This chai apple crumb cake is made with a super moist butter cake, and is loaded with apple butter, chai-spiced apples, and a chai streusel.
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chai apple crumb cake
Crumb cakes are one of my absolute favorite things to bake – they’re perfect for bringing over to people to share and the flavor possibilities are truly endless with the cake, jam, and streusel layers. This chai apple crumb cake is the perfect transition into fall baking. Light, buttery & moist cake gets topped with chai spiced sliced apples, and is finished off with a simple chai streusel. It’s super easy, perfect for sharing & is sure to be a hit!
why you’ll love this chai apple crumb cake:
- It’s perfectly spiced. Adding a mix of chai spices rather than just using cinnamon adds depth to the flavor of this cake.
- It’s loaded with delicious layers. I mean, you’ve got layers of buttery moist cake, apple butter, chai apple slices, and chai streusel.
- Perfect fall treat: this cake is truly the perfect fall treat to make and share over a cup of coffee (or a cup of chai!)
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 chai apple crumb cake:
chai apples:
- Apples: use your favorite baking apple here! I used pink lady (since they are typically the least expensive!) but you can use fuji, gala, jonathan, granny smith, honey gold, or braeburn!
- Chai spice: for flavor! It can be found in stores or online. If you are interested in making your own at home, I have a recipe for it later in this blog post.
- Light brown sugar: for a touch of sweetness.
chai 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.
- Chai spice: for flavor!
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: I use and love this vanilla extract. We will use some vanilla in the bundt, and some in the glaze.
- Sour cream & whole milk: for moisture, texture, and tenderizing the cake. I recommend full-fat here for both for the best texture.
- Apple butter: optional, but adds more apple flavor to the cake and creates a beautiful layer when sliced!
chai glaze:
- Powdered sugar: the base of the glaze.
- Macerated chai apple juice: When you mix together the apples, sugar, and chai spice and let it sit at the start of the recipe, the apples are being macerated and will release some juices. Keep those juices behind and use them for the glaze!
how to make chai 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!
- Thinly slice up the apples, then coat them in chai spice and brown sugar.
- Combine all the streusel ingredients and set the mixture aside.
- Beat together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Alternate between folding in the dry ingredients and the sour cream/milk.
- Layer the cake with: 1/2 of the cake batter, all of the apple butter, the remaining cake batter, the spiced apples, and the chai streusel. Bake, serve, and enjoy!
chai apple crumb cake recipe q&a
homemade chai spice recipe
If you are interested in making your own chai spice, here is what I used for this recipe! This will make enough for the amount needed in this recipe (4 1/2 tsp.) You can change up the amounts to your preference – every chai spice is different!
- 2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. each of the following: ground allspice, ground cardamom, ground cloves, ground ginger
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double all the ingredients and split them between two 9″ cake pans.
How to store this cake
Keep the cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It will taste the best on the day it’s baked, but will keep well for up to 5 days.
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
Chai Apple Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Chai Apples
- 3 small apples peeled & thinly sliced
- 40 g light brown sugar (3 tbsp.)
- 1 tbsp. chai spice
Chai Streusel
- 60 g unsalted butter (¼ c.)
- 90 g light brown sugar (⅓ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 120 g all purpose flour (1 c.)
- 1 ½ tsp. chai spice
Butter Cake
- 210 g all purpose flour (1 ¾ c.)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 125 g unsalted butter (½ c. + 1 tbsp.) room temperature
- 175 g granulated sugar (¾ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 135 g whole milk room temperature (½ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 75 g sour cream room temperature (5 tbsp.)
- 180 g apple butter (⅔ c.) optional
Chai Glaze (optional)
- 90 g powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp. macerated chai apple juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Generously butter a 9" cake 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.
Chai Apples
- Wash, peel, and thinly slice the apples. Mix the apples with the brown sugar and chai spice well, making sure the mixture is evenly dispersed throughout each apple slice. Set aside.
Chai Streusel
- In a medium sized bowl, melt the butter. To the butter, add the sugar, flour, and chai spice. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until you have formed clumps of dough. 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. Place dollops of the apple butter on top of the cake, then carefully smooth it 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. (Be sure to keep the leftover juice for the glaze!)
- Top the apples with the streusel. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cake cool in the pan until no longer too hot to touch, then use the parchment to lift the cake out of the pan.
Chai Glaze (optional)
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and leftover juice from the apples. If the mixture is too thick, add some more juice, or milk if none is left. If the mixture is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, drizzle the glaze over the top. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.