french yoghurt cake

Is it safe to claim the title of Queen of Lemon Cakes yet? I think my love of lemony cakes has been well established and I hope I’ve turned a few of you onto to the magic that is citrus-y baked goods in the process.

I saw this recipe in the May issue of Bon Appétit as I was flying back from Michigan one sleepy morning. Of course I knew I’d have to make it. There have been cakes with butter, cakes with cream, but not yet a lemon cake made with thick Greek yoghurt and oil. I had to try it and happily it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it’s a gorgeous cake, specked with lemon zest and packed full of flavour.

French Yoghurt Cake
from Bon Appétit, May, 2012

Ingredients

  • Oil, to grease pan
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp kosher/coarse salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 3/4 cup Greek yoghurt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease pan with vegetable oil. Dust with flour; tap out excess.
  2. Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
  3. Using your fingers, rub the lemon zest into the sugar in a large bowl until sugar is moist and fragrant. Add yoghurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract; whisk to blend. Fold in dry ingredients with a rubber spatula just to blend. Don’t over mix.
  4. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until top of cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50–55 minutes.
  5. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto rack and let it cool completely. Best bit: Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
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Category: recipe | Tags: , , , , 15 comments »

15 Responses to “french yoghurt cake”

  1. Kate
    May 16th, 2012 at 7:49 am

    I JUST MADE THIS YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    And wow, it’s pretty freaking good, isn’t it??!?! Gah. Simple as blinking an eye, too. Dangerously simple.

    Great minds think alike, my dear. :-)

    [Reply]
  2. sarah
    May 16th, 2012 at 8:47 am

    This looks delicious! I love lemon-y cakes.

    [Reply]
  3. Marisa
    May 16th, 2012 at 8:56 am

    I also just made this cake! For Mother’s Day. I made Dorie Greenspan’s version and she had a variation to bake it in a 9 inch pan, cut it in half and sandwich with a layer of lemon curd and frost with whipped cream. It was a BIG hit! So great. The version I used was also slightly different from yours in that part of the flour was replaced with almond meal. She claims that *everyone* in France bakes this cake and has a version of this recipe – which is saying something because apparently most French people don’t bake much at all in favor of popping in to their local patisserie!

    [Reply]
  4. Eileen
    May 16th, 2012 at 11:43 pm

    Ooh, I could definitely use a thick slice of lemon yogurt cake right about now. Looks great!

    [Reply]
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    May 17th, 2012 at 9:01 am

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  6. Kathryn
    May 17th, 2012 at 9:12 am

    This looks just lovely.

    [Reply]
  7. Jessica
    May 17th, 2012 at 9:45 am

    I’m definitely going to try to make this. It looks so light and delicious and I love lemon!

    [Reply]
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    May 25th, 2012 at 4:16 pm

    [...] from Eating for England and Smitten Kitchen Share this:FacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this [...]
  9. atoastandtea
    May 25th, 2012 at 4:28 pm

    I just made this (and wrote a post about it) and it is lovely – so bright tasting! It is also incredibly easy, so I will be putting it in the rotation for any last minute cake-demanding occasions that arise!

    [Reply]
  10. Jane
    May 26th, 2012 at 7:43 pm

    I made this cake twice today. It’s a fantastic cake, moist, crumbly, subtle lemony flavour, with a lovely crunchy crust! It is now my number one favourite!! Thanks for sharing it.

    [Reply]
  11. Jen
    May 31st, 2012 at 6:10 am

    When I saw this recipe on your blog, I knew I had to try it. Boy this cake doesn’t disappoint, so yummy. And I never would have thought to use greek yogurt. Thanks for sharing!

    [Reply]
  12. Kayti
    June 27th, 2012 at 3:07 pm

    Can I freeze this or make it ahead? My father-in-law’s birthday is in three days and I’d like to make this tomorrow.

    [Reply]

    Angharad Reply:
    June 27th, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    Hi Kayti, I’ve recently made a chocolate cake ahead of time and froze it for several days. I’ve never done that for this particular cake though so I would do some googling to research the effectiveness of freezing this type of cake. If you do decide to freeze it, be sure to leave several hours (up to 8) for defrosting. Good luck!

    [Reply]
  13. Kelli
    July 18th, 2012 at 2:58 pm

    Yours looks fluffy and makes me want to go steal the slices I have set aside for my coworkers!

    [Reply]
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