Gâteau au Yaourt

I tried this recipe for Gâteau au Yaourt from Clotilde's blog and it's my new favorite cake. I really appreciate how easy it is to make. You don't need any fancy mixer; it's easy to make by hand. Plus, after my little foray into the world of Clafoutis, I'm obsessed with fruity desserts. This cake is really moist, light and not too sweet. Perfect with a pot of tea!

I’ll post my slight variation of the cake here, but you should read her post for the original Gâteau au Yaourt, which I hope to try soon. My variation has the same base as her Gâteau au Yaourt à la Framboise (i.e. with brown sugar) but uses chopped apples instead. Clearly, you can use any fruit you like. Avoid the urge to add cinnamon or other spices. You will really enjoy the simplicity of the yogurt, fruit and brown sugar; I promise! Go make this cake!

Yogurt Cake with Apples

½ cup plain unsweetened yogurt
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
¼ cup oil
¼ cup ground almonds (almond flour)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2-3 Gala, Golden Delicious or Pink Lady apples, peeled, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.
Combine the yogurt, oil and sugar in a large bowl. Add vanilla or almond extract and one egg at a time and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, almonds and baking powder. Stir the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture a little at a time until just combined. Do not over mix.

Pour 1/3 of cake batter into the bottom of a well-greased and floured round 9-in. cake pan or pie plate. Lay sliced apples over the batter in one crowded layer. Don't pile them too high or they won't cook down enough. Pour remaining batter over the apples covering them completely. Bake for 45 minutes. (The posted recipe says 50-60 minutes, but mine was well done at 50.)

Let cool 15 minutes or so before slicing. Dust with powdered sugar or a spoonful of whipped cream before serving. Serves 8.

*Evidently, if you can’t find almond flour or don’t want to grind your own, you can omit it without replacing it.