Apple Spice Crumb Cake from Guest Kay Garrett #Thanksgiving #giveaway

MADDIE DAY here, delighted to welcome our regular commenter Kay Garrett as my guest on the front of the blog! She kicks off our two weeks of Thanksgiving recipes and kindly shared her recipe for a yummy apple cake that would be a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table.

Kay has been a fan of my books for years, and she writes great reviews. In fact, she's a fan of all the Mystery Lovers Kitchen author-cooks' books!

Here's what Kay says about herself:

"I’m a happy homemaker whose two passions are baking and reading (not necessarily in that order). Blessed to be happily married to the love of my life for 43+ years who enjoys my baking (when he’s not in the kitchen alongside me or doing the baking himself) and keeps me well supplied in books. About 18 years ago, my husband picked up a camera and I soon followed suit. We love to take photos of critters in their natural environment. Almost 10 years ago, retired, we moved to our dream destination (a place we use to love to vacation at) in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Blessed with many daily critter visitors, I love nothing more than to sit on the front porch with a good book, my Diet Pepsi at hand, and my camera within reach."

She shares her amazing wildlife photos in her Facebook group, Through the Eye of My Camera.

And following is her recipe. Thanks for joining us, Kay!

Apple Spice Crumb Cake

Adapted from Kay Garrett.

Ingredients

Crumb Topping:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted

1 cup flour

7 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon kosher salt

(I decided to go with a slightly larger pan, so I added half a cup each of white flour and oats to the topping.)

Coffee Cake:

1 ½ cups apple cider, reduced

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

½ cup sugar

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup sour cream (not shown in Ingredients photo)

2 cups diced baking apples from two medium apples (mine were big and yielded 3 1/2 cups, perfect for the larger pan)

Glaze:

1 tablespoon apple cider

¾ cup powdered sugar

(I omitted the glaze)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8×8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. (I used a 9"x11" pan and buttered it.)

In a small saucepan, bring the apple cider to a simmer over medium-low heat; simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until reduced to ½ cup.

To make the crumb topping, use a fork to combine all crumb topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes or cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl or a large measuring cup, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and sour cream; beat until combined. 

Slowly mix in the flour mixture just until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the ½ cup reduced apple cider, then stir in the apples. 

Spread in the prepared baking dish. 

Remove the crumb topping from the fridge or freezer and use a fork to break apart any chunks. Sprinkle all over the cake.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

If using, in a small bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle all over the cake.

Enjoy, possibly with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top! And Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Readers: How do you like your apples? Do you have questions for Kay?

Kay says her favorite among my characters is Cameron Flaherty from my Local Foods Mysteries, because those books got her hooked on my stories. I'll send one lucky commenter a hardcover copy of Farmed and Dangerous, the third in the series!

Note: the series was originally written as authored by Edith Maxwell, but all five books have been re-released as Maddie Day ebooks.