Easy Apple Caramel Coffee Cake Recipe

This past weekend, I cleaned out the fridge and I found a container of plain Greek yogurt. I'm not a huge Greek yogurt fan to eat right out of the container but it's a GREAT ingredient to use in baked goods. I kept it in mind as I scoured the internet for coffee cake recipes yesterday. Did I mention I also found a bag of apples that were no longer crispy but were perfect for baking with?

I found one that looked pretty good but I decided to modify it and the results were so so so good. It's super easy and uses up some of those extra ingredients you have on hand. And the base (box of cake, Greek yogurt, and a cup of liquid) is a great base for all kinds of cake like orange creamsicle cake, chocolate orange cake, chocolate cherry cake, and more!

Ingredients

• Three apples - chopped
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
• 1/4 tsp allspice (optional)
• 1 box white cake mix or 1 box spice cake mix (omit spices above)
• 1 individual serving of plain Greek yogurt (2/3 cup)
• 1 cup OJ (substitute water or apple juice if you don't have OJ)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix for 2 minutes on medium until fully mixed.
3. Bake per box cake instructions.

Caramel Topping (Optional) 

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. Melt butter in a smell sauce pan over high heat.
2. Add sugar when butter liquifies.
3. Continuously mix butter sugar on medium-high heat until it starts to brown.
4. Slowly add milk (careful it will bubble up and spatter!)
5. Keep mixing until it starts to thicken.
6. Pour warm caramel over cake.