French Vanilla Apple Yogurt Bundt Cake

I never used to like fresh fruit in my cakes. And now I just can't enough of them! The apples give this yogurt cake recipe that extra moist and the delicious flavour. If you are all about cleaning as little as possible when you are in the kitchen, then this super easy recipe is for you. All you need is a whisk and one bowl. And the ingredients 😉. It is the prefect cozy fall dessert!

What is French yogurt cake?

It is a classic cake kids in France learn to make when they are small that uses plain yogurt or greak yogurt. It is a great first cake to learn because It's easy and the yogurt case can be used as a measuring cup for the rest of the ingredients.

You can then flavour the yogurt cake as you like, in this case I made it an apple cake. Still easy.

Utensils and ingredient notes

• Yogurt: plain or Greek, makes cake extra moist because of its creaminess and a different flavour thanks to its tanginess.
• Olive oil: extra virgin olive oil, a good quality one.
• Eggs: medium size and fresh if possible.
• Vanilla bean: you can replace by vanilla extract too. Or add cinnamon instead if that is your preference.
• Dry ingredients: baking powder, flour, salt, and sugar.
• Apples: a kind that has low content water as Golden or Elstar apples.
• A 20 cm in diameter round Bundt cake pan.
• A brush, a mixing bowl, and a whisk.

How to make this recipe

To make this easy apple yogurt cake you must:

• Butter the mould and cover it with sugar.
• Make the cake batter
• Bake the yogurt bundt cake
• Unmould
• Done

Step-by-step instructions

• Mix the yogurt with the eggs and the olive oil. Add the vanilla bean grated.
• Whisk in the sugar. Mix until combined.
• Add the dry ingredients (salt, baking powder and flour). Mix until combined and there are no more lumps present.
• Fold in the apples cut into small cubes.
• Cover the bottom of the pan with thinly sliced apples and brush with melted butter.
• Fill the cake tin with the cake batter. Spread it out evenly.
• Bake until golden brown. About 45 minutes. Let the cake sit for about 10 minutes then unmould, brush the top with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar and re-bake until the apples on the top have caramelized!
• Let it cool down over a wire rack.

Recipe Notes

• Mixing this cake requires no more than a bowl and a whisk, it will take about 10 minutes top. Great baking project for kids. No need to use a stand mixer.
• You can replace the grated vanilla bean with vanilla extract. Or replace it with cinnamon if you prefer.
• You can bake this yogurt bund cake as is, without the apples on the bottom. It is still delicious. And less trouble!

Expert Notes

• If you use sugar instead of flour to coat the Bundt cake pan, it will absorb some of the moist from the apples and create a little crunchier exterior layer.
• Let the cake fully cool down before you slice it open! Apples need to cool down so they can properly hold up.
• If you don’t have a bundt cake pan, no problem. Use a regular pound loaf cake pan. It turns out great too!

Storage Tips

This yogurt apple cake will keep for about 5 days at room temperature. Apple cake does not need to be refrigerated; it can sit out on your counter.

Freezer instructions

Plain yogurt cake can be frozen. After it has cooled off, cover and transfer to a freezer friendly container. Keep for up to 1 month.

This apple yogurt cake however, I do not recommend freezing on account of all the fresh fruit inside that will make the cake soggy once defrosted.