Batter-Splattered: Apple-y Oomph Cake

Streusel topping ingredients, waiting to be tossed and sprinkled

You know those recipe books they sell for $3.99 at the grocery store cash register right next to the trashy tabloids? Love those. The cookbooks, not the tabloids. Well, I might thumb through -- but never purchase! -- the occasional issue of Star, particularly if they lure me in with the promise of shocking celebrity photos of bikini-clad lovelies with (gasp!) a shocking amount of cellulite on display. Because hey, she may be a renowned actress but she also has the thighs of somone who enjoys a piece of pie and a beer after a day spent slaving away on the movie set.

My latest $3.99 recipe book is from Better Homes and Gardens: The Best of Hometown Cooking, with 72 best-loved recipes. Back by popular demand! Second printing!

How could I pass that up? I took it home and got right to cooking the apple-streusel coffee cake on page 11.

It has one of those beautiful buttery-pale, vanilla-scented batters that I'm tempted to eat by the spoonful:

Once I sliced up an apple and pressed the slices into the top, like so...

...I had some slices left over so I chopped them up and stirred them into the batter for a little extra appley-oomph.

Apple-y Oomph Cake

Makes 8 servings

1 c all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/8 t salt

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c butter, softened

1 egg

1 t vanilla

3 T plain yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt and it worked fine)

1 1/4 c thinly-sliced red cooking apple (I used a Granny Smith and it worked fine)

2 T all-purpose flour

1 T packed brown sugar

1/4 t cinnamon

1 T butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 2 inch round baking pan and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the one cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat sugar and 1/4 cup of butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until well-combined. Alternately add flour mixture and yogurt to egg mixture, beating well after each addition. Chop up a few of the apple slices and stir gently into batter.

Spread batter in prepared pan. Arrange apple slices over batter.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine the 2 T flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the 1 T butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over apple slices.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center (don't poke it right in the center -- it deflates the cake a little, a lesson I learned the hard way) comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. If desired, remove from pan. Serve warm.