Simple Apple Cake

This cake is tasty, quick and astoundingly simple. In Nepal, apples are in season for a long time so this is a great way to incorporate them into baking. I adapted this simple recipe to suit me and my 9x9 baking pan, and then added an oat-crumble topping to suit my sweet-toothed significant other.

Apple Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/3 cups sugar (I prefer brown but any will do)
• 1/2 cup melted butter (can be substituted with vegetable oil)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (*this can be left out if you don't have any!)
• 1/4 cup plain yoghurt
• 5 small apples peeled, cored & chopped into chunks 

Oat Crumble Topping (Optional)

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cups soft butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Equipment

• 9x9 baking pan
• Large bowl
• Smaller bowl
• Sturdy spatula or mixing spoon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F or 170C.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix with a fork until combined.
3. Beat eggs with a fork in smaller bowl. Making sure the butter has cooled slightly (so as not to cook the eggs) add it and the vanilla to the eggs and mix. 
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. If you find the mixture too dry, add some or all of the yoghurt. The batter will be thick, this is fine. 
5. Add in the apples and stir to just combine.
6. Pour batter into a greased 9x9 baking pan.

Topping

1. Put all ingredients into a bowl.
2. Using a fork, mash and stir to create a "crumbling" effect. If the mixture is too dry, add butter. If it is too wet, add flour or oats. 
3. Using your hands to crumble the mixture works the best!
4. Gently spread the crumble on top of the cake.

Baking times differ depending on your oven. In a regular Western electric oven, the cake would take about an hour at 350 degrees. I have a small convection oven and my cake took about 45 minutes at 170. I suggest you put the cake in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cake and check with a toothpick. If the toothpick is wet, continue baking at 10 minute intervals until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Let stand and cool before slicing into. 

Enjoy!