Apple and Yogurt Breakfast Cake

This Apple and Yogurt Breakfast Cake is the perfect way to start your day. In fact, who ever said that you can’t have cake for breakfast? Forget heavy and sickly sweet treats, this light and moist cake will fuel you through your day and will find you going back for more!

I don’t know how about you, but I find breakfast to be my favourite meal of the day. I was never one to skip breakfast, even when in a rush. I simply love it too much. Plus, I am always starving when I wake up and I couldn’t possibly leave the house without having at least eaten something.

Yet, when it comes to what to actually eat for breakfast, I go through phases. Some weeks, I only crave porridge/oatmeal and I would have it in any flavour combination possible, from apple and cinnamon to cocoa powder and peanut butter. Other times, I will survive off vegan breakfast tacos for days. But currently, I am experiencing a peculiar sweet tooth. I think this has to do with my upbringing. Traditionally, Italian breakfasts include a lot of sweet elements such as biscuits, croissants and breakfast cakes. They are quick and full of energy (and kids love them, of course!). But don’t be fooled, these baked treats are not THAT sweet. Many biscuits and sweet bakes in Italy contain a lot less sugar than their British counterparts. I normally gasp when I read a recipe requiring 300 gr of sugar for a cake, because I can think of one single cake I have made in Italy which required more than half of it. And the rare times a friend or relative would use a whopping 180 to 200 gr sugar they would always warn everyone about it. At least that’s my experience.

So growing up, breakfast cakes where the norm. And I don’t really see why they should not become the norm here in the UK as well. This apple and yogurt cake is a great child-friendly breakfast option, as it still feels like a treat, but uses very minimal butter and sugar making it a healthier option. Plus, if you are into breakfast meal-prepping, this cake will stay nice and moist throughout the week, without any reheating needed. What’s not to like about this? If you, like me, are currently craving something sweet in the morning, I highly recommend you make this breakfast cake this weekend.

Apple cakes are also quite a convenient baking option with no fancy or expensive ingredients. Chances are that you have a few apples laying around. I always stock on apples because they are so versatile and seem to have an endless lifespan. So it’s great to be able to put them to good use in such a delicious way. And even if you don’t normally keep yogurt in the fridge, it’s easy and affordable enough to get some at your local supermarket.

If you are not accustomed to using yogurt when baking, this recipe will totally convert you. The smooth consistency of plain yogurt allows this cake to stay moist for days, without using a ton of butter. The consistency of the yogurt though, must be just right: using Greek yogurt might make the cake too dense, whereas low-fat yogurt is way too liquid making the mixture excessively wet. So keep it simple, peeps, and go for plain full-fat yogurt.

The only excess butter I totally endorse for this cake is the one I rub on the baking tin before transferring the cake into it. My nan was always adamant that for this type of cakes, baking paper just won’t do. I agree with her and smother a good 20 to 30 gr of soft butter (or margarine) all over the tin. It prevents the sides of the cake getting dry and it is a game changer. That being said, if you want to keep this cake lighter, you can omit it and use regular baking paper. The cake will just be slightly crumbly on the sides.

For what concerns the different types of apples available, you can use pretty much any apple for this cake. In fact, this time I used Braebrun, as it’s what we had at home, but any will do the trick. The only type I would personally avoid is pink ladies, because they are considerably more acidic than other apples. But if you do like a tangy cake, then you will love baking with those.

The only downside of this cake is that it takes quite a little to bake. In fact, because the apples and yogurt make the mixture heavier, this cake requires attention when baking. I normally bake it for about 50 minutes. The first 30 I bake the cake uncovered, making the outside become nice and golden but aware that the inside is still raw. To rectify this, I cover the top of the baking tin with tin foil and bake another 10 to 12 minutes. After that I uncover and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. However, don’t just take my word for it. Bear in mind that your baking tin might be bigger of smaller than mine (here I am using a 9-inch spring form), which could then cut down or increase the baking time. So always check with a skewer or toothpick before making any extra action. What I ca assure you though, is that this cake is so good, it’s worth the wait. Plus, the dough comes together so quickly, I am sure the whole preparation time is similar to many other cakes.

As I mentioned I love having this cake for breakfast, alongside a nice cup of coffee. But you can also pack a small slice in your lunchbox to have as a sweet snack or pair it with some thick custard or a scoop of vanilla ice cream to turn this cake into a simple dessert.

No matter how you decide to enjoy this Yogurt and Apple Breakfast Cake, I’ll leave you with a word of warning: this apple treat is absolutely moreish.

Ingredients:

3 small apples

180 gr plain flour

110 gr granulated sugar

100 gr melted unsalted butter + more for greasing

150 gr full-fat natural yogurt

3 eggs

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and mix together. Add cinnamon and continue mixing.

3. In another bowl, combine together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat until you get a smooth mixture. Add the yogurt.

4. Now peel and cut two apples in very small chunks (around 1.5 cm big). If you do this too early, the apples will brown and we don’t want that.

5. Add the wet mixture into the dry one and mix well until fully combined. Now add the apple chunks and mix once again.

6. Grease a round, spring form tin with a generous amount of butter. Add the dough to it. Peel your last apple and cut it into thin slices (I normally quarter them and then cut small slices off every quarter). Lay the slices on top of the cake dough, forming a circle. Sprinkle 1 tsp of granulated sugar on top of the apple slices and place in the oven.

7. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, then cover with some tin foil and return to the oven for another 10 to 12 minutes. Take out of the oven and check your cake. Chances are, you will need to bake uncovered for another 10 minutes, bringing the baking time for this cake to about 50 minutes in total.

This cake will keep well for 5 days, but it will likely to be gone by then!

Enjoy!