Isn't it funny how the forever recipes sometimes get ignored? The ones that you make for so long that they become the equivalent of boiled rice (but much tastier). This French Yogurt Cake is one of them. I first made it as a little girl and many times over since. The premise is simple, all the ingredients are in a fixed ratio measured by yogurt containers. After a lifetime of eating it I relegated it to the past when some years ago a friend (Hi Reshma!) reminded me about it. Like many recipes that handed down to me there were two versions of this one too. I prefer this one because it makes a more modest cake and one that I can actually fit in my rarely used bundt cake pan. Dust it with a little icing sugar, glaze with marmalade, or serve just as is. This French Yogurt Cake is a wonderful mid day pick me up or after school snack. 
As a word of caution (i.e. please learn from my mistakes), this isn't the time to use that thick extra protein yogurt with a chalky texture. You may hope and pray that it will all turn out well, but it won't. This recipe works wonderfully with regular yogurt or vanilla yogurt. We love it with a little citrus - orange or lemon zested in, but it is a delightful tea cake even without. The yogurt gives it a subtly sweet twang and it is very moist so it also keeps fairly well for a few days. What happens after a few days? Well, I'd have to hide it from myself and the girls to find out.
French Yogurt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Sugar
- ½ cup Oil
- 2 Eggs
- ¾ cup Yogurt
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep your pan by greasing it and dusting it with flour. You can use a bundt tin, a loaf pan, a square tin.(Note: A loaf tin will take the longest to bake)
- Combine the sugar and all the wet ingredients (oil, eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract) in a large bowl with a whisk
- Mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium size bowl and sift into the wet ingredients for an extra tender cake
- Gently mix just until well combined
- Bake just until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, this takes me about 30 minutes in a bundt cake pan. Let cool for ten minutes in the pan then invert onto a platter to cool completely.
Notes
Other Everyday Cakes to Bake this Weekend!
Olga says
Excelente! muy tierno y suave!
Sarah Mir says
Thrilled to hear it!!
Mary Sharif says
Just cooled my third one this week. Is a great simple and delicious cake. I use vanilla yogurt and vanilla paste and bake in a six cup Bundt pan. Takes 30 minutes. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Sarah Mir says
Thank you so much for sharing that!
Fatima says
Absolutely loved how easy and delish this cake was. I made it in a loaf pan and baked it at 350 for 40 minutes. I paired it with the orange glaze recipe from your orange cake. Just putting it out there in case anyone wants to try doing tht. Thanks for sharing
Sarah Mir says
Fatima I am just sitting here craving this cake with the orange glaze now! thank you for making it and for taking the time to share here!
AS says
Can this be made with greek vanilla yogurt.
Sarah Mir says
Hi Amina! I do find cakes with greek yogurt tend to be more dense and I personally don't love that so much
hungrypaprikas says
This cake is SO good! I made it with my son, it was that easy to make, and it tasted super moist and delicious! Thanks for an amazing recipe.
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
I am SO very glad you enjoyed it!
Lauren says
I’ve been baking this cake for over a year now and it never fails. So simple. Always delicious! I double the recipe for a large 12-inch Bundt pan. My family requests this all of the time. We eat it for breakfast. Yum!
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
I am delighted to hear that! thank you so much for letting me know!
Nadia Raza says
Hi Sarah! Tried this recipe, it was excellent. And the cake became even more tasty the next day. Didn't dry out, it was so soft. Glad I tried it. ?
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Hi Nadia! Thrilled to hear that you guys liked it! We also love that it stays so nice and soft 🙂
Aruna says
The cake looks so moist and soft. Tempted to try it now, at 5:30 AM. 🙂
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Thank you Aruna, never too early for cake I say 😉