Again a french classic, yoghurt cakes are called gateaux au yahourt in the french cuisine! The reason yogurt cakes are so well loved is these crusty edges and top and the moist inside with that yoghurt taste cake that we recognise closed eyes.
A yoghurt pot to measure all ingredients! How fun for kids!
In France, the recipe is based on the volume of a little pot of yoghurt (about 1/2 cup), so it is fun to measure the other ingredients with that container. Elsewhere in the word, yoghurt may not be sold so much in individual portions by default and also the use of measuring cups is not a novelty!
Two recipes to choose from:
Anyway, for you here, I have added two recipes to this blog and provided the quantities in grams as well.
- The first one is the “original” yoghurt cake, it can be a bit floury, it is a matter of taste.
- The second one (Yoghurt Cake, the other version) is not floury and has more yoghurt (and not so much sugar). I love that one too. The down is that the edges are not as addictive, the cake makes up for it in its taste.
The cake is generally baked in a round tin, but feel free to use muffin trays like I did.
If you use it for afternoon tea, the cake is great on its own. If you want to serve it for dessert, poach some fruits and serve it with the reduced poaching syrup!
Enjoy!
This version of the french traditional yoghurt cake contains double the amount of yoghurt. It is a great cake, even better when served with poached fruits and the poaching liquid reduced to a syrup.
This recipe is from Delicious, Simply the Best by Valli Little. In the book, the cake is served with sangria poached fruits, I served mine last time with white wine poached pears.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (280 g) of Greek Yoghurt
- 1 cup (220 g) of raw caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) of sunflower oil (sunflower oil will not alter the flavour of the cake, olive oil will change the taste)
- 2 eggs
- 1 2/3 cup (250 g) of plain flour
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- finely grated zest of 1 orange
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C and grease a 20 cm spring form cake pan and line with baking paper.
- Combine the yoghurt and sugar in a large bowl and whisk to combine before adding the eggs. Beat well between each addition.
- Add at once the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Use a whisk is you have some lumps, they will disappear straight away. Finally add the zest and mix to combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. If the cake is getting brown too quickly cover loosely with aluminium foil.
- Unmould and cool down on a cooling rack.
Yoghurt cake (gateau au yahourt) is a french classic. Each kid would have made it quite a few times. One of my brother use to make it for quite a while every Wednesday (we didn’t have school Wednesdays) for afternoon tea (he was about 8 and unhelped after a couple weeks). The cake weight reference or rather volume reference is the little pot of yogurt. Since here, yogurt is found in larger quantities, I use a measuring cup as a reference or a glass.
This recipe is the “original version” as you will encounter most of the time. I love the crusty edges of the cake and the unctuous interior. It is very good as well dipped in tea or milk.
You can reduce by 1/3 the sugar if you find it to sweet as this is quite a sweet cake. You may found this cake a bit floury, sometimes it annoys me, this is why I alter with another recipe (CLICK HERE).
One very important thing, respect the quantity of baking powder (1 level teaspoon, which is less than the amount suggested on the baking powder box per cup of flour), or your cake will have a great ride (it has happened to me)!
In the photo here, I used the mix as a base to cup cakes. Two 7 y.o. did the recipe and obviously decorating under light supervision. I have used this recipe for birthday cake (reducing the sugar) with pink food colourant added.
A yoghurt cake is normally cooked in a round cake tin 20-25 cm diameter.
Ingredients:
- 1 yoghurt pot (about 125 g natural yogurt, unsweetened) – the container is then used to measure the other ingredients
- 3 pots of white sugar (about 300 g)
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 pot of oil (I use a light taste oil such as sunflower)
- 1 pot of cornflour
- 2 pots of plain flour
- 1 level teaspoon of raising powder (or one sachet if it comes under that format)
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 170°C . Butter and flour you tin well, alternatively line it with baking paper.
- Empty the yoghurt in a large bowl. Rinse and dry the container. You will use it to measure the other ingredients.
- Add the sugar. Mix
- Add the eggs one at the time mixing well between each addition.
- Add the oil and mix.
- Add all at once the cornflour, four and baking powder. Mix from the centre including in your circle the dry ingredients as you go. If there are lumps, use a large whisk and mix energetically.
- Transfer the mix to the tin and place in the oven.
- It takes about 40 minutes to cook (until a skewer come out dry) and may have a little hump and a crack in the middle. If it becomes too dark early either reduce the oven or cover with aluminium foil.
