If you want a recipe for apple yogurt cake, look no further! This is David Rocco's recipe and it's like a dense apple torte with a wonderful crispy sugar topping. Keep reading to find the recipe and my book review of David Rocco's book "Made in Italy" .
Oh, David Rocco.... I watch him on tv, usually in awe. He's a Canadian who lives part-time in Italy. He hangs out with his buddies in Rome, and cooks. He visits fun places like a chestnut farm, and eats and cooks among the trees. What a life! How do I sign up for this gig?
With all honesty, I don't really want to have a tv show. I'd rather have my perfect little bakery. In the meantime, I have David Rocco's latest book "Made in Italy" to review.
So far, I've tested a handful of recipes. What I love about this book: the simplicity. The recipes are quite simple and rustic. You don't need a fancy food processor, blender, mixer, etc. to make David Rocco's recipes. The photos in the book reflect this simplicity, depicting simple, traditional Italian dishes. There are no fancy plating techniques here: the pizzas aren't perfectly round and there are sometimes dribbles of sauce on the serving plate photographed. The dishes really look homemade.
What I don't love (i.e. me being picky): solids (like flour, sugar, etc.) are measured in cups/milliliters (mL). My inner chemist thinks that volumes are for liquids, weights are for solids. Unfortunately, I think Canadian publishing regulations dictate that solids be reported for cookbooks in cups/mL. This makes absolutely no sense to me, but those are the rules. Oh well.
My other issue is with the ingredient lists. For the dessert (dolci) section, I think it is important to specify to use unsalted butter and granulated sugar, for example. However, in this book, these ingredients are listed as butter and sugar, which is fine for the experienced bakers who know what type of butter and sugar to use, but for a novice, I think it's important to specify exactly what ingredients were used. These are really minor details though, and I'm definitely going to continue cooking with this book.
This apple yogurt cake is a dessert recipe adapted from David Rocco's "Made in Italy" (page 341). The recipe is really simple and can even be mixed together by hand (or with a hand mixer, as David Rocco recommends) if you don't have a stand mixer. The cake has a lovely moist texture and is full of apple slices. The original recipe said to bake the cake for 40 minutes, but mine took over an hour to bake. I love the crispy sugar topping that crackles as the cake cools and its crispy texture is a welcome sweet contrast to the soft, slightly tart apples. This is a great snacking cake and absolutely appropriate for the end of fall.
📖 Recipe
David Rocco's Apple Yogurt Cake
Ingredients
- 156 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 1.25 mL ground cinnamon
- 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 200 grams unsalted butter melted, plus a little extra for buttering the pan
- 2 large egg(s)
- 125 mL yogurt (2 % fat)
- 2 Cortland apple(s) peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- 15 mL finely grated lemon zest
- 75 grams granulated sugar for the topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch cake round.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the ½ cup of sugar and the melted butter until it has lightened.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the yoghurt, beginning and ending with the flour.
- Stir in the sliced apples and the lemon zest, and pour the batter in the prepared pan.
- Sprinkle the ⅓ cup sugar evenly over the top of the cake.
- The original recipe suggests a baking time of 40 minutes, but I think it needs to bake for over one hour (until a tester inserted into the center (not through an apple if possible!) comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before serving.
Notes
- This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.
Please note that I was sent this book by Harper Collins publishing, but my opinion is my own.
Blanc-manger says
I made this cake. I loved sugar crust on top of the cake and good taste of apples. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Anonymous says
Do you add any Baking soda or baking powder???? I am afraid if I don't add them that the cake won't turn out ??? or is this cake just made without ??
Jan says
It's made without any leavening agent. It's a moist cake that is full of apples. I know that it seems strange to have no leavening agent, but try it! The cake is so densely apple, I'm sure you will love it.
vivodappertutto says
I made it! So good! It' ll be' one of my favorite recipes from now on. Thank you SO much!
Jan says
I'm so glad you liked it! It's a really great cake that is the perfect ode to apples.
Sandy says
Thank you so much for the recipe and for "translating" the cups into grams! That makes it easier for everyone in Europe for example to start baking right away!
Jan says
My pleasure! I find weighing ingredients is so much more accurate. I wish all the publishing houses/authors would see this!
Anonymous says
What book is this
Jan says
David Rocco's Made In Italy on Amazon
Anonymous says
I have both of his books, they are amazing! So simple yet full of taste.
Janice Lawandi says
I know! The simplicity of them is great! The recipes don't involve a mile of ingredients!
Anonymous says
How do you measure 7/8 cup?
Jan says
If you have a scale, just weigh out 200 grams. If you don't: measure 1 cup, divide it into 8 equal portions, and use 7 out of 8 of those portions.
Anonymous says
If you don't mind a second reply- an easy way to measure 7/8 c. is to measure 1 cup, then remove 2 Tablespoons, and that will give you 7/8. Also, when it's butter you're measuring, it gives the Tablespoon markings on the wrappers, so by using them you can measure out 14 Tablespoons (which is 7/8 cup). That would be 1 full stick of butter (which is 1/2 cup or 8 Tablespoons), plus 6 Tablespoons (3/4 of the stick) of a second stick. Hope this helps!
Jan says
Yes! That's perfect!
RecipeNewZ says
I was mildly obsessed by this cake for a whole week, ever since I saw it on Pinterest. And today finally I baked it. The only change I made was using home made apple sauce instead of half of the butter. The cake is wonderful - when it was baking the whole house smelled like heaven, and it's so moist and delicious! Love this recipe!
Thank you very much for sharing and have a wonderful weekend!
p.s. you are always invited to share your recipes on RecipeNewZ
Anonymous says
What flavor yogurt was used?
Jan says
I used plain yogurt (unsweetened) with 2.5% fat.
LunaCafe says
Two novel ideas for me here: Adding apples to a yogut cake batter and topping the cake with a hefty dose of sugar to get that marvelous crust. Can't wait to try these techniques. Thanks for evangelizing David's work! ...Susan
Jan says
The sugar crust is a nice touch. I hope you enjoy this cake!
Malgoat says
can you use greek yogurt instead?
Jan says
I have never tried greek yogurt for this recipe, but I think, since this cake is so moist, greek yogurt would work fine, and the recipe would still have enough moisture. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!