Yogurt Apple Cake with Buttered Cinnamon Brown Sugar

Guys.  Peeps.  My friends.  Yogurt Apple Cake with Buttered Cinnamon Brown Sugar.

Come on.

Ack oh my gosh is this cake so good.  SO good.

I know, it’s not apple season but I do.not.care.  Do not.  Nope.

I was planning on springing this one on you in the fall but eh, so much for that.

This cake is so good in fact, it’s the only cake I have ever made back to back.  Ever.  We finished it one night, Mike thoroughly heartbroken, sad little pouty face and all I am not kidding, that I baked another one the very next day.

For the longest time I’ve been searching for The apple cake, ya know, the winner-take-all-no-need-for-another-recipe cake.  This is it.

And I have quite a collection of apple cake recipes too.  I’m really not sure why I’m so apple recipe-oriented.

Well.  Maybe it reminds me of my childhood and our family trips to Detroit where my mom grew up.  We’d pile on into the car every fall (it seemed), spend a few days, then head on back.

There’s something about Michigan fruit, I dunno, it’s magical.

It’s highly prized in my family, my dad having spent many a summer in southwest Michigan growing up.  My grandma Edna would pick fresh wild berries, my dad showing me vaguely where on a business road trip I went on with him once.  She never shared the exact location with anyone.  Coveted, I tell ya.

Every June I make blueberry muffins, specifically using Michigan blueberries.

But every year we’d stop for apples and cider and it was a highlight we all looked forward to, discussing for hours where we’d stop that trip, trying to remember who had the best apples.  And every year a big ol’ wood bushel basket would *kathunk* end up in the trunk, my brother and I in the back seat sticky from fresh apple goodness.

Huh, I can’t remember how we made it through those piles of apples.  I know my mom made a tasty chunky applesauce.  We made a pie or two.  I know my dad would take some to the office every day until they were gone.  There were lots of apples in those baskets!

So maybe that’s where my fixation for all thing apple comes from.  Hence and therefore, my affinity for collecting apple related dessert recipes.  Really, I have a bunch.  I like apples.

Right but back to this ridiculous cake.  It’s on the Winners list solidified by a Mike, mouth full, mmrrff mmrrrff, “this is good, whoa-ho-ho” moment.  The other day when I leaked that I had made one for you guys to read about, I got a slo-mo head turn, his eyes twinkled, then a smirk with a happy chortle.

What’s even better than a seriously drool-worthy cake?  One that’s fast and simple to pull together practically in one single bowl.  The lengthiest and most complicated aspect of this assembly is peeling and chopping the apples.  And truly it’s neither that lengthy nor complicated.

The hardest part?  Waiting for this thing to cool before stuffing your cake desiring face.

Let’s hop to it then, shall we?

With a fork or a spoon or even your fingers though that gets quite messy, mash the butter into the brown sugar and cinnamon until the sugar turns darker from the moisture and you have flaky crumbly clumps.  Set that aside.

Ehhh, not the best photo, sorry.  But you get the idea, yeah?

In a large bowl, just toss in the yogurt, the oil, the lemon juice, the sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

I mean, this cake already looks happy and it's not even remotely a cake yet.

The original recipe from The Kitchn calls for olive oil but I opted for canola to let the flavor of the apples be forefront so it’s up to you.  I’ve also used Greek style, a yogurt in between, and regular plain yogurt, each working out well but do use a whole milk version.

Why?  The full fat aids in something science-y of the cake, whole milk yogurt is healthier for you, plus its only ingredients are milk and yogurt bugs as opposed to who knows what in low fat or nonfat.  True.  Read the labels, you’ll be surprised.

Ok, so go ahead, give those mostly wet ingredients a nice whisking until everything is evenly mixed.

Now, the apples.  I never followed the original suggestion of Granny Smiths.  Instead I grab three different types to total vaguely around a pound and a half, so essentially a medium to large say, Jonagold, a Gala, and a Honeycrisp.  Or I’ve gotten a Braeburn, a Fuji, and a Pink Lady.  Or a Granny Smith and …  you get the picture.

I find the three different types bring a nice well rounded flavor and varying texture that can’t be beaten.  But it’s up to you, use whichever type or combination thereof; you can’t really go wrong.

So next peel up those glorious apples and slice them about 3/8” thick, or bigger than a quarter inch, not quite a half, ya know, give or take, then into thirds or quarters depending on the apple size you grabbed.

To answer your question, grated apples will make this already very very moist cake too smushy so stick to chunks.

Toss those apple bits into the pool and give them a batter-coating swirl.

Next, dump in all the dry ingredients, yep, just pile them on top and gently stir everything together until you no longer see dry though no need to go whole hog mixing.

No need for a separate bowl on this step, I only did it for clarity.

A note here:  while I’m not clear on any way to substitute out the yogurt or eggs or butter, I have read a tad recently about gluten-free flours.  There are several brands like Cup4Cup* and a King Arthur* for example that can literally be substituted cup for cup in a recipe like this.  Not so much in a bread recipe but here it should work.

Scoop half this sunny batter into a greased 9×13 pan and sprinkle half of the brown sugar butter cinnamon combo over top.  Heh, I’m never good at the half, I usually end up off.  No big whoop.

Pour on the remaining batter, spread around, and dash on the last of the brown sugar crumbles.

Pop the whole thing into the 350 degree preheated oven, flip the timer to forty five minutes, and try not to pace anxiously until a toothpick comes out clean.  Don’t fret if forty five minutes is not enough, let it go until it’s ready, covering with foil if the cake browns too much.

Do you know how hard it was not to take a mouth shovel to this as I photographed it?!

Once baked, let the cake cool completely before serving to set then slice and enjoy this little bit of heaven.

Hang on, I’ll get Mike’s take on this ditty though as I already clarified, he loves it.

“Hey babe, the apple cake….?”

“Whaddya mean?! [aka, why are you asking me such a siiillly question] [as he doles himself two slices] (enthusiastic nodding) Pfffttt, it’s heh really good.”  Obviously I’m nuts for asking his opinion on such a tasty number.

Oh.  Oh my goodness.  What a cake!

Note: This content originally appeared on Flaky Bakers.

 

*The Cup4Cup and King Arthur gluten free flours are Amazon affiliate links.  Bake happy, thanks!  Please see the "Info" tab for more, well, more info.