Oh, yum.
I knew I'd like this before I grated a smidge of lemon zest. The recipe just read as yummy. And since I knew I'd like it, I tripled the recipe. I was going to quadruple it, but figured I should save some eggs for the rest of the family.
Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction selected the French Yogurt Cake for this week and it sounded so good I made it well in advance of the posting date (something I haven't done in some time.) So thank you, Liliana, for picking this fabulous recipe! And of course, thank you, Dorie, for sharing it with us!
First up, the measuring of the ingredients. Flour, baking powder, salt, and ground almonds. Please keep in mind this is a triple batch, so if that looks like a lot of salt in the third picture below, well, that's why.
These dry ingredients are whisked together...
And then, to continue...sugar and lemon zest. I was nearly out of white sugar, so I used turbinado sugar for the rest.
Oh, AND, I used Meyer lemons. I'd seen them when I walked into my local Dave's Marketplace, and I just started grabbing them like a crazy person. I forced myself to stop at eight.
Since they're smaller than the lemons I usually get, I zested four instead of three (for the tripled recipe). That worked out nicely.
I added the zest to the sugar and rubbed them together. My kitchen smelled like spring.
Onto the wet ingredients...the yogurt, vanilla, eggs, and oil.
And into the mixer we go. First the sugar and eggs and yogurt and vanilla.
Oh, it smells heavenly!
And then the flour mixture.
And finally the oil.
Once I'd folded the oil in it was time to divide the batter into all my pans. That's right, ALL my pans. Part of the reason I tripled the recipe was so I could give some of the cake away. I figured mini loaves of different sizes would be cute and would allow me to share the wealth with more people. So I buttered four mini loaf pans, three smallish loaf pans, and one little square pan. I ended up not using the square one. The other seven worked perfectly for my purposes.
And then it was into the oven for all of them. I checked them at 30 minutes, and continued baking for another fifteen, which was just right. And oh, did the house smell good while that was going on!
Mmmmmm, lemony.
After ten minutes, I removed the loaves from the pans and set them out to finish cooling.
And I made the glaze - lemon marmalade and a bit of water. Dorie's recipe says to strain the marmalade and then warm it up in a pan with the water. I admit it. I'm a rebel. I heated the marmalade with the water first and then strained it. It seemed like the easier route, since the marmalade was thinner and dripped through the strainer more easily.
So pretty. Like jewels....
And that was it. I wrapped them up and handed some out to a few of my neighbors, and eventually found homes for most of the rest of them.
Not ALL of them, of course.
There would have been a mutiny or an insurrection or an uprising or something here, because, hard as it is to believe, EVERYONE in the household really liked this cake. Yay!
And who could blame them?
If you'd like to make one or three or seventy batches for yourself, you can find the recipe on Liliana's site or in Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From My Home to Yours on pages 224-225.
And you can also check out the other TWD members' blogs and see what they thought of this lovely cake.
Mmm. Your mini loaves look great with the glaze. Amazingly enough, everyone here liked this week's recipe, too. (rare for B & G to agree...) I love the picture of the zested lemons.
Posted by: Di | March 17, 2009 at 08:14 AM
I heated mine and then strained it too.
Your cakes look so good, and those bald lemons are just to cute.
Posted by: chocolatechic | March 17, 2009 at 08:20 AM
Who needs Martha, we've got you!
Posted by: jomamma | March 17, 2009 at 08:21 AM
Hahahahahaha! You are WAY too kind!
Posted by: Jayne | March 17, 2009 at 08:57 AM
Good grief! Tripled it! That's awesome, and pretty sweet of you to give them away. (well, except, you know, for that one.) :)
Posted by: susan | March 17, 2009 at 11:18 AM
I am SO making that. I too am impressed by your perfectly bald lemons! This it the first TWD recipe I have been excited to try, thanks!
Posted by: Nina | March 17, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Your pictures are lovely! I wish I could reach into my computer screen and grab a cake. Glad to know this cake tripples well. Your neighbors must love you.
Posted by: Michelle from Bake-en | March 17, 2009 at 12:36 PM
Oh wow, that's a lot of lemon cakes!! They're so cute! And I especially love your little naked lemons...so perfectly zested!
Posted by: Amy (Sing for your supper) | March 17, 2009 at 01:16 PM
Wow, ALL of your cakes look lovely :) How nice of you to make so many and give some away.
Posted by: Tracey | March 17, 2009 at 01:47 PM
Your cakes look amazing and I love your process photos. I would have done the same thing with straining the marmalade; it just seems more logical.
Posted by: Leslie | March 17, 2009 at 04:08 PM
WOW! Your kitchen looks like a manufacture! But now that I think of it, I should have done that to, for I'm sure this cake freezes very well! Darn!
Your pictures are so amazing one can almost smell the aroma of all those cakes baking! ...and frankly you have to be the master of lemon zest grating! For I almost thought they were strange yellowish eggs, before I got that they were zested lemons! LOL LOL LOL
Impressive.
Posted by: Vibi | March 17, 2009 at 04:39 PM
Yowser! That was quite a project! What a lovely gift. It all looks delicious.
Posted by: iahawk89 | March 17, 2009 at 06:00 PM
I love the way you wrapped the loafs: they look like the perfect gift!!
Posted by: Marthe | March 17, 2009 at 06:00 PM
Great job! That's alotta cake!
Posted by: Heather B | March 17, 2009 at 08:23 PM
wowww, your cakes look great!
i know, i wish i could've made more !
Next time i'll double the recipe for sure.
great job!<3
Posted by: bronte weiss | March 17, 2009 at 08:44 PM
I've never seen so many pretty little naked lemons and such a nice pile of lemon zests. Beautiful!
Also such a pretty plate with the little wrapped cake and lemon. I might try this one. :)
Posted by: Lulu | March 17, 2009 at 10:23 PM
Your loaves look great! I like the idea of using different size pans. Next time I will double or triple the recipe because the mini loaves I made didn't last too long. This is such a simple, delicious cake. Great photos!
Posted by: Liliana Tommasini | March 17, 2009 at 10:31 PM
The crumb in your cake looks just perfect Jayne - and I'll bet the neighbours loved you for these. Yum!
Posted by: Cakelaw | March 18, 2009 at 06:01 AM
What a beautiful way to package a gift, and the recipe looks fab too.
Posted by: pamwest | March 18, 2009 at 07:24 AM
Wowza! A lot of beautiful cakes. Wished I lived next door. Great gift and pretty too.
Posted by: Margaret | March 18, 2009 at 01:52 PM
Your loaves (all 7 of them :) ) look fantastic! I think this recipe was almost universally enjoyed by the TWD group.
Posted by: Rhiani | March 18, 2009 at 08:05 PM
isn't it nice that your naked bald lemons (that looked like potatoes to me...) get as much praise as your cakes?
LOL you must be SO proud of your prowess...
Posted by: Lynne | March 19, 2009 at 02:45 PM
Hahahaha, I know. Maybe I should do a whole bowl of naked lemons instead of bothering with coloring easter eggs this year. Or I could have a bald lemon hunt for the kids.
Posted by: Jayne | March 19, 2009 at 06:06 PM
Wow! Bonus points for you! You made 7 cakes and they all look perfect.
Nice job, I enjoyed all of your pictures :)
Posted by: Jacque | March 19, 2009 at 10:27 PM
oh, i just adore your mini loaves--what a brilliant idea. your cakes look simply scrumptious!
Posted by: HappyTummy | March 21, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Wow, a triple batch?! Not that I'd complain if I was a neighbor or anything, but WOW! I'm also jealous of your plethora of pans. And your ability to find meyer lemons. Only a wee bit though :) Beautiful job!
Posted by: Caitlin | March 22, 2009 at 04:33 PM