French Yogurt Jar Cake

I hope to be a good mother.  At the risk of sounding trite, a big part of me thinks that in order to succeed at parenting, there must be cake.  For a long time I've envisioned what my life would be like once I had a family of my own. One of these recurring daydreams involves a slew of kids coming home from school, sitting down at the table and enjoying big fat slices of homemade cake.  As I sit down with them, we discuss the days events as they gulp glasses of cold milk and shovel hunks of buttery cake into their mouths.  For better or worse, facilitating this dreamed-up after school ritual is likely going to be an integral part of me being a mom. Serving my kid cake.  After school.  May seem silly, but that's how I think.  This lovely, lemony cake is one I would proudly serve to any kid.  It is adapted from a classic French afternoon snack cake recipe called yogurt jar cake because it is made with yogurt and most of the ingredients can be easily measured from little glass yogurt containers, common in France.  Don't worry about measuring from jars, just throw the ingredients together into a big bowl, mix, pour into a pan and bake. Simple and perfect as an afternoon treat for kids and adults alike.  Of course I do realize that my future family probably won't always relish the idea of sitting down to share a snack and a chat like I do.  Nevertheless, I'm sure I'll still have a cake waiting when they get home, just in case.

French Yogurt Jar Cake
Makes one 9 inch cake
adapted from this recipe

1/2 cup plain yogurt, full fat is best
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
grated zest of one lemon
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup canola oil
sweetened créme fraiche or whipped cream for serving (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease a 9 inch round cake pan and line with parchment.  

In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla and zest.  Add the flour and baking powder and whisk until combined.  Add the oil and, using a rubber spatula, stir until smooth.  Transfer batter to your prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Allow to cool on a baking rack for 5-10 minutes then carefully remove the cake from the pan and allow it to cool to room temperature on the rack, right side up.  Serve with slightly sweetened créme fraiche or whipped cream if desired.  Keep cake wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days and, personally, I think the cake is better the second day.

Mix until the batter becomes smooth and shiny.

Allow the cake to cool completely for the best taste and texture.

A generous wedge makes the perfect snack.

A bit of sweetened créme fraiche adds a nice tang.