French Yogurt Cake With Jammy Glaze

A twist on pound cake made with yogurt and glazed with jam or marmalade when baked. Serve with extra jam and yogurt. 

So, I bought another memoir/recipe book on Amazon.  (One-click , oh, One-click, you are trouble.)  You’ve possibly all heard of it:  Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life, born of her wonderful blog, Orangette.

 

Most touching was Italian Grotto Eggs: A simple recipe for the breakfast she served her father as he lay dying in their home, with Hospice care.  The book is dedicated to her father and she shares about him here on her blog. 

Once again, so many recipes bookmarked!  I haven't made anything sweet in a while so we will start with cake.  I liked the idea of the French Yogurt Cake but Molly mentions the original recipe calling for measurements made with the actual yogurt pot in France.  She had translated the measurements into cups for the US market in her book.  You know I had to find the original recipe.  Oh, my goodness, but there are hundreds on the internet!  I ended piecing together several to come up with this.  Moist and beautiful, it tastes oddly buttery, for something that has no butter.

Ingredients

1 cup or 125g all-purpose flour

50g or nearly 1/2 cup ground almonds

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 cup or 225g sugar

1 large lemon for zesting

A little less than 1/2 cup or 110g pot plain whole milk yogurt

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup or 120ml canola oil

1/4-1/3 cup or 75-90g citrus marmalade or other tangy jam for topping

Extra yogurt and marmalade for serving (optional)

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line a bread pan with baking parchment.  (Or butter it liberally.  I just think the parchment is easier.)

Mix your dry ingredients together: the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt, in one bowl.

Zest your lemon into your actual mixing bowl and then add in the sugar.  Mix the zest and the sugar together thoroughly with a fork.

Add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla to the bowl and whisk vigorously or use the K-beater in your electric mixer until it is very well blended. 

Beat or whisk in the dry ingredients, then add in the oil gradually, at a very low speed.

Pour the batter into the pan and drop the pan a couple of times onto your countertop from a few inches high to get rid of the big air bubbles in the batter.

Slide the baking pan into the oven and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cake begins to come away from the sides of the pan. 

While the cake is still hot and in the pan, put your marmalade or jam on top and, as it warms, spread it around.  (I used some jam I made from our own Japanese plum tree last week.  Isn't the color incredible?  All natural, just fruit and sugar!)

Serve it plain or with a spoon of slightly sweetened yogurt and another spoon of marmalade or jam.

Oh, and let your helper lick out the yogurt pot!  He's been so patient.

Enjoy!