Bisquick Apple Coffee Cake

A family favorite that's easy to whip up.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated October 27, 2023
Elise Bauer
A baking pan with bisquick coffee cake and two squares removed from the pan.
Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

A favorite family ritual growing up was this apple coffee cake on Sunday mornings. My father would prepare it for his six greedy kids, all of us begging for him to pile on the brown sugar streusel topping.

For this coffee cake, Dad used Bisquick, a popular baking mix back then as it still is now. You don't have to worry about baking soda or baking powder because the mix comes with its own leavening.

All you have to do is combine a couple of cups of Bisquick with some milk (or water), a couple of tablespoons of sugar, and an egg to make the batter. Pour that into a greased baking dish.

Then insert slices of peeled, tart green apples into the batter and top with a brown sugar streusel topping, some dabs of butter, and bake!

Given the size of our family, my father would usually double the recipe and bake it in an 8x13-inch Pyrex dish.

It was then, and still is now, one of my favorite coffee cakes of all time.

A baking pan with bisquick coffee cake and two squares removed from the pan.
Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

The Best Apples for Apple Coffee Cake

Choose apples that hold their shape when baked. The recipe calls for a tart apple, and these tart apples will hold up well during baking.

  • Cripps Pink
  • Winesap
  • Granny Smith

To add a little sweetness to the cake, try one of these sturdier sweet apples.

  • Honeycrisp
  • Gala
  • Braeburn
  • Jonagold

How to Store or Freeze Coffee Cake

After it's cooled, cover and store the freshly baked coffee cake at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. After day 2, store the cake in the refrigerator for up to an additional 5 days.

Freeze the cooled cake wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil for up to 3 months. Or, freeze individual slices wrapped the same way.

Cake Recipes for Your Kaffeeklatsch

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Bisquick Apple Coffee Cake

Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Servings 8 servings
Yield 1 cake

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 2 cups baking mix, such as Bisquick

  • 2/3 cup milk or water

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 tart green apple, cored, peeled, sliced

Topping:

  • 1/3 cup baking mix, such as Bisquick

  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 4 tablespoons butter, thinly sliced

Method

  1. Preheat the oven and prepare the pan:

    Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease an 8" square pan or a 9" round pan.

  2. Mix the ingredients:

    In a large bowl, mix together the 2 cups of baking mix, water or milk, sugar, and egg until just combined. Spread the batter in pan. Insert the apple slices into the batter evenly throughout the cake.

    Biquick in a measuring cup to make bisquick coffee cake recipe.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
    A bowl of bisquick batter to make a bisquick coffee cake recipe.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
    Sliced apples on top of bisquick batter to make a bisquick apple cobbler.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
  3. Make the topping:

    In a medium bowl, combine the 1/3 cup of Bisquick mix with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread the topping mix over top of the batter in the pan. Place slices of the butter all over the top.

    Bisquick apple cobbler in a baking pan and ready to be baked.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
  4. Bake:

    Bake 20 minutes at 400°F, or until golden brown, and a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

    Did you love the recipe? Leave a comment and give us some stars below!

    Bisquick coffee cake cooling on a rack.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
123 Calories
7g Fat
15g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 123
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g 9%
Saturated Fat 4g 21%
Cholesterol 40mg 13%
Sodium 66mg 3%
Total Carbohydrate 15g 5%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 14g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 1mg 5%
Calcium 39mg 3%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 74mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.