When you combine apple crisp with a sweet roll, you get a beautiful, delicious coffee cake that’s loaded with apples topped with a crumbly streusel topping piled high on a tender, buttery sweet roll.
When you buy an apple danish, you generally get a tiny little dollop of apples on top. I’m always trying to spread that little bit of filling around so I get apple in every bite. So I decided to load up my sweet roll with apples.
The filling is a combination of apples, Granny Smith which are tart and firm, and Honey Crisp, which are sweeter, softer, and juicier. That way you get the best of both worlds in the filling.
I didn’t want any of the apple filling to fall off while it was baking, so I added a beautiful twisted edge to the coffee cakes and baked them in a springform pan. If you don’t have two springform pans, you can use 9-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper.
Of course any sweet roll needs a sweet glaze finish, so I drizzled my coffee cake with a simple powdered sugar icing.
The trick I use to get pretty, thin lines of icing is to put the icing in a quart size Ziploc bag and snip just a little bit off the corner of the bag.
To get the drips to run down the side of the coffee cake, just put a little puddle of the icing on the top edge and let gravity work it’s magic to pull the drip down the side.
The recipe makes two Apple Crisp Sweet Roll Coffee Cakes, one for your family, and one to share. I made this recipe twice to get it just right. So I shared two coffee cakes, one with my back-door neighbor for her birthday, and the second one my daughter’s family enjoyed.
Now it’s your turn to Bake the World a Better Place. Use the coupon at the bottom of this post, and bake a coffee cake for your family to enjoy, and also share one to brighten someone’s day.
Apple Crisp Sweet Roll Coffee Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 – 2 ½ cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons 1 packageRed Star Quick Rise or Platinum Yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter cut in to pieces
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 large Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, diced
- 2 large Honey Crisp apples peeled, cored, diced
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup old-fashioned rolled oats not quick-cooking
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, combine 1 cup flour, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a microwave safe dish, heat milk and butter until warm (120°–130°F). Add heated milk and butter to flour mixture. Mix in eggs. Blend at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed.
- Switch to the dough hook and mix in the remaining flour a little at a time, to make a soft dough, adding more or less flour as needed. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rest until doubled, about an hour.
While the dough is rising, prepare the apple filling:
- In a large bowl, or Ziploc bag, combine apples, ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan. Add the apple mixture and sauté over medium heat until apples are tender and juices are thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before using.
Prepare streusel topping:
- In a large bowl combine brown sugar, flour, oats, almonds, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter and mix with a fork or your hands until mixture forms large clumbs.
- Coat a 9″ springform pan with non-stick cooking spray, or cut 2 pieces of parchment to fit 2 9-inch round cake pans. Sprays pans, line with parchment, and spray parchment.
- Divide dough in half and keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap.
- Divide the dough again in to two pieces — a smaller piece ⅓ of the dough and a larger piece ⅔ of the dough. Shape the larger piece into a ball, then on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough in to a 9-inch round. Put the round in to the bottom of the springform pan. If necessary, use your fingers to press the dough to fit the pan.
- Divide the smaller piece in to four pieces. Use your hands to roll each piece in to a 16-inch long rope. Twist two ropes together and place it on top of the dough in the pan, along the outside to create an decorative border. Repeat with the remaining two ropes and join the twists together in the pan. Cover.
- Repeat with remaining half of the dough.
- Place half of the apple filling in the middle of each coffee cake and spread to the border. Top the apple filling with streusel topping.
- Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Uncover coffee cakes. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Carefully remove from pan; place on serving plate.
- Icing: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over warm coffee cakes.
saralynns2
My mouth is watering… I better get some breakfast quick 🙂 I think the Apple Cinnamon streusel pull apart bread looks amazing!
Karen D
I’d like to make yours and the Fluffy no-knead refrigerator rolls
linda
If this is not the hardest decision I have to make all day! And its a baking day for me too. I will definitely make the apple crisp sweet roll. My family loves apple crisp and everyone loves sweet rolls. But I must also try the cream cheese filled brioche sweet rolls and the sweet potato crescent rolls will most likely grace our thanksgiving table this year. Thank you everyone for your recipes and hard work!
Heather
I am loving these recipes!! I can’t choose just one to make!! I want to make them all.
Sheri
This cake is gorgeous! I would like to make the recipe and surprise my father-in-law and mother-in-law
with one of them (since they had to miss our family apple picking excursion a couple of weeks ago).
I have 2 questions:
1) can you use regular whole wheat flour in place of the whole wheat pastry flour?
2) can you use 3-3 1/2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour (with no whole wheat pastry flour)?
I’m wondering if you think either of these options would ruin the integrity and flavor of this beautiful cake?
Thank you!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Sheri! I think you could do either your first or second option with great results. Whole wheat flour absorbs more water, so if you use just all purpose flour, you may need to add a bit more flour. If you use regular whole wheat pastry flour your rolls will be just a little bit heavier. Enjoy!
Anne
In my world, autumn = apples, so I’m liking the Apple Streusel Pull Apart Bread in addition to your Apple Crisp Sweet Roll Coffee Cakes.
Laurieann Lettau
Oh I will be trying the apple cinnamon streusel pull apart bread right after the apple crisp sweet roll deliciousness you posted.
barbara
I will definitely be making yours, we just picked apples last weekend, so I am always looking for something new to bake. I think I will also make the no knead rolls and the chocolate, pumpkin filled doughnuts. Thanks for the great recipe.
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles
This is just plain gorgeous. I love a wonderful apple dessert!
David
In addition to yours, I would also make the chocolate glazed pumpkin doughnuts.
Emily
Barbara, this looks scrumptious!
Jessica @ Sweet Menu
Wow! What a gorgeous apple cake! Looks better than from a bakery!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea
There is NO doubt that I would bake this first. Truly what a creative recipe. And yeah this way you get LOTS of
filling. Barbara, thank you for participating in this worthwhile drive.
Adri
What a positively gorgeous cake. I just love the braided edging. What an elegant touch. I am so pleased to have found your site.
Erin M.
This looks awesome! I’m definitely going to make this!
Maria
Barbara, this looks amazing!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Mum you have such a way with drizzling icing so that it looks SO delicious and I want to eat it straight away! 😀 xxx
Barbara | Creative Culinary
Not only an absolutely beautiful coffee cake Barbara but such an important message this time of year when so many of us are blessed without having to worry about where our next meal is coming from…thanks for both!
Faith (An Edible Mosaic)
What a beautiful post, Barbara. It’s such an important cause to support. Plus, your coffee cake is absolutely stunning!
Angie (@angiesrecipess)
This yeast coffee cake looks stunning, Barbara. Cinnamon apple filling and oaty streusel topping..an unbeatable pairing!