The vibrant fragrance of freshly brewed coffee which wafts into the living room and the smell of this apple and cranberry cake which comes out from the oven. That is how some weekends start for me… Mmmm, I couldn’t love this smell anymore. But I am not the only one who has my face against the oven waiting to finish baking so I can eat today’s recipe for my breakfast.
Thomas is here next to me, reading the news on the Internet and discussing the most important ones with me. Obviously Scooby is on my other side who, as always, is lurking around. He is a big fan of everything we prepare in the oven. No matter in which place in the house he is as he always moves stealthily towards the kitchen when his nose tells him it’s the time.
But today I also have a confession to make: Until recently I did not like apple desserts too much. I struggled with the texture of this fruit inside a cake. Ironically, nowadays I love that flavour in my mouth so I bake this recipe quite often.
Besides, let me emphasize this is a simple and quick cake to prepare which makes it perfect for those days in which you don’t feel like spending lots in the kitchen. And if you are an apple cake fan you will love this as it’s very spongy too. So much that it could last fresh up to 3 to 4 days. Well, if this doesn’t disappear before! I cannot remember the last time a cake lasted more than two days. Does the same thing happen to you?
And on top of that, on this occasion I added a handful of cranberries for a different flavour, so I don’t really think this is going to survive more than 24 hours!
INGREDIENTS for a 21 cm diameter mould (8 inches)
350 gr all-purpose flour (3 cups)
260 gr granulated white sugar (2 cups)
200 gr unsalted butter (1 cup)
180 ml Greek yogurt (1 cup)
60 gr dried cranberries (½ cup)
2 medium eggs
2 apples
1 tsp baking powder
PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (356ºF). In a big bowl mix the yogurt and sugar. Then add the already sifted flour and baking powder and continue mixing. Now place one egg at a time and combine with the melted butter. Set aside. Meanwhile, peel the apples cut them in halves and then each part into segments as the Hasselback preparation.
Hereafter line a mould with baking paper and drop half of the mixture into it. Sprinkle the cranberries and then add the remaining dough. Finally, place the apples (as in the photos) and bake to 180ºC (356ºF) for 20 minutes and then to 150ºC (300ºF) for 10 minutes more or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Buon appetito!
Photography & Stylism: Carlota Fariña
Instagram: #carlotafariñafoodgram
