Recipe for French yogurt cake with clear glaze and white icing

Food Styling/Sheryl Julian and Janine Sciarappa; Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe

February 25, 2013

1 minute to read

Makes one 8-inch loaf cake

In France, home bakers measure all the ingredients in the small, glass yogurt containers they buy in the supermarket: three containers of flour, two of sugar, one of yogurt. Lots of bakers make a version of this cake. This is based on a recipe from Dorie Greenspan and uses both a clear glaze and white icing. I have made this cake with great success using half vegetable oil and half olive oil.

CAKE

Butter (for the pan)Flour (for the pan)1½cups flour2teaspoons baking powder¾teaspoon kosher salt1cup sugar1tablespoon finely grated lemon rind¾cup whole-milk vanilla Greek yogurt½cup vegetable oil2eggs½teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter an 8½-by-4¼-inch loaf pan. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In another bowl, using your fingers, rub the lemon rind into the sugar until the sugar is moist. With a spoon, stir in the yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Fold in the flour mixture just until blended.

4. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

5. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

CLEAR GLAZE

1cup confectioners’ sugar2tablespoons lemon juice

1. In a saucepan, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves.

2. Turn the cake out onto a serving platter. Brush with the top and sides with glaze. Leave to cool.

WHITE ICING

2cups confectioners’ sugar4tablespoons milk¼teaspoon pure lemon extract

1. In a bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar, milk, and lemon extract until smooth.

2. Turn the cake out onto a serving platter. Pour the icing over the cake, going back and forth, so it drips over the sides. Let the cake sit for 30 minutes to set before slicing. Janine Sciarappa. Adapted from “Baking: From My Home to Yours’’