Apple and Blueberry Crumble Cake
By Sarah from A Spoonful of Vanilla
August 18, 2020
Today I have an extra special recipe, because I’m featuring Sarah as a guest writer! On Twitter, I love following Sarah for her delicious-sounding desserts and stunning cakes. I was so excited when she offered to do a post here, and immediately we decided on featuring one of those gorgeous cakes. Enjoy getting to know Sarah and this recipe, and please, drool over the photos of this apple and blueberry crumble cake.
Note that Sarah is based in the UK, so she may use some measurements and terms that are less familiar around here! However, I tried to add in notes about imperial measurements and substitutions where needed.
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What You Need to Get Started
- Pantry: Light brown sugar, Self-rising flour, Baking powder, All-purpose flour, Oats, Brown sugar, Powdered sugar
- Fridge: Butter, Eggs, Milk
- Produce: Blueberries, Apples
- Spice Cabinet: Cinnamon
- Equipment: 8-inch cake pans, Parchment paper, Mixing bowls, Whisk, Silicone spatula, Cooling rack
- Optional Equipment: Stand mixer or hand mixer; If you’d like to follow Sarah’s weight-based measurements to get the exact cake pictured here, you will want a kitchen scale, as well.
Now, let’s hear from Sarah!

About This Cake
This apple and blueberry crumble cake is the perfect dessert after a busy day. A soft and moist blueberry and apple sponge, cinnamon buttercream and decorated with crumble and more blueberries.
I decided to make this apple and blueberry crumble cake two layers. Normally I make cakes slightly larger just because I like large cakes like my Cookie Dough Showstopper Cake and my Rainbow Drip Cake but I am so glad I didn’t with this cake as I think it looks great with just two layers.
I did make the apple and blueberry crumble cake layers slightly larger than I would have if I was making a three-layer cake but I think they look utterly delicious. To make this cake I used 300g of the main ingredients so sugar (1.5 cups), butter (1 1/3 cups), and flour (2 3/8 cups). I then used 6 large eggs, I normally follow the rule that for every 50g (1/3 cup) of flour you have you use 1 large egg.
In this recipe, I also used Light Brown Sugar instead of Caster Sugar (superfine sugar). This is completely up to you. I used light brown sugar as it gives the cake a more toffee flavour which is delicious with the fruit, cinnamon buttercream and crumble topping. If you would prefer to use caster sugar, then that is absolutely fine; the cake will still taste delicious. You could also use a combination of both sugars too if you would prefer, for example, 150g (3/4 cups) of each.

How to Make Apple & Blueberry Cake
I mixed the butter and sugar together for a few minutes until it was soft and lighter in colour. I added in the flour, baking powder and eggs and mixed again. Next, I peeled and roughly cut my apples into 1cm (2/5 inch) cubes. I did this now because when you peel and cut apples and leave them to the side they tend to start going brown pretty quick. I added the apples and blueberries into my cake mix and folded them in with a spatula as I wanted the blueberries to stay whole.
Folding is slightly different to mixing. When you are folding a mixture you want to be gentle so as not to lose any of the air from the mixture. I use my spatula and go around the sides of the bowl pushing the mixture inwards and then cut through the middle of the bowl.
Divide the apple and blueberry cake mixture into the cake tins and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until they are golden brown and spring back when touched.
How Do I Know When The Cakes Are Ready?
I wouldn’t recommend inserting a skewer into the centre of the cakes as if you hit a piece of apple or blueberry then this will show on the skewer and make it look as though the cake is not done.
You can also listen to your cakes when you remove them from the oven. If they are still bubbling and crackling then they are not done. You will know they are done as they will be silent when you remove them from the oven.

How to Make the Crumble & Frosting
Crumble
While I was waiting on my apple and blueberry crumble cakes to cool I made the crumble. To make this I added the oats, flour, brown sugar and butter. I rubbed it between my fingers until it begun to clump together. I then poured this onto my baking tray and baked in the oven.
Buttercream
To make the buttercream for your apple and blueberry crumble cake I mixed the butter and icing sugar together until it was lovely and soft. I then added in ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon. I am not a massive fan of cinnamon so I didn’t want a super strong flavour.
If you would prefer a stronger cinnamon flavour then I would add ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon at a time mixing after each addition until you reach the flavour you would like.
I piped the buttercream onto the bottom layer of the cake first and then added the crumble and blueberries. I didn’t use apples in the decoration because I thought they would go brown pretty quick.
Then I added the second cake on top and decorated it with buttercream, crumble and of course some blueberries. If you didn’t want to use fresh blueberries you could use blueberry jam or coulis instead.

Specific Ingredients
- Self-Raising Flour – I used a supermarket brand. In this recipe I use both self-raising and plain flour and I often get asked questions regarding the difference between both flours. Plain flour is just regular flour, self-raising flour is plain flour but it includes baking powder or another rising agent. You may come across some recipes that call for self-raising flour and no baking powder and that is because there is already baking powder included in the flour. I used baking powder to give the cake some extra rise because they are quite large cakes.
- Light Brown Sugar – I used Billingtons
- Baking Powder – I used Dr Oetker
- Unsalted Butter – For the cake you can use either unsalted butter or a baking spread like Stork (margarine). In the buttercream however, you must use unsalted butter. If you use a baking spread it will just make the buttercream far too soft and runny.
- Icing Sugar (powdered or confectioner’s sugar) – I used Silver Spoon
- Oats – I used Quaker oats
- Plain Flour – I used a supermarket own brand

Special Equipment
- Spatula – I will always use a spatula over a wooden spoon. Spatulas will be able to get any left-over batter from around the sides of the bowl.
- Scales – If you don’t use scales to weigh your ingredients you are essentially setting yourself up to fail. So many things can go wrong if you use too much flour or sugar in recipes.
- Baking Trays – I used flat baking trays for my crumble.
- 8” Cake Tins – I use these 8” cake tins (not available in US, here’s something similar). I find they make the perfect sized cake. If you use larger cake tins you will find that your cake is thinner and will take less time to bake than mine and if you use smaller cake tins you will find that your cake is thicker and may take longer to bake.
- Piping Tips – I used a Wilton 1M Piping Tip
- Piping Bags – I use these large savoy piping bags (not available in US, here’s something similar).
Apple & Blueberry Crumble Cake
Ingredients
Apple & Blueberry Cake
- 1 ½ Cups Light Brown Sugar (300 g)
- 1 ⅓ Cups Unsalted Butter (300 g)
- 2 3/8 Cups Self-Raising Flour (300 g)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 6 Eggs
- ⅔ Cups Blueberries (100 g)
- 2 Apples (175 g)
Crumble Topping
- ⅓ Cups All-Purpose Flour (50 g)
- ⅓ Cups Oats (50 g)
- ¼ Cups Butter (50 g)
- ¼ Cups Brown Sugar (50 g)
Buttercream Topping
- 2 3/8 Cups Icing Sugar (powdered/confectioner's sugar) (300 g)
- ¾ Cups Unsalted Butter (175 g)
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- 2-3 Tbsp Milk (optional)
- 1/3 Cup Blueberries (50g, optional)
Instructions
Apple & Blueberry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C Fan). Line two 8” cake tins with greaseproof paper and leave to one side.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in the flour, eggs and baking powder and whisk until all combined.
- Peel and cut your apples roughly into ¼-½-inch (1cm) cubes and add to your mixture. Add your blueberries also and fold them in.
- Split the mixture evenly into the two cake tins and bake in the over for 35-40 minutes. You will know they are ready when they are golden brown and springy to touch.
- Leave them to cool in the cake tin for 15-20 minutes and then remove and put them on a wire rack to cool fully
Crumble Topping
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C Fan) and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and leave to one side.
- In a bowl add all the ingredients and rub together using your fingers until it starts to form a crumbly texture.
- Pour the mixture onto the baking tray and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool.
Buttercream
- In a bowl mix together the butter and icing sugar until it is combined. Add in the cinnamon and mix again.
- If you find the buttercream is quite thick add 1 tsp of milk at a time mixing in-between until it reaches the desired consistency. Put the mixture into a piping bag with a 1M Piping Tip.
Decorating
- Place your first cake on your cake board or plate. Pipe the buttercream onto the cake and add some of your crumble and blueberries.
- Place your second cake on top and again cover the top of the cake with buttercream. Decorate with the remaining crumble and blueberries.
Notes
- You can use any kind of fruit in this cake that you want. You could use all apples, all blueberries or a mixture of different fruit such as blueberry and raspberry or apple and blackberries. Just ensure that they fruit is the same weight as this recipe.
- The cinnamon in the buttercream is completely optional. You could leave the cinnamon out and just use a teaspoon of vanilla extract instead for vanilla buttercream.
- You also don’t need to use light brown sugar you could use caster sugar instead or a combination of the two sugars. So long as the quantity of sugar is 300g (1 1/2 cups).
Wow! This looks amazing! I never thought of using both apples and blueberries. And the pictures are gorgeous!
This looks tasty! I love anything with blueberries in it so this might be something I’ll have to try!
My mouth is watering! This looks and sounds amazing!
My 4 year old is obsessed with blueberries, and I’m obsessed with cake. Lol. This will be such a fun and tasty recipe to make this weekend!
I love just about anything with a crumble topping, and this sounds divine! It really bums me out when autumn comes along because I love apples, but I’m terribly allergic to them, and oats too! And those are popular fall dish ingredients. It breaks my heart not to try this out for myself – but I know I have friends and family who would be able to gobble it up, so I’ll be passing it along!
If you want to adapt this recipe to work for your restrictions, you totally can! Leave the oats out of the crumble, since you can make a streusel topping with or without them. You will want to add about 30-50% more flour to make up for it. The apples are baked into the cake, so you could leave those out, or replace with another seasonal fruit like peaches or pears!
Thanks for sharing Sarah’s wonderful guest post, this cake looks amazing perfect for that time between autumn and summer 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
Crumble cakes have the best combination of moist and crumbly .. And this one surely hits high up there .. Looks delish ..
I love the crumble on top of the cake, what a great idea and also I love you didn’t completely frost the cake. I now have a blueberry bush and love picking the fresh berries and baking with then. This cake will be next.
Wow, what a combo! I would have never thought of combining those flavours, but I definitely need to give it a go. Bookmarked for later 🙂
I have apples and blueberries wilting on my counter—can’t wait to make this tomorrow!
What a unique recipe baking the crumble separately but it was so good. I will definitely be making these again during the holiday season.