Apple, Yogurt & Olive Oil Cake

I've adapted this recipe from the fabulous Cannelle et Vanille blog from which I always gather tremendous inspiration. Aran's photos are beautiful and her recent posts conjure up daydreams of France. Truth be told, it doesn't take much to get me dreaming of France, but that's another story.

This is a simple cake, the kind of cake you could put out with cheese and fruit for a weekend brunch, or that you could serve with caramel sauce and sauteed apples for a lovely fall dessert. I happen to love yogurt & olive oil cakes in general. There's something very 'french breakfast' about the yogurt cake, not too sweet & just the sort of thing that's perfect with a morning cup of tea. The olive oil keeps the cake moist but also has a fruity quality that's distinctly different from butter.

I chose to bake my cake in a 9" Savarin mold which is very similar to a bundt pan, which is what I'd suggest here, assuming you don't have a Savarin mold lying about. I think bundt cakes are so old fashioned and completely non-fancy and I love that. Don't worry that the batter will only fill the bundt pan about halfway. I've adjusted the baking time for that. You could just as easily make this in a loaf pan if you don't have a bundt pan. But, it does lead me to ask, why the heavens not?! Just go buy one already!

Enjoy!!

Apple, Yogurt, & Olive Oil Cake with Walnuts:

1, 6 oz container plain yogurt (low-fat or whole milk are both fine)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

4 large eggs (room temperature)

3/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups blanched almond flour

1 TB baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

2 medium apples

2 tsp butter

3 TB sugar

1) Butter and flour the inside of a bundt pan or spray with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Slice one of the apples thinly. Heat 1 tsp butter and 1 TB sugar in a nonstick saute pan. Add the slices of apple and cook for about 1 minute on each side, just to soften slightly. Set aside to cool and then line the bottom of the bundt pan with the slices.

3) Dice the remaining apple and saute in the remaining butter and sugar. Set aside to cool.

4) In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugars, eggs, olive oil, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and stir to combine. Fold in the chopped apples and the toasted walnuts.

5) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a the cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in pan about 30 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate to cool completely.