Still occupied with rather boring matters
Unfortunately, I’ve been out of the kitchen all week due to study (and I’m still working on an analysis of bias in the media) so haven’t really got anything spectacular for your perusal. However, in lieu of that, here’s a Gâteau au Yaourt that I made using a recipe from Clotilde’s blog, Chocolate & Zucchini. Not the best picture, but a dead-easy, deliciously moreish cake that you’ll find yourself devouring slice after slice. I’ve made this a few times, and I have to admit that I prefer it when made with natural, unsweetened yoghurt as it gives a fresh ‘tang’ to the flavour that you don’t seem to get with that horrific artificially sweetened Nestle crap in tubs.
It’s a great recipe, but I’ve got a few problems with it - the fact that it uses 1 tablespoon of baking powder is a bit iffy as every time I’ve made this, I swear I can taste the slightly sharp, metallic touch of its presence (though that may just be my neurotic tastebuds), plus the cake is a bit too sweet for what I want it for - a plain cake that can be enjoyed with a cup of green tea. I’m working on a version that is going to be better suited to my family’s tastes, but it may take awhile as I’m flooded with work at the moment.
Gâteau au Yaourt
(Recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini)
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup of whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon light rum
Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F), line the bottom of a round ten-inch cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. In a large mixing-bowl, gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil and rum. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture, and blend together — don’t overwork the dough. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, and transfer onto a rack to cool.
Please bear in mind that if, like my father, you prefer your desserts not so sweet, you’re best cutting the sugar down to 1/2 or 2/3 cup, and adding a little extra vanilla (another 1/2 - 1 tsp) to up the flavour a bit. And, as with any plain cake recipe, it can be used as a base to create more elaborate versions should you desire it (in my kitchen, blueberry, citrus, matcha and chai versions are being contemplated)
Have a great week, folks! 
Technorati Tags: Chocolate & Zucchini, food blogs, recipes, yoghurt cake, baking, recipes, desserts
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
baking soda Looks absolutely yummy…I’m with you on the baking powder taste, I’m able to detect every tiny bit too much. However, I’m really really going to try this one!
peabody Boring matters is better than stress full matters…trust me.
I love yogurt cake…so simple and good.
Belinda It looks lovely, Ellie…sometime you just can’t a beat a good old fashioned plain cake. This one sounds great…I’d be like you with the Tablespoon of baking powder, but it looks perfect. Good luck with your paper…I remember those days, lol, I’m getting old…I’m calling them “those” days! ha!
Cris My kind of cake! Wow, I tried to post before, but it was closed for comments. I guess I did not reply the answer. Ellie , how does reviewing your post work?
Tartelette Yogurt cake is m comfort food. I use a similar recipe with 1/2 Tb of baking powder and it works great. Good luck with the studying!
Callipygia 
Hey good luck with your studies. This simple cake looks so good and moist, I’ll be anxious to try it out. Thanks-
Ellie Agnes - Cheers It’s a very basic cake that takes almost no time to whip up, so I do recommend it!
Baking Soda - I’m planning on playing around with it tonight, so hopefully I’ll be able to work out a happy medium between the fluffiness and the baking soda!
Peabody - Unfortunately its a bit of column A and a bit of column B 
thankfully yoghurt cake helps to ease my pain 
Kat - Thanks hon
Patricia - Definitely tender, this is delightfully moist and soft!
Susan - Thanks hon, much needed and appreciated!
Belinda - Damn straight! Those fancy decorated things are fun, but sometimes you just want some simple pleasure 
Lynn - Thanks hon
Cris - Not quite sure what you mean, hon? I haven’t had a chance to rework the recipe yet, but am planning on giving it a go tonight!
Helen - Ah-hah! I think that may be the way to go Thanks hon!
Callipygia - Thanks hon
The Cooking Ninja This is one of the easiest cake to make and little children in France makes them all the time.
Vicki. 1 cup of whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt - Is it akin to simply "plain unsweetened yogurt"? Or is this a different kind? Oh and if I were to omit the rum, would it be much of a difference? Any substitute for rum then? More vanilla? Thanks!
Ellie CookingNinja - It certainly is a very easy cake
Vicki - Yup, just make sure you use a full-fat yoghurt and not a diet/no-fat one. As for the rum, you can omit it entirely and add a little extra vanilla - I also like to add some lemon zest to add to lighten the sweet notes of the cake!
That looks like a great cake! Will definitely have to try it.