Entry #3004, November 10, 2013

Tired of making plain pumpkin pie every thanksgiving? Ditch it for something your guests will love digging into. Gingerbread cake with caramel apple topping recipe is easy to make and makes an excellent climax to your thanksgiving feast. You can give it a healthier edge with a few ingredient swaps and steer clear of those extra calories.

 Autumn Gingerbread Cake with Caramel Topping

Gingerbread apple caramel topping

Image by: Betty Crocker

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Makes: 15 servings

Total time: 1 hour 

Ingredients

2 Cups creamy peach or vanilla yogurt

½ cup caramel topping

1 cup all-purpose flour

1¼ cups whole wheat flour

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup molasses

½ teaspoon salt

⅓ Canola oil

1 chopped medium tart apple

1 egg

Lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350ᵒF. Mix the caramel topping with ¾ cup of yogurt in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate the mixture until serving time.

2. Use an electric mixer to blend the remaining yogurt and ingredients in a large bowl except the lemon juice and the apple. Use the mixer for 45 seconds on low speed and scrape the bowl constantly. Increase the speed to medium for a minute and scrape the bowl occasionally until the mixture is well blended. Add a half of the chopped apple and pour batter inside. Sprinkle the remaining apple with lemon juice and cover and refrigerate it until serving time.

3. Grease and flour a square pan measuring 9-inches and put the mixture from the large bowl inside. Bake for 38 to 43 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove and leave to cool slightly then serve with the remaining chopped apple and topping mixture.

Expert Tips

• You can substitute the yogurt in the recipe with French vanilla or peach yogurt if you want.
• The apple you use must be prepared differently: the one mixed with the batter must be peeled while the other half must be left unpeeled for more colorful topping.
• If you’re watching your weight, use fat-free yogurt instead of regular yogurt. The Canola oil and whole wheat are also healthy additions.

For more desserts on Stagetecture, click here.