My second attempt at this cake was better, but still not perfect. I used whole milk yogurt, which was extremely rich, resulting in a very moist cake. I made all of the changes I wrote about last timelast time, except that I decided not to add any spices to the batter. I don't think it needed it. I still don't really like the almond flavoring, even though I put half the amount in and mixed it with vanilla extract. I would leave it out altogether next time. Maybe replace part of the flour with finely ground almonds.

I don't know if I would use whole milk yogurt again. I'll probably try lowfat next time. Or buttermilk. I haven't really been loving cakes made with yogurt, although it's probably good for this recipe, because the dense cake stands up to the apples.

The layer of apples between the two batter layers was probably unnecessary. It seems that the batter under the apples didn't rise at all. Putting all the apples on top seems to be the best approach. Also, letting the apple slices macerate in the cinnamon sugar while mixing up the batter created a wonderful apple-cinnamon syrup that I drizzled over the cake before baking it.

I ended up baking it for just over an hour. At 45 minutes the center was still gooey.

5-6 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup almonds, sliced

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9 inch springform pan.

Combine the apple slices, 1/4 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to coat. Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Add yogurt, butter and extracts. Stir wet ingredients into the flour mixture just until combined.

Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. Arrange a layer of apple slices over the batter, leaving about 1/2 inch border. Spread the remaining batter over the apples, then arrange the rest of the apples on top, reserving the syrup that has collected in the bowl. Sprinkle the cake with almonds, then pour the reserved syrup on top.

Bake for about 1 hour or until cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.