Slow Cooker Apple Crisp Coffee Cake

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Last year at Starbucks I found a little pamphlet of recipes with suggestions for coffee pairings. There were several coffee cake recipes, including a slow cooker coffee cake. Intriguing, right? I’ve wanted to try the recipe for a while, and I finally did this past weekend.

Just like the pineapple upside down cake I made last year, when making the coffee cake you layer the fruit on the bottom of the slow cooker and then you add the cake batter on top. Once it’s done cooking, you invert the cake onto a plate. Every time I do this I think, “It’s not going to work.” But it does! It’s magic!

The reasons for cooking the cake in the slow cooker are that it frees up space in the oven, you can leave your house while it’s baking, and it’s fun to experiment!

Tip 1: I know that some people first line the bottom of their slow cooker with parchment paper or foil. Feel free to do that if you feel it’s necessary! Personally, I haven’t had issues with the bottom of the coffee cake sticking as long as I prepare the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

Tip 2: Make sure you use a 3 to 3 1/2 quart slow cooker. Anything smaller than that will not cook properly because the surface area isn’t wide enough to properly cook the center of the cake.

Slow Cooker Apple Crisp Coffee Cake

Ingredients

For the apple mixture

• 1 can (21 ounce) apple pie filling
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the crumble mixture

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Challenge butter, room temperature and cut into chunks

For the cake batter

• 1 box Betty Crocker yellow cake mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup Challenge butter, melted
• 2 eggs

Directions

1. Prepare slow cooker with non-stick spray or grease well with butter

For the apple mixture

1. Combine apple pie filling, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla; set aside

For the crumble mixture

1. Combine oats and brown sugar. Use pastry cutter or fork to cut butter into mixture. Set aside.

For the cake batter

1. Mix yellow cake mix, sour cream, butter, and eggs; set aside.

Assembly

1. In bottom of slow cooker, spread the apple mixture
2. Top with the crumble mixture
3. Pour in the cake batter
4. Place folded, clean dish towel on top of slow cooker and cover with slow cooker top – this will prevent condensation from dripping on top of cake
5. Cook on high heat for 3 hours, or until cake is set in center
6. Turn off slow cooker, remove cover and transfer ceramic insert from slow cooker to cooling rack; let stand 20 minutes
7. When ready to serve, invert coffee cake onto serving plate

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker