Tag Archives: yogurt cake

Apple Yogurt Cake + 5 Quick Cake Links!

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ayc1252An apple a day keeps whatever ails you away.  A good red wine, chocolate anything, salty something, cold beer and cupcakes also help..me.  Apples are abundant now and I can’t get enough of them.  I eat one everyday after lunch, as well as, whatever slices the kids leave behind.  In an effort to consume as many apples as possible before they go out of season, I added them to a traditional yogurt cake.

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I tore the original cake recipe out of a Bon Appétit magazine almost 4 years ago and taped it inside my little black book recipe book.  (Before Pinterest or this blog I used a pen, a real pen, and wrote down recipes in a little black notebook. Crazy, I know.)  I made the original cake a few times, mainly because my daughter requested it.  She calls it the plain cake which is a perfect description.  Plain and simple.  Perfectly moist and the just right kind of sweet.  So, why mess with a good thing?

The damn apples were begging me to use them.  On this cake…with some raw sugar sprinkled on top.  A little cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and lemon zest season the deliciously basic batter.  Oh and lets not forget about the Greek yogurt.  I couldn’t taste it, but knowing it’s in there made me feel healthy.  Really, it’s ok to have a third piece of cake.  The 3/4 cups of whole milk Greek yogurt, that’s protein girl!  Eat up!

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So I did.  Or we did.  Either way, the cake was gone in less than 48 hours.  I call that a hit.  Enjoy!

Apple Yogurt Cake

serves 8

recipe adapted from Bon Appétit June 2012

Ingredients:

1+ 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup sugar  (The original recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar.  If you prefer a sweeter cake add 1 cup of sugar.  The 3/4 cup of sugar made the cake plenty sweet.  It’s really up to you!)

1 tablespoon lemon zest

3/4 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 baking apple of your choice, sliced thin

1/4 cup raw sugar to sprinkle on sliced apples

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350F.  Spray a standard loaf pan with non-stick vegetable oil spray.  Dust with flour and tap out the excess.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, kosher salt.  Set aside.  In a large bowl rub sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers until the sugar feels like damp sand.  Add Greek yogurt, canola oil, eggs and vanilla extract.  Whisk until well blended.  Fold in dry ingredients until just combined.  Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth over the top.  Add sliced apples, pushing them just slightly into the batter so they will stick.  Arrange apple in a pattern or something pretty.  Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing the cake.  Remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.  Slice and serve.  Cake will last stored in an air-tight container or covered in plastic wrap, at room temperature,  for up to 3 days.  Enjoy!

5 Quick Cake Links!

Looking for an easy lemon cake recipe? Head to Willow Bird Baking for Julie’s quick lemon-iced yellow cake.  I really wish this cake would just appear on my kitchen counter.  Magic!

Chocolate cake in the less than an hour? Sounds great.  NYT has the recipe for you.

Apple cider doughnut cake? Yes, it exists! Katie at the Kitchen Door has the mouth-watering recipe for you.

Cake or quick bread? Why decide? Make one that tastes like both!  Head to Not Without Salt for Ashley’s chopped apple cake recipe.

Cranberry season is on the way.  Check out my cranberry maple breakfast cake: a cake that is delicious anytime of day.

Strawberry Rhubarb Yogurt Cake for Mother’s Day

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“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could.  Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day.  You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”  Emerson

Mother’s Day is tomorrow and I am looking forward to sleeping in even if it is only for an extra 15 minutes. Bubba will attempt to take both kids downstairs  without waking me up but this usually doesn’t work out. Our daughter, Charlotte, loves holidays because she loves a reason to celebrate anything. She will wake up earlier than usual with a level energy that I have never possessed in my 34 years. She won’t be quiet despite pleas from both me and John for just a few more minutes. Our son, Graham, will hear her and decide its time to start his day. Alice, our dog, will yawn and stretch as if to say “having kids was your idea, not mine.” We will all stumble downstairs, turn on the coffee, pour the milks and feed the dog. John will make pancakes and bacon while the kids watch morning cartoons and I will drink my coffee and wonder how to spend the day. I will feel torn. I will want time to myself, time to be alone but then I will feel selfish asking for it. I will want to spend time with my sweet babies and my husband because I know this time is fleeting. I will beat myself up about my indecision. We will eat breakfast which will taste especially delicious because I didn’t have to make it. Maybe will go for a walk in the woods. Maybe Bubba will take the kids to the playground so I can have a little time; a little time to reflect and breathe and be grateful for all of it, even the parts that are hard. I will reread this article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lea-grover/dear-less-than-perfect-mom and remind myself once again that I am not a perfect mom and nor is it necessary. Charlotte and Graham will be ok despite my imperfections.

After a day together, after another meal we will sit together and enjoy this cake that I made with love.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Yogurt Cake

adapted from Seasons and Suppers

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter softened

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed

1 egg at room temperature

3 tsp. vanilla

1 cup Greek yogurt ( I used 2%)

2 cups fresh rhubarb

2 cups fresh strawberries quartered or halved depending on size

Topping:

1/2 cup turbinado sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. and grease a 10-inch cake or springform pan with butter. Line the bottom with  parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until it is well combined and resembles wet sand. Add the egg and beat until the mixture is well combined and there are no lumps. Add Greek yogurt and vanilla and beat to combine.

With mixer on low, add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Fold in rhubarb and strawberries gently. Spoon mixture into prepared pan.

Combine sugar (1/2 cup) and the 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Sprinkle liberally over the top of the cake. You may not use all of it so save the leftovers for cinnamon toast!

Bake in the preheated 350° F. oven for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. ***Start checking cake at 50 minutes. If the top is browning quickly, place aluminum foil loosely over the top.***

Place pan on a wire cooling rack and, if using a springform pan, allow to cool for 10 or 15 minutes and then run a knife around the edge and remove the side or the pan. Allow to cool a bit longer before removing bottom. If using a regular cake pan, allow to cool to lukewarm before removing from pan.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream or enjoy plain.