French Lemon Yoghurt Cake

This cake came about one working night when I was raiding my fridge for a late night snack. My eyes caught a tub of yoghurt, and it didn't take me more than a minute to recall this recipe (where else but from my baking bible, Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan).  Since I had everything on hand, I decided on cake for breakfast.

This cake is a little bit tangy from the yoghurt, a little bit nutty from the ground almonds, has a silky texture and is very moist. In one word - yum.  Plus this is such an effortless bake, which is something I truly welcome to satisfy a weekday baking urge.

You will need:

For the cake:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup ground almonds (or you can substitute with 1/2 cup all purpose flour)

2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 cup sugar

Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup flavorless oil such as canola or safflower

For the glaze:
1/2 cup lemon marmalade, strained (I used apricot jam)
1 tsp water

Preparation:

To prepare the cake:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C and generously butter a 8 1/2-x-4 1/2 inch baking pan.

Whisk together the flour, ground almonds (if using), baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, rub the sugar together with the zest until the sugar is moist and aromatic.  Add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla into the sugar and whisk vigorously until well blended.  Still whisking, add the dry ingredients, and then fold in the oil with a rubber spatula.  You will have a thick, smooth batter with a slight sheen.

Scrape the batter into your pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean.

Let the cake cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then remove it from the pan and cool right side up on a baking rack.

To prepare the glaze:

Put the jam into a microwable bowl with the water, and heat gently until the jam is hot and liquified.  Brush all over the top of the cake with a pastry brush.