I opted to make this cake without the brown sugar sauce. On its own, it is quite tasty, but quite frustrating to bake all the way through. I had to tent it with aluminum foil from about 40 minutes on, checking every five minutes to see if it had cooked through. I ended up baking mine for a little over an hour. I found that, although it tasted great, it did not hold together very well, and the cake separated entirely from the crust-like bottom. Overall, I would serve this to family with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but wouldn't trust it to hold together for company.

Not much flavor, really, besides the butter. Leaves a greasy feel to the mouth and a bit too greasy for the tummy, too.

An hour was way to long to bake. Couldn't even eat the crust. I might try this recipe again using a lot less cooking time. Not sure though.

I followed reccomendations of others... heavy on apples, easy on the sugar, and reduce either the temperature or the cooking time. Without the sauce, it was a moist cake-like concoction. The caremely nuts on the bottom were a nice treat. Overall, it wasn't anything incredible. It is a good cake for people who like a more delicate, less sweet cake. I'll try it one more time with the sauce.

This is fabulous. It will be especially good as an autumnal dessert. The sauce reallly make it!

This is abxolutely wonderful, I made it for my little brothers and they wanted to eat the whole pan full! I will definately made this again and again. a few things I did differently: used whole wheat flour, and sucanat instead of sugar, also in the sauce, I omitted most of the ingrediants and just mixed 1/4 cup of butter, and 1 cup of brown sugar on the stove, and it really added to the flavor of the cake.

This was very nice. I used almonds instead of walnuts as I don't like walnuts. At first I thought the cake wouldn't work as the crumble base part was very dry and the batter part was also dry. The cake actually turned out quite moist. The brown sugar sauce went very well with it.

Love this cake. I would make it for members of my team while working in Afghanistan. They all loved it and would ask for it often. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

This cake turned out so nicely! We loved the crust on the bottom. I had to use foil to prevent the cake from browning too much after about half an hour, but it wasn't a problem. The colour was beautiful. It ended up taking only about 1 hour until it was ready. I didn't even bother with the sauce after tasting it without. I'll definitely make this one again.

This is my new favorite apple cake!!!One I will hand down to my kids

This was good. I used an 8X8 inch square glass baking pan because that was what I had and it worked fine. Like another reviewer, I reduced the heat to 350 and did not have to cover it at all. it took about 85 minutes to cook completely. For the sauce, I didn't have brandy, so I didn't use it. Next time I'll skip the vanilla too. I tasted it before the vanilla and thought it was wonderful, but when I put in the vanilla it didn't taste as good. I also used pecans instead of walnuts, because I like them better.

This recipe is fantastic! It is so rich and moist. I used the springform pan and came out looking like a professionally done cake. I ommitted the brandy because I didn't have any, and the sauce was rather bland. Also, I used pecans instead of walnuts.

A different twist on a normal "coffee cake" recipe, this turned out pretty good. I used vanilla yogurt instead of sour cream, and decreased the amount of sugar. I also added nutmeg and a bit of extra cinnamon. It was completly cooked in only 45 minutes, so be careful. Thanks!

This was alright. I really don't think that the prep work was really worth the taste. Don't get me wrong, people enjoyed it, but I think that you can get a moister, tastier coffee cake without all of the work. The crust was a little too dry for my taste, ("Looks like a dog biscuit" was the running joke among my family members that evening.) and the brandy (brown) sauce was a little too bitter, and not sweet enough for the coffee cake. Again, this is "okay", but I will not be making it again unless specifically asked.

Initially, I had reservations about this recipe. I found that the cake didn't require further baking after 45 minutes, so many thanks to all of you that posted the warnings about cooking times. The cake that emerged from the oven was visually tempting, and its cinnamon-vanilla aroma was pleasantly appealing...but when I served it up for dessert, still warm, with ice cream, it didn't go down a storm. Everyone ate it politely, and there were no overt criticisms but not a one jumped at the chance for seconds or even to take leftovers away with them. Disappointed, I was preparing to offer the remains of the cake to the birds the next morning when I popped a morsel of it in my mouth, and then immediately wondered what had happened to the one that I had baked because the bird fodder I had in hand could not possibly have been it!! It had a gorgeously moist and tender crumb and a crust that was both crisp and caramelly at the same time. So, unless the fairies stole in overnight and substituted slices of their enchanted food for my floury stodge, this cake *clearly* benefits from having a night to rest - as do we all! I shall definitely make this one again - but the next time it will be a "make-ahead" cake for brekkie or brunch.

This was so good. I used macintosh apples, pecans instead of walnuts and lowered the temp to 350. I did not have to cover it and used a 9x9 square glass pan. The first night it was moist as you could possibly imagine. The next morning when my family finished it off for breakfast the bottom had hardened into a wonderful carmel like crust...and the cake was still moist///it was awsome!!

I made this cake last night and the texture was great. I wasn't crazy about the bottom crust, it was a little too floury. I used chunky applesauce in place of the apples, it made it very moist. I will make this again and try a different crust style.

Wow!! I was so impressed with this recipe. I got many comments on how good it was and was asked for the recipe by several. I did not change anything to the recipe itself but did have to watch the baking time, after 45 minutes at 375 I covered with foil and then only baked an additional 10/15 minutes at 350. Served with the sauce and cool whip. Highly recommend you try this one.

This is a WONDERFUL cake! My family and I just loved it! 1/2 the cake was gone after being out of the oven for only 30 minutes! I used a different brown sugar sauce found also on this web site. DELICIOUS!!! I'm already being asked when I'll be able to make the next one! I used 1/4 cup Sour Cream, and 1/2 cup yogurt because that's what I had. And also I was hesitant to put a whole 1 1/2 cup sugar in so I put about 1 1/4 cup in. Thanks sooo much for the great recipe. Definitely a keeper!

I have a true temperature oven and found that after about 30 min. I had to reduce the temperature to 350 F and still the cake had already turned a touch too dark. Still tasted very good though.