Yogurt Cake

I was so excited with this cake that I took a bunch of pictures, cooing over it like a little baby. Once I ate some of it, I ran to take more pictures, thinking in some way that would document the deliciousness. To me, cake is the sine qua non dessert. It's the spongy, chewy texture I'm after. Something to bite into and fill the mouth. I'm serious. I love ice cream, but I get sick of it. Chocolate is incredible, but I don't indulge every day. Sweet breads (the breads, not the glands) must be what I crave. That carbohydrate loaded softness. Oh! And this delivered in just the way I like it. It was easy peasy and the texture made me purr. I ate it plain, and by evening there was only a wee slice left. I didn't eat it all, mind you, I did share. A little.

I got this recipe from my friend Eve, who knows my predilections for easy and sweet. I resisted the urge to mess around with it, for example, when I saw it asked for a tablespoon of baking powder and that it didn't ask for salt?? But I reigned myself in and trusted in the recipe, and lo, it repaid me twentyfold. Or, something like that. Actually, not entirely. I used vanilla sugar and omitted the vanilla extract. And I didn't use the rum, although next time I will. I'm such a rebel.

Gâteau au Yaourt

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 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 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, run a knife around to loosen, and turn out on a rack to cool.