Apple Coffee Cake

Fall is finally here!  When I think of Fall I think of apples, pumpkins and all the yummy baked goods that can be made with them.  It's funny because I'm not a good baker but when Fall comes around I get excited about baking for a little while.  I'm not a huge fan of pies so when I saw this recipe by Giovanna at For My Three Little Monkeys, I knew I had to try it.  It's an apple coffee cake and has everything I'm looking for in a Fall recipe.  It's not a pie, has apples and it's not difficult!  What's great about this recipe is that even if you don't like cooked apples you can leave them out and have a fabulous coffee cake.  The ricotta makes this cake so moist that three days later it still tastes like I just pulled it out of the oven. This is a recipe that's going to stay with me a long time. It's the best cake I've ever made!  Can you tell that I'm excited? 

I made the recipe exactly as written except I left out the shortening and used all butter and accidentally put the pecans in the food processor (oops).  It worked out perfectly.  I hope you try this recipe and go check out Giovanna's blog.  She has more great recipes like this one!

Apple Coffee Cake

Source: For My Three Little Monkeys

Ingredients:

2 cooking apples; peeled, cored, and chopped
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese

*** Streusel ***

2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. butter; cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp. shortening; cut into small pieces
1/2 cup pecan pieces

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter. Combine all streusel ingredients except butter, shortening and pecans in a food processor. Add butter and shortening. Pulse about 10 times then process for 5 to 10 seconds until there are no visible lumps of fat.

Peel and chop apples and toss with lemon juice. Set aside.

Mix together 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl.

Using an electric mixer beat 1/2 cup butter and the sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and ricotta cheese to batter. Mix on low speed after each addition until combined.

Spread 1/2 of the batter into the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the streusel mixture and then the diced apples. Spoon remaining batter over apples. It will not spread smoothly so be gentle and use dollops of batter. Sprinkle with remaining topping and nuts.

Bake 45-50 minutes more or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool at least 1 hour on a wire rack.