Happy Easter Monday! I am hoping you had a great weekend. We did. WE had family in town and starting yesterday we watching a few of our grandchildren for a week. So, with that in mind, me coming g off a few weeks out of a second surgery and Easter Dinner needed to be simple. I didn’t do it by myself, I had help in the kitchen, with dishes and for clean up. Remember, you don’t have to have surgery to ask for help, your people/guests/family are GLAD to help. Enlist them!

For dessert, I looked for something simple, something good and here’s what I came up with. This cake is sooooo easy and so good! Add some freshly whipped cream and a little fresh fruit (either IN the cake or SERVED WITH the cake), have some help serving it and you are ‘in business.” I put this cake in the oven later in the afternoon. When guests showed up, the house smelled like a lemon/orange cake baking. It was absolutely scrumptious!

The Italians make a lemon (or lemon/orange zest) cake with ricotta cheese, similar to this French cake made with plain or Greek yogurt. Both a similar in taste and texture. The ricotta/Italian version is a little heavier/dense. This is the Italian version served with a compote made of tangerines, blood oranges, zest and maple syrup. if you have a good base cake like this French Yogurt cake (or the Italian Ricotta Cheese version), you can either add fresh fruit to the batter, serve with fresh fruit atop or make a compote. I always like freshly whipped cream. With this is your kitchen repertoire you have so many options.

On this cake, if you lived in France this cake would most likely be in your kitchen repertoire.  For many French children, this is the first cake they learn to make.  Interestingly, it’s an easy cake to lean to make and remember because  most of the ingredient are measured with the individual yogurt cup (or pot as some yogurts in France are sold in glass pots).  This is a nice recipe that is easy to add your favorite flavors to.  Most likely, you would have these ingredients in your kitchen so if you are expecting company over last minute, you could pull this together and it just might make for…A Great Day 🍰 

Recipe French Yogurt Cake

Ingredients out and ready to go makes preparation smoothly.

  Ingredients

-1 container container (small from 4 ounces to 5.3-proportions will be right)

-2 containers of sugar (I used approx. 1.25)

-3 containers unbleached flour

-1 container olive or avocado oil (I prefer avocado oil because it’s a little milder than olive oil, sunflower oil is also an alternative)

-3 large eggs

-1 Tablespoon baking powder

-I like to use the zest of 1 lemon or zest of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 of an orange*

-Whipping cream to whip and serve over cake or cake with fresh fruit atop

*Options to add in:  1 container fruit like blueberries, 1 teaspoon   of pure vanilla, orange or lemon zest

The yogurt cup I used…Cleanup on this one is really easy.

    Method

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Butter and flour a 9 inch Bundt or spring form pan.

3.  Pour all contents of the yogurt container in a large mixing      bowl.  Wash and dry it out so you can measure other      ingredients. If your brand of yogurt cup is a little larger or a little smaller, the proportions will still be the same.

4.  Following the yogurt already in your mixing bowl, I like to start with dry ingredients, measure out and place in mixing bowl.  Finish with oil. The original recipe called for 2 yogurt cups of sugar.  I used about 1 1/4.  

5.  Add eggs and mix with a spatula or whisk.  There is no      specific order for all the ingredients.  If you are adding fresh fruit like blueberries to the cake batter, add them now and stir very gently, so as not to mash blueberries.

  1. Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, depending on your oven or until a toothpick come clean.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan then turn onto a rack for the remaining cooling time. 
  2.   Let cake completely before serving.  Fresh fruit and or fresh   whipped cream would be good accompaniments. 
French yogurt cake is not in my book, but I have many other great recipes. The book has a nice format. You can order it here on my website for a signed copy.