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Home » Desserts

Maple Apple Cake with Oatmeal Streusel (Torta di Mele)

Modified: Sep 21, 2024 · Published: Oct 19, 2023 by Mari Betancourt · This post may contain affiliate links · 3 Comments

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This maple apple cake has all the fall flavors you're looking for - warm cinnamon, sweet maple syrup and a crumbly oatmeal streusel topping. Torta di Mele is Italian for "Apple Cake" but this recipe has some not-so-traditional additions that amps ups the apple flavor, in my opinion. Perfect to bake on a cozy night in or to make ahead for a holiday celebration.

Maple apple loaf cake on a cooling rack along with slices of cake next to green and red apples, silverware, milk, plates and a red cloth napkin.

What is Torta di Mele (Apple Cake)?

Torta di Mele is Italian for "apple cake." It's traditionally served as something to accompany coffee, as a dessert or just something to offer when you have those last-minute visitors come over. My great-aunts would always have some version of this cake ready at a moment's notice.

My version of this recipe veers away from the traditional and dials up the cozy fall and winter flavors.

This maple apple cake is essentially a loaf cake topped with a crumbly topping, in the form of an oatmeal streusel, so there's no need for frosting, syrups or fillings. As a bonus, the warm flavors of cinnamon, maple and apple will strongly perfume your house as you bake this cake - what's not to love about that?!

Jump to:
  • What is Torta di Mele (Apple Cake)?
  • Why You'll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients You'll Need
  • Step-by-Step Instructions
  • Substitutions and Variations
  • Equipment
  • Which Apples Are Best for a Maple Apple Cake?
  • How to Make a Great Streusel Topping
  • What Do I Serve with Maple Apple Cake?
  • Storing Maple Apple Cake
  • FAQ
  • Tips and Tricks
  • Related Recipes
  • Maple Apple Cake with Oatmeal Streusel (Torta di Mele)

Why You'll Love This Recipe

  • Amped up fall flavors. This maple apple cake will get you in the mood for all things fall with the sweet maple and warm cinnamon flavors. Your whole house will smell of these delicious flavors as you bake this cake so it's the perfect recipe to start the season of baking. Or, make it when you're craving fall flavors, regardless of the time of year!
  • A dessert for many occasions. Serve this maple apple cake with coffee for a cozy breakfast or as a sweet ending to a meal with friends and family. This recipe is versatile enough to serve whenever, wherever.
  • Only two apples needed! The apple flavor is very present in this cake but this recipe only calls for two apples - how is that possible? You'll use one tart apple and one sweet apple and, combined, these two types of apple provide all the sweetness and texture you'll need. Remember, quality, not quantity!

Ingredients You'll Need

Ingredients needed for maple apple cake, or torta di mela. Eggs, butter, vanilla bean paste, oatmeal, flour, salt, apples, cinnamon, maple syrup, brown and white granulated sugar.
  • All-purpose flour. You'll need this for both the maple apple cake and the oatmeal streusel.
  • Butter. Another ingredient you'll need for both the cake and the streusel - melted for the cake and at room temperature for the streusel.
  • Granulated sugar. Adds to the sweetness of the cake along with the maple syrup.
  • Vanilla bean paste. One of those key baking ingredients that take the recipes to the next level! Vanilla bean paste is highly recommended but can be swapped with the seeds from a scraped vanilla bean pod or just good quality vanilla bean extract.
  • Cinnamon. Brings in the earthy, fall flavors to both the maple apple cake and the oatmeal streusel.
  • Maple syrup. Use the best quality syrup you can find! This will really pump up the flavors of this cake.
  • Brown sugar. Pack it in when measuring to make sure you have the right amount for the oatmeal streusel.
  • Old fashioned oats. These will give the streusel a nice bite.
  • Eggs. Keep these at room temperature so they combine nicely with the sugar and are able to increase in volume when beaten together.
  • Kosher salt. Round out the sweetness of the cake with salt - a must for all baked goods.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  • Line your loaf pan + preheat. Use parchment paper to make it super easy to remove the maple apple cake from the pan once it's finished baking. I like to secure the parchment paper with small binder clips so it's easier to pour the batter without the parchment moving around - just make sure to remove them before placing the pan in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F so it's ready when you are.
  • Sift. Make sure your dry ingredients are well combined as you sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
  • Beat together. In a medium bowl, you'll want to beat together your room temperature eggs and sugar using a hand mixer. Beat together for about a minute or until the eggs have doubled in size. You'll want this extra volume so the maple apple cake has some lightness to it.
  • Peel and cube. Peel the Granny Smith apple and cut in half. Place one half of the apple in the blender and cube the other half in quarter inch cubes. These will provide some texture to the cake so make sure they're not too big. Set the cubes aside.
  • Make the maple apple sauce. Peel the Fuji apple, cut in half and place in the blender, along with the maple syrup, melted butter, cinnamon and vanilla bean paste. Blend for about 15 seconds. You're trying to create a maple apple sauce in the blender so make sure everything blends together nicely. Side note - this will smell divine!
  • Combine the ingredients. Pour the reserved diced Granny Smith apples and maple apple sauce into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix together until it's just combined, making sure you don't over mix! Then, fold in the egg and sugar mixture delicately until just combined. Again, make sure you don't over mix in this step.
  • Make the oatmeal streusel. Combine the room temperature butter with the brown sugar, flour, oatmeal and old fashioned oats. Using gloves, mix all the ingredients together. You're looking for a mixture that resembles wet sand and groups together into small-ish clumps. If the butter is too soft, place the bowl in the freezer for no more than five minutes so the butter firms up and helps form tight streusel clumps.
  • Pour and bake. Pour the maple apple cake batter into the lined loaf pan gently. Sprinkle the oatmeal streusel over the top of the batter and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Monitor for doneness starting at the 35-40 minute mark using a sharp knife. If it comes out mostly clean once inserted in the middle of the cake, your cake is done!
Sifting all purpose flour in a handheld sifter for torta di mela (maple apple cake).
Cut Granny Smith and fuji apples for the apple cake, pictured on a wooden board next to the apple peels and a knife.
Homemade apple sauce in made in a blender for the maple apple cake torta di mela recipe.
Beating the eggs and granulated sugar on a metal bowl using a handheld mixer.
Two gloved hands mixing together the oatmeal streusel that will of on top of the maple apple cake.
Pouring the egg mixture from a metal bowl into the apple maple cake batter bowl with a blue rubber spatula.
Spooning the oatmeal streusel topping with a spoon on top of the prepared loaf pan with the maple apple cake batter.

Substitutions and Variations

  • Apples. Since we're only using two apples for this cake, I selected the Granny Smith for texture and the Fuji for sweetness. I found these two apple varieties gave the best taste and bite for this recipe. However, you can use any apples you have at home. Try blending the sweeter apple and cubing the more tart apple so you achieve that balance of taste and texture.
  • Vanilla bean paste. This ingredient is a game-changer in my opinion but not essential if you don't have it. You can substitute the vanilla bean paste in this recipe with the seeds from a scraped vanilla bean pod or a tablespoon of a good quality vanilla extract.
  • Oatmeal. If you don't have oatmeal or don't want to use it as part of your topping, make a crumble topping without it! While oatmeal provides a little heartiness to the topping, you can absolutely omit it or even swap it with something else like chopped walnuts or almonds.

Equipment

  • Loaf pan. I used a 10 inch pan for this recipe. It's not too small and not too large and leaves a little room for the maple apple cake to rise.
  • Sifter. I love this old-style sifter because it has a large capacity.
  • Electric handheld mixer. This handheld mixer is my favorite! However, you can also use a stand mixer.
  • Blender. In this recipe, I'll show you how to make a sort of apple sauce with some of the wet ingredients so a good blender will help you get that saucy consistency in no time.
Close up shot of maple apple cake slices, topped with oatmeal streusel.

Which Apples Are Best for a Maple Apple Cake?

You want a mix of tart and sweet apples for this maple apple cake. And, since we're including bite-sized apple pieces inside the cake, we also want to make sure some of your apples are firm so they don't turn to mush.

The best combination for this maple apple cake are tart Granny Smith apples and sweet Fuji apples. We'll use half the Granny Smith apples as the small diced ones for the inside of the cake and the Fuji apple will be blended to make our apple sauce.

If you don't have these specific apples on hand, you can really substitute any apple. However, for the best balance of texture and taste, opt for a sweet apple variation along with a tart, firm variation.

How to Make a Great Streusel Topping

Things can get a little messy so I like to use gloves to mix all the ingredients together. You can use a fork instead but I like the texture of a crumb that's mixed together by hand.

For this oatmeal streusel topping, we're using room temperature butter. However, if the butter is too soft and doesn't give way to nice clumps, you can pop the streusel bowl in the freezer for about five minutes. This will solidify the butter just a bit and help you get those coveted streusel crumbs.

Close up shot of the maple apple loaf cake, or torta di mela.

What Do I Serve with Maple Apple Cake?

A warm beverage, like a strong cup of coffee or a delicate tea is perfect to go along with this cake. To take it over the top, serve this cake with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream! It also makes for a great breakfast so slice it up and enjoy on a cozy morning.

Storing Maple Apple Cake

You can store this maple apple cake for up to four days. Place it in an airtight container or cover with foil and store at room temperature.

This cake does not need to be reheated. In fact, I think it tastes better once it comes up to room temperature than warm right out of the oven.

While you can freeze the baked cake and thaw it out, I wouldn't recommend it because the texture may not be desirable.

Three slices of torta di mela, or maple apple cake, with oatmeal streusel on crumpled white parchment paper.

FAQ

Can I Make This Cake Ahead of Time?

Yes! I'd suggest you make the cake about two days in advance so the streusel is still crunchy once you dig in.

Can I Make This Maple Apple Cake In Another Type of Pan?

Yes, you can make this cake in another type of pan - rectangular, bundt, circular or any other pan you have on hand. However, you'll have to adjust and monitor your baking time and you may need to make more crumble if the pan is wider. Above all, remember: don't over bake and make sure you check your cake for doneness with a knife - you're looking for it to come out mostly clean. This means the cake is just right.

Can I Make This Cake Without the Streusel Topping?

100%! I do have to warn you - the streusel topping is delicious so you may not want to omit it.

Tips and Tricks

  • Don't over mix. If you over mix the ingredients together, this will result in a dense, tough cake. Make sure to gently mix and fold together the batter until it just comes together, not any more than that!
  • Streusel texture. If your streusel is too messy or not clumping correctly, your butter is probably a little too soft. Pop in the bowl with your streusel ingredients in the freezer for just a couple of minutes to get the butter a little colder. This will help you make the clumps of streusel a little easier.
  • Let it cool down! This maple apple cake tastes best once it's come to room temperature so let it cool down. It'll make for easier cutting this way, too!
A macro, close up shot of a slice of maple apple cake in from of the loaf cake and next to a Granny Smith apple and Fuji apple.

Did you try out this recipe? I'd love to know how it went! Leave me a comment and rating below or tag me on Instagram at @AFabulousBite!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase.

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Two slices of apple maple cake stacked on top of each other.

Maple Apple Cake with Oatmeal Streusel (Torta di Mele)

This maple apple cake has all the fall flavors you're looking for - warm cinnamon, sweet maple syrup and a crumbly oatmeal streusel topping. Torta di Mele is Italian for "Apple Cake" but this recipe has some not-so-traditional additions that amps ups the apple flavor, in my opinion. Perfect to bake on a cozy night in or to make ahead for a holiday celebration.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: Apple Cake, Cake, Fall Baking, Loaf, Maple, Oatmeal, Streusel, Torta di Mela, Torta di Mele
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour
Servings: 8 slices
Calories: 523kcal
Author: Mari Betancourt

Equipment

  • 10 inch Loaf Pan
  • Sifter
  • Electric handheld mixer
  • Blender
  • Gloves

Ingredients

For the Maple Apple Cake

  • 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Granny Smith apple
  • 1 Fuji apple
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Oatmeal Streusel

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ cup butter, room temperature
  • ⅓ cup old fashioned oats
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Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 10 inch loaf pan with parchment paper on all sides. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • In a medium bowl, beat together the room temperature eggs with the sugar for about one minute or until the mixture is fluffy and doubles in size.
  • Peel the Granny Smith apple. Cut one half of this apple into small cubes (aim for ¼ to ½ inch cubes) and set aside. Place the other peeled half in the blender.
  • Peel and quarter the Fuji apple and place in the blender, along with the maple syrup, melted butter, vanilla bean paste and cinnamon. Blend together well until the mixture reaches an apple sauce consistency, about 10-15 seconds.
  • Pour the reserved, diced Granny Smith apples and the apple sauce mixture into the large bowl with the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until just combined. Then fold in the egg and sugar mixture gently, making sure you don't over mix!
  • Make the oatmeal streusel topping. In a medium bowl, combine the room temperature butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and oats. Using gloves, mix together with hands until the mixture looks like wet sand and small clumps form.
  • Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan and pour the oatmeal streusel on top. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.

Notes

  • You can substitute vanilla extract in place of vanilla bean paste if you don't have any.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 slice | Calories: 523kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 400mg | Potassium: 187mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 50g | Vitamin A: 625IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe? Let me know!Tag @AFabulousBite and include #AFabulousBite!

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Comments

  1. Maria E. I says

    October 20, 2023 at 5:57 pm

    5 stars
    Is super easy, I love it, thanks

    Reply
  2. Annika says

    July 30, 2024 at 8:17 pm

    This is the best bread ever!!!! Can’t stop thinking about it and going to make again tonight.

    Reply
    • Mari says

      August 16, 2024 at 3:08 pm

      Love to hear it 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing!

      Reply
5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Hi there, Mari here! Welcome to A Fabulous Bite, where you'll find approachable, Italian-inspired recipes you'll want to make.

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