Apple Crumb Cake

Ingredients

1 pound apples 3 medium or 2 large, peeled if desired, cored, cut into 1/2-inch wedges

1/2 pieces lemon juice juice of half a lemon

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter melted

1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

6 tablespoon unsalted butter softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 pieces large egg

1/3 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

powdered sugar for dusting

Equipment

oven

cake pan

parchment paper

Directions

Heat oven to 325°F (165°C). Lightly coat an 8-inch square or 9-inch cake pan with butter or nonstick spray. For extra security, line it with parchment paper.

Prepare apples: Toss apples with lemon juice, then cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Make crumbs: Whisk butter, sugars, cinnamon, and salt together until evenly mixed. Add flour and mix until it disappears. It’s going to be very thick; set it aside.

Make cake: Beat butter with sugar until lightened and fluffy. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until combined. Sprinkle surface of batter with baking powder and salt, and beat well to combine. Add flour and mix only until it disappears.

Assemble: Scrape batter into prepared cake pan and smooth it flat. Arrange apples on cake, slightly overlapped. Pour any cinnamon-apple juices in bottom of bowl over apples. Sprinkle crumbs over apple slices. For bigger crumbs, squeeze the crumbs into small fistfuls and break these up into a couple bigger chunks over the cake.

Bake: Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the apples doesn’t hit any crisp spots and if you look closely, you’ll see juices bubbling around some apples, about 50 to 55 minutes.

Cool to room temperature, if you can bear it, before cutting into squares or wedges. Dust generously with powdered sugar.

Cake keeps at room temperature loosely covered (in an airtight container, the crumbs eventually soften) for 3 days or in the fridge, well-wrapped, for 6 days.