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Cuca de Maçã (Apple Crumb Cake with Dulce de Leche)

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Apple crumb cake (or cuca de maçã) is a traditional German coffee cake topped or filled with apples. Serve it plain for breakfast or drizzled with caramel sauce or homemade dulce de leche sauce as an afternoon treat.  

pile of apple crumb cake slices

 

The intoxicating aroma of something good baking in the oven is getting me all anxious… I am as excited as a kid!!!! 🙂 

Oh, didn’t I tell you that we are baking Cuca de Maçã or Apfel Streuselkuchen?  

Huh? Well, this wonderful German creation is an apple crumb cake. 

Our Apple Crumb Cake or cuca de maçã, as it is known in Portuguese, was brought to Southern Brazil in the 19th century.  

That is because this is where the bulk of German immigration was concentrated, influencing Southern Brazil’s architecture and cuisine.

The German influx also gave us Gisele Bündchen, a Brazilian-German descendant well known to the rest of the world! 😉 

Well, returning to cuca de maçã or apple crumb cake…

this traditional coffee cake is made of a either a yeast dough or a shortening-based dough (ours), covered/filled with apples and topped with a sweet crumb topping (streusel). 

There are many variants of apple crumb cake or cuca de maçã in Brazil that differ both in terms of dough, and whether or not apples are incorporated as a filling or as a topping (ours).

Our cuca de maçã is great when served plain for breakfast, or drizzled with caramel sauce or a homemade dulce de leche sauce as an afternoon treat. 

HOW TO MAKE APPLE CRUMB CAKE (Cuca de Maçã)

Preheat oven to 350°F (about 177° C).  Grease bottom and side of a 8 x 8-inch baking pan.  Set aside.

First, make the streusel topping. Combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl; cut in butter with a fork until obtaining fine crumbs. 

Add heavy cream and vanilla, mixing well with a fork until crumbs form (the cream will add moisture to the streusel).

Set aside at room temperature so that the vanilla will infuse the streusel with flavor.

In a medium bowl, combine together the sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. 

Pour in and then mix both the melted shortening and butter with a fork until obtaining fine crumbs.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, cream, and vanilla. Add to crumb mixture, tossing gently with a fork or by hand until mixture forms a ball. 

Press dough in an even layer into the prepared baking pan. 

Arrange apple slices on top of crust and then sprinkle the reserved streusel evenly over apple slices.

Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Let cool on a rack and slice into squares.

Serving Apple Crumb Cake 2 Ways

Serve apple crumb cake or cuca de maçã plain (the traditional manner).

Or alternatively, warm and drizzled with dulce de leche sauce and accompanied by a scoop of ice cream if desired (my favorite way).

Traditionally, no caramel or dulce de leche sauce tops cuca de maçã.

But since this is a very mild-flavored cake and I have a big sweet tooth, that is the way that I serve mine.

If you would like to try other apple goodies as well, I’d like to recommend to you these two fabulous treats:  Caramel Apple-Brownie Cheesecake and Caramel Apple Streusel Cake. 

And just in case you were wondering, no, this last cake is not the same as our cuca de maçã/apple crumb cake!

Now, if you will please excuse me, I have some serious eats to get busy on, accompanied by a good cup of coffee.  

xx

 

 

 

5 from 12 votes
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Apple Crumb Cake (Cuca de Maçã)

Apple crumb cake (or cuca de maçã) is a traditional German coffee cake topped or filled with apples. It is great served plain for breakfast or drizzled with caramel sauce or homemade dulce de leche sauce as an afternoon treat.  

Course Dessert
Cuisine Brazilian
Keyword apple crumb cake, cuca de maca
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 9 squares
Calories 379 kcal
Author Denise Browning

Ingredients

Cake Batter:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 dash salt
  • 1 tablespoon shortening melted
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • About 3 medium baking tart apples e.g. Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8 slices

Streusel Topping:

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1-1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
  • 1/2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish (optional):

  • 1/4 - 1/3 cup store-bought caramel sauce or homemade dulce de leche sauce

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (about 177° C).  Grease bottom and side of a 8 x 8-inch baking pan.  Set aside.
  2. First, make the streusel topping. Combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl; cut in butter with a fork until obtaining fine crumbs.  Add heavy cream and vanilla, mixing well with a fork until crumbs form (the cream will add moisture to the streusel). Set aside at room temperature so that the vanilla will infuse the streusel with flavor.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine together the sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Pour in and then mix both the melted shortening and butter with a fork until obtaining fine crumbs.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, cream, and vanilla. Add to crumb mixture, tossing gently with a fork or by hand until mixture forms a ball.  Press dough in an even layer into the prepared baking pan.  Arrange apple slices on top of crust and then sprinkle the reserved streusel evenly over apple slices.
  5. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool on a rack and slice into squares. Serve apple crumb cake or cuca de maçã plain (the traditional manner), or warm and drizzled with either caramel sauce or dulce de leche sauce and accompanied by a scoop of ice cream if desired (my favorite way).
Nutrition Facts
Apple Crumb Cake (Cuca de Maçã)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 379 Calories from Fat 144
% Daily Value*
Fat 16g25%
Saturated Fat 9g45%
Cholesterol 67mg22%
Sodium 24mg1%
Potassium 210mg6%
Carbohydrates 53g18%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 25g28%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 595IU12%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 70mg7%
Iron 1.7mg9%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

 

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Comments

  8. The Café Sucre Farine

    5 stars
    Hi Denise, I grew up in Wisconsin in a very German-American community. My mom didn’t speak English till she went to grammar school. I grew up on wonderful kuchens and streusels. This looks wonderful and very authentic! 🙂

    Reply

  13. Julia | JuliasAlbum.com

    5 stars
    Denise, this cake looks amazing! I’ve been baking a lot with apples too – love apple desserts! My mother-in-law just sent me a whole bag of apples right from her apple tree! And, I also prefer dulce de leche to caramel sauce. Pinned!

    Reply

  15. Daniela

    5 stars
    I love apple crumble cake and this version looks sooo good,mmh.
    Can you believe that in this very moment I’m in one of the wonderful Viennese Cafés, having a Melange (Capuccino) and would love to have a bite of your applecake, Denise 🙂

    Reply

  18. Purabi Naha | Cosmopolitan Currymania

    5 stars
    Holy Cow! What a delicious cake to celebrate your favourite season! I was simply looking at this gorgeous cake for sometime…I am going to make this cake for sure as it has apples in it, which I love to add in my baking. Wonderful crumb cake recipe…I am confident that my family would love this. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    Reply

  21. Juliana

    Delicious looking cake Denise…I never heard of “cuca” when living in Brazil…always learning…I would love my slice with the dulce de leche sauce…
    Thanks for this recipe and hope you are having a lovely week 😀

    Reply

  25. AcesHigh

    At least here in southern Brazil this would never be considered a cake. More like a sweet bread. Imho, the dough is more similar to that of a bread than that of a cake.

    Reply

    • Denise Browning

      Roger:
      There are 2 types of Apfel Streuselkuchen (or cuca de maçã). The traditional, made from yeast dough, which is technically a bread. And a “modern” version, made from a shortening-based dough (my recipe), which is more a coffee cake (there is no yeast involved or a leavening process, only baking powder and uses the same process as for a cake). One cannot blame people for looking at both versions and think they are cake because they look like a ‘flat cake’ although one of the versions is technically a bread. Even the original designation fails to categorize the original yeast dough-based apfel streuselkutchen as a bread because they called it kuchen (which it means cake in German). In Brazil, as in Germany and the rest of the world, there are 2 types of apfel streuselkutchen or cuca de maçã and mine is definitely the “modern” version. I don’t know whether you did read my article but I do explain the difference between the 2 versions and tell which type mine is.

      Reply

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