Apple Coffee Cake Streusel

I've long been searching for a recipe to make a cake I remember from my childhood. It was a coffee cake. It was cake on the bottom with buttery, brown sugary, crumble stuff on the top. I've never found what I was looking for. This morning, I came pretty close. The one I remember didn't have apple in it, but this filled the craving I have had for many many years to eat this cake again !!

I took elements from a couple of recipes I've tried recently and came up with this. There are three layers ...

For the Cake Layer:
2 tablespoons canola oil (I think you could probably use whatever oil you like)
1 & 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place rack in center of oven, and heat oven to 160C/325F degrees. Spray a 9-by-12 & 1/2-inch baking pan with oil, lay baking paper on top of that and push it into the corners and up the sides to flatten it. (leave a little excess up the sides to easily remove the cake at the end) Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together egg, milk, canola oil, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Spread batter evenly into prepared baking pan, and set aside.

For the Apple Layer :
2 apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced.
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix all ingredients in medium sized bowl. I used my fingers to rub the sugar and spices into the apple sliced. Cover cake batter with apples.

For the Streusel Layer :
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup butter, softened

In small bowl combine all ingredients and sprinkle on top of apples.

Transfer pan to oven, and bake, rotating pan every 10 minutes. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30/40 minutes. (this will depend on your oven ... I tested mine every 5 minutes after the first 20)

Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool. I actually pulled the cake out of the pan, using the excess baking paper ... it took two people to do it.

Let cool for a couple of minutes, then serve it up and enjoy ! Rory and the kids (and our friends who live next door) had creme fraiche with theirs but I just ate it as it was ... mmmmmmmm.