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The Best Apple Cake With Pistachio Crumb Topping

Nataliia
This is the best apple cake recipe made with fresh apples, and sour cream and topped with a pistachio crumb. With each bite, you will enjoy a moist, tender crumb, tangy apple pieces, and a fragrant, crunchy topping.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, European
Servings 12
Calories 320 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 electric mixer
  • 1 square 9x9 pan or 9 inch round cake pan
  • 2 large bowls
  • 1 medium bowl
  • 1 Measuring Cup
  • 1 Whisk

Ingredients
  

Pistachio cardamom topping ingredients

  • ½ cup pistachios, unsalted shelled
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • ¼ cup rolled oats or the same amount of flour
  • ¼ cup dark brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom use ½ for more fragrant taste
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons cold butter, cubed

Apple cake ingredients

  • 4 medium apples, peeled, cored and diced
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar or ¾ for less sweet cake
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil or olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

Pistachio cardamom topping instructions

  • Using a sharp knife chop the pistachios coarsely. You can also use a food process to do so.
  • In a medium bowl, add ¼ cup all purpose flour , ¼ cup rolled oats, ¼ cup dark brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon . Whisk to combine.
  • Add 4 tablespoons cold butter, cubed to the mix. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients using your hands or pastry cutter until you have coarse crumbs.
  • Fold in the pistachios and place the crumb topping in the fridge while you are making a cake batter.

Apple cake instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the pan with oil. Line the bottom of the 9 inch square pan with parchment paper, if you plan to slice the cake in the pan.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, add 3 eggs and ¼ teaspoon salt. Beat briefly with electric mixer just to combine. Add 1 cup sugar and continue beating on high for about 4 minutes or until the mixture becomes lighter in color and nearly doubles in size.
  • Add ½ cup sour cream, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract . Beat again just until combined.
  • Add the flour and baking powder mix to the bowl with wet ingredients. Mix the batter gently with silicone spatula or a whisk, just until combines.
  • Fold in about 1.5 cups diced apples. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with the pistachio crumb topping and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Mine takes 36 minutes.
  • Let the apple cake cool down for 5 minutes, slice and enjoy.

Notes

You can use any apples, but it is the best to combine both sweet and sour types.
You can bake the cake in the 9 inch round spring pan.
You can use different nuts such as pecan or walnut.
This cake is good at room temperature for a few days and it will stay fresh for up to 4-5 days in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 320kcalCarbohydrates: 47.1gProtein: 4.9gFat: 13.3gCholesterol: 65.7mgSodium: 100mgFiber: 2.6gSugar: 27.1g
Keyword apple cake, apple cake with crumble topping, apple sour cream cake
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