way to store this cake is in the fridge since it has a layer of cheesecake inside of it, just note that it will dry out faster
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Apple Cheesecake Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Cinnamon Apples
- 200 g granny smith apples* (*after peeling & coring)
- 25 g light brown sugar (2 tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Streusel
- 30 g unsalted butter (2 tbsp.)
- 45 g light brown sugar (3 tbsp.)
- 60 g all purpose flour (½ c.)
- ¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
Cheesecake Filling
- 113 g cream cheese room temperature (½ c.)
- 25 g granulated sugar (2 tbsp.)
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 30 g sour cream room temperature (2 tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. all purpose flour
Butter Cake
- 120 g all purpose flour (1 c.)
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 75 g unsalted butter (⅓ c.) room temperature
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 60 g sour cream (¼ c.) room temperature
- 42 g whole milk (3 tbsp.) room temperature
Instructions
Cinnamon Apples
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Generously butter a 7" springform pan. Crumple up some parchment paper, then un-crumple it and place it into the buttered cake pan, making sure it sticks to the bottom and sides. Set aside.
- Wash, peel, and thinly slice the apples. Mix the apples with the brown sugar and cinnamon well, making sure the mixture is evenly dispersed throughout each apple slice. Set aside.
Streusel
- In a medium sized bowl, melt the butter. To the butter, add the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until you have formed clumps of dough. Set aside.
Cheesecake
- Add the cream cheese and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (Alternatively, you can use a hand mixer). Beat the cream cheese and sugar together for 2 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
- Add in the egg, sour cream, vanilla, and flour. Beat the mixture on low speed *just until* the batter is cohesive. Set aside.
Butter Cake
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer, in a large bowl) beat together the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in both eggs and the vanilla. Beat until well combined (~1 min.)
- Add in half of the flour mixture, and mix by hand just until the flour is incorporated. Add in all of the sour cream and milk and mix until combined. Add in the rest of the flour, and lightly fold the mixture together just until all of the flour is incorporated.
- Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the top. Pour the cheesecake over the cake and carefully smooth it out into an even layer.
- Pour the remaining cake batter into the pan and smooth it out into an even layer. Place the apples on top of the batter, making sure to leave out the juice from the apples.
- Top the apples with the streusel. Bake for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs and the cake is no longer jiggly in the center.
- Let the cake cool in the pan until no longer too hot to touch. Once the cake is at room temperature, slice, serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
this cake is miiiighty delicious!! usually i am very dogmatic about my apple/fruit cakes and preference for yeast dough basis but this crumb is so so good! its almost a bit too sweet for my liking but since the crumb is perfect i wouldnt dare to reduce the sugar hahah.. made it in a 19.5cm square tin cause i didn’t have a matching round one and it all fit perfectly well!
Thank you so much Mimi, I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!! 🙂
This was SO SO SO good!! I made this for brunch for my family and I could not stop eating it!!!!!!! I loved the cheesecake and I loved all the flavors!! It blended so well together 🙂 Thank so much for this amazing recipe I cant wait to try more!
Ah thank you so much! I’m so happy you liked it! 🙂
Hello Erin!
Does this cake need to be set in the fridge at all before serving (to make sure the cheesecake element has set?). And would it be best to serve it slightly chilled so the cheesecake is cold?
Can’t wait to make this!
Thank you! :))
Georgia
Was a hit at my Thanksgiving table! Difficult to make, but very yummy!
Thank you so much Carson, I’m so happy to hear it was a hit! 🙂
This looks delicious! Can I bake it in a springform pan?
Thank you so much! Yes, you could definitely bake it in a springform pan!