Ahhh. That is the sound I'm making as this week comes to a close. My brief respite is over, and soon a busy, bookish schedule will bring an end to these slow hours in the kitchen. But before I go, I wanted to share my results testing yet another blogger's recipe*, this time from Chocolate and Zucchini. Clotilde Dusoulier is one of the few food bloggers I followed before I enjoyed cooking, before I had such a thing as a blogroll.
What I like in particular about this raspberry yogurt cake is that it's not overly sweet. I have an aversion to excessively sweet desserts (I am not a big fan of ice cream-sacrilege!), despite the fact that I enjoy baking. The yogurt-brown sugar blend is just right. The raspberries add texture, a natural sweetness, and a little bit of tart.
This is what I call a ladylike cake. It's simple, compact, and looks proper to me. You can have it for breakfast or with your afternoon tea. It would make a good gift to a friend, and it freezes well (thanks for the tip, Clotilde!). In short, an easy go-to treat that doesn't require a lot of effort.
* Though I have a small collection of cookbooks, I tend to browse my favorite blogs for recipes. The limitation of this is that I passively accept other suggestions rather than exploring my own ideas or cravings. And this, I think, makes for less interesting content. So I will try, next time, to share a recipe or two of my own. Stay posted!
Your main ingredients (not trying to be clever, just to illustrate).
And whoa, is it just my browser, or do the whites look scarily toxic?
Frozen raspberries work just fine.
A springform pan makes releasing the cake a cinch.
Otherwise, let the cake cool before you try to remove it.
Chocolate & Zucchini's Raspberry Yogurt Cake
Ingredients:
(Clotilde gives endearing measurements-by the yogurt tub-but for simplicity, I am showing you cups.)
1 cup plain yogurt (I used full fat Greek yogurt)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour (I used standard white all-purpose)
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 tbsp. baking powder
Salt
1-1 1/4 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, don't thaw)
How To:
- PREP | Preheat oven to 360° F. Grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan (using a springform is helpful but not essential).
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LIQUID | Mix together the yogurt, oil, and sugar. Add eggs one by one (mixing in between each).
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DRY | In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, and a pinch of salt.
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COMBINE | Add your flour mixture to the batter gradually, stirring until just combined. You don't want to overmix.
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INTO THE PAN | Half the batter goes into the pan. Add the raspberries in a single layer. The rest of the batter goes on top. Use a spatula or spoon to evenly distribute the batter (I barely had enough to cover).
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BAKE | Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean, and the color should be a deep golden. Cool for ten minutes before trying to get the cake out of the pan. Then cool completely on a rack. (You shouldn't mangle or eat baked desserts straight out of the oven.)
