Whole Apple Cinnamon Yogurt Cake has it all, anytime of the year

By Jim Bailey
theyankeechef.blogspot.com

Every week, a friend receives a cake similar to this in a diet package she receives.  I took one look and, although decorative to a point, it was tasteless. Here is my recipe for a cake that encompasses softness, crunch and some good ol’ fashioned flavors that will put a smile on your face. The kids will love it too. At least it’s one way to get the kids to eat their fruit.

Tangy Whole Apple Cinnamon Cake

I use Honey Crisp apples in this recipe. They are a great balance between sweet, tart and crisp. If you use Macintosh or another soft apple, you won’t need to precook them. The warm taste of this cake is perfect any time of year

Whole Apple Cinnamon Yogurt Cake

For the Cinnamon Yogurt Cake:

Nonstick cooking spray
3 cups  flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 stick butter or margarine, at room temperature
1/4 cup oil
2  cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 small apples, cored but not peeled*
Cinnamon-Cocoa Crumb Topping, recipe below
5 cinnamon sticks., optional

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Place the apples in the microwave and cook for 1-1 1/2 minutes each, or until slightly softened. You don’t need to cover them, just make sure they are sitting on a plate. Cook them individually or combine if desired. If you do combine them, of course the cooking time will vary.

Sift the flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl with a hand-held mixer (or use a countertop mixer), place butter and sugar in the bowl, beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the oil and continue beating until well-incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until combined. Beat in the yogurt and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, in batches, until well mixed, scraping down sides. Do not overmix. If it is a little lumpy, that is fine.

Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared pan evenly.

Sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture over the batter, covering the entire surface. Spoon remaining batter over the swirl mixture and spread it evenly. Top with the remaining swirl mixture, saving some to sprinkle inside of each apple.
Now take 6 cored apples and place them in the batter, evenly spacing but not touching the sides of the pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. You can also touch the center of the cake: If it bounces back, the cake is done. Remove cake from oven, let cool before slicing out individual servings. Dollop each serving with either whipped cream or ice cream, dunk a cinnamon stick in each if desired and serve.

Cinnamon-Cocoa Crumb Topping:

1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Mix well in a bowl.

*If you don’t have an apple corer at home (as I don’t) simple take either a very thin steak knife or the thinnest spoon handle you have and poke it down through around the core on a hard surface. Then poke it out through the other side.