Some of you may be shocked to learn that I was a nursery school drop-out. When my mother discovered that napping was a strictly enforced part of the curriculum, I was promptly withdrawn from the program. I could “nap at home for free”, Mom announced. However, maternelle, or nursery school in France, is not for sleepy-heads. There, every child learns this recipe for gâteau au yaourt, yogurt cake, using a yogurt container to measure out the ingredients. Award-winning cookbook author Aleksandra Crapanzano has adapted this beloved recipe in her recently published cookbook, Gâteau: the surprising simplicity of French cakes.
French Yogurt Cake
According to cookbook author and food writer Dorie Greenspan, culturally the French are not home bakers because anywhere you go in France there is a nearby pâtisserie where they can buy desserts. However, gâteau au yaourt is the exception to that rule. This foolproof cake, made especially moist from the combination of oil and yogurt in the recipe, takes just minutes to prepare and tastes like a cross between sponge cake and pound cake. It’s an all-occasion cake, equally welcome at dinner parties and at picnics, and it tastes even better the day after it’s made. So if making a yogurt cake is not one of those valuable life lessons that you learned in kindergarten, don’t despair. It’s not too late.
Assemble your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 8 1/2 X 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom and 2 long sides of the pan with a sheet of parchment paper, making sure that the sides of the paper come up over the edges of the pan. You can use this extended piece of parchment as handles to lift the cake out of the pan.
Whisk the yogurt and eggs together. Make sure that the eggs are room temperature; it really makes the blending much easier. Whisk in the vanilla. Measure out the sugar into a small bowl. Add the citrus zest to the sugar and rub it with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the sugar to the egg mixture and whisk to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and whisk just until blended. Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking until the mixture is homogenous.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 minutes. Test the middle of the cake with a skewer before removing it from the oven. The skewer should emerge with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 15 minutes. Unmold the cake and allow it to cool to room temperature right side up on the rack. You can glaze the cake with marmalade that has been warmed slightly or dust the cooled cake with confectioners’ sugar.
French Yogurt Cake
Made especially moist from the combination of oil and yogurt in the recipe, French yogurt cake takes just minutes to prepare and tastes like a cross between a sponge cake and a pound cake.
Ingredients
- ½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt, or Greek yogurt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Grated rind of 1 lemon, or lime, or orange
- 1 cup sugar
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- For the cake topping (optional)
- 1/4 cup orange or lemon marmalade
- OR,
- confectioners' sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 8 1/2 X 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom and 2 long sides of the pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
Whisk the yogurt and eggs together. Make sure that the eggs are room temperature; it really makes the blending much easier. Whisk in the vanilla. Measure out the sugar into a small bowl. Add the citrus zest to the sugar and rub it with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the sugar to the egg mixture and whisk to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and whisk just until blended. Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking until the mixture is homogenous. You will have a smooth, glossy, batter.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 minutes. Test the middle of the cake with a skewer before removing it from the oven. The skewer should emerge with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 15 minutes. Unmold the cake and allow it to cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.
Glaze (optional)
Add the marmalade to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 15-20 seconds until the jelly is liquefied. Strain the marmalade. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the cake with the glaze.
Alternatively, you can also top the cake with a dusting of confectioners' sugar.
Notes
Wrapped well, the cake keeps at room temperature for 4 days. The unglazed cake can also be wrapped well and frozen.
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