Apple Cinnamon Cake

Today I picked up some fresh apples from a nearby farmer's market. 

Coincidentally, a few days earlier I came across a recipe in the newspaper for a beautiful looking apple cake. 

When an article takes up almost a full page and is pictured five times, you know it has got to be good! So I was eager to try it.



Apple Cinnamon Cake
6 or 7 apples
half a lemon
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish or line with parchment paper.
Wash apples well, but don't peel them (unless you really want to). Cut apples in quarters ad removes cores; thinly slice. Toss with the juice of half a lemon to keep apples from browning. Set aside.

Cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
Whisk together milk, yogurt or sour cream, and vanilla in a measuring cup. 
In another bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.
Now mix half flour mixture into butter mixture, followed by half milk mixture, repeat.
Beat just until everything is incorporated; don't overmix. Now fold in half the sliced apples; spread batter into prepared pan. Arrange remaining apple slices in neat rows over the batter (or scatter them haphazardly over top).
Mix together white sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle evenly over top.
Bake 30-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.


The article states this is a moist cake that does not need any dressing up, although whipped cream or maple walnut ice cream are both good accompaniments. It also says the cake is best served warm, just 20 minutes after baking, but leftovers are great for breakfast and school lunches. 

A few changes I made. I didn't have a lemon or lemon juice, so I just used a little apple juice to keep the apples from turning brown - more apple flavour! I didn't have any sour cream either, and the only yogurt I had was flavoured, so I just whipped up a half cup of thick, homemade buttermilk and used that instead. I just used a bit less than the 1/2 cup milk called for to compensate the liquids. Also, since I used a glass cake pan, I lowered the oven temperature to 325◦F, which resulted in a cooking time of 40 minutes.

The cake turned out very good, with a nice and tender, moist crumb. A few things I would do differently next time I make it is to chop the apples that go into the batter instead of slicing them, that way the apples will be softer and you will get a piece of apple with each bite. I would also add some cinnamon and maybe a pinch of ginger to the batter as well, to give it a little boost. Other than that, this cake was absolutely delicious!