Apple Yogurt Cake

Editor’s Note: If you’ve cooked this beloved recipe before, it might look a little different these days! We recently improved it to make it even easier to follow and more delicious.

My recipe stories seem to fall into a predictable rut: I had to feed a few people, and I needed something easy and simple, and so this recipe was born. But honestly, that’s the way I cook. I look for recipes that give maximum pleasure at the lowest common denominator of work, ingredients, and convenience. The results aren’t always worth talking about, but this recipe — oh, this one is. It’s a moist cake with a crumb that’s almost creamy, swirled with cinnamon, and juicy with small bites of apple. It will take you about 15 minutes to make, and regardless of whether my story gets old, this recipe never will.

This recipe materialized during a week of cooking for a group of scientists doing research in snowy Colorado. The first night we were there, I needed a quick, simple dessert. I had all the makings of a yogurt cake, like this simple, favorite recipe. But I had been craving spring’s sweet fruits and berries. They were not really around yet, of course, but I wanted a bite of fruit. So I turned to apples and made this cake. And it was a success! In fact, I came downstairs the morning after I made this and found only a corner or two remaining. My crew had evidently decided that this was good for breakfast as well, and attacked it with considered purpose. There were only a few moist crumbs left, two days later, but they were just as delicious as when I took the cake out of the oven.

• Easy one-bowl recipe. The beautiful thing about this cake, besides its moist lusciousness, is that it all mixes up in one bowl, and you don’t even need beaters.
• Perfect amount of sweetness. It’s only mildly sweet, too; much of the sweetness comes from the apples.

• Apples: Over-wintered apples are always available, and I love their mild sweetness and brightness when cut up very small and baked in a cake. They are juicy little pops of fruit. Look for tart apples, such as Granny Smith.
• Yogurt: You can use either whole-milk regular yogurt or Greek yogurt here. Just make sure to stir it well.
• Pantry staples: You’ll need basic pantry staples such as granulated sugar, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
• Cinnamon and brown sugar: When I first made this, I craved cinnamon, and so I spread a crumbly mix of cinnamon and brown sugar through the middle and over the top of this cake. This created a cinnamon streak running right through the cake, and a dimpled, puckered top filled with brown sugar glaze.

1. Make the cinnamon-brown sugar mixture.  Combine brown sugar, room temperature butter, and some of the cinnamon in a small bowl. Smash and mix with a fork until it has the texture of wet sand.
2. Combine the yogurt-apple mixture. Place the sugar, yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the chopped apples to the yogurt mixture and stir to combine.
3. Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Stir just until no dry pockets of flour remain.
4. Layer the batter in the pan. Spread half of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon-brown sugar mixture on top, dropping it on the batter in small lumps. Spread the rest of the batter over the top, then sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-brown sugar.
5. Bake. Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

This cake can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days, and it gets even more moist as it sits, due to the apples.

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This apple cake is not too sweet and goes perfectly with a hot mug of coffee or tea in the morning. Besides how easy it is to throw this together, I love that it’s so moist. I highly recommend using whole-milk yogurt here for the best flavor and texture. Also, metal cake pans bake faster than glass or ceramic pans, so check on your cake accordingly. Make sure to let it cool for one hour so that it has plenty of time to set up.

– Christine, October 2025