Dessert: French Yogurt Cake

This is just a lovely cake. It's from Dorie Greenspan's great book Baking and it is swiftly becoming my go-to cake when I need something easy with showy potential.

The recipe below is Greenspan's. I have made it both with the ground almonds and without. I am going to try it with different ground nuts meals - I looking forward to trying it with ground pistachios for Easter.

I have baked it in a 9" springform and an 8x4 loaf pan. The springform makes for a more elegant presentation, especially when you split it and put lemon curd in between the layers. The orignal recipe calls for a marmalade or jam glaze.

French Yogurt Cake

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds (or if you have no almonds, use another 1/2 flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 t vanilla
• 1/2 cup light-flavored oil
  

Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly grease your baking pan (I have used a small loaf pan or a 9" springform pan).

Mix together the flour, ground almonds (if using), baking powder and nuts.

In a medium bowl, rub the sugar together with the zest (this will perfume the sugar with lemonyness). Whisk the yogurt, eggs and vanilla into the sugar. Whisk the flour mixture in until just blended. Fold in the oil with a rubber spatula.

Scrape the batter into your pan. Depending on your pan, it will take from 35-45 minutes (springform pan) to 50-55 minutes (loaf pan). The cake will pull from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake will come out with only one or two crumbs clinging to it.

Let the cake cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then remove it from the pan to continuing cooling.