French Yogurt Cake, four ways (including sugarless)

OK, I went a little crazy. Ever since I read about Clothilde's Gateau au Yaourt on Chocolate and Zucchini, I have been wanting to make this cake. Maybe because it is reportedly the first cake a French child learns to bake, and that appealed to me, the Rookie Cook. I was also attracted to the simplicity of the recipe, and the variable ways of dressing it up, or leaving it plain. I also like the fact that it is a one layer cake, and could be made when company is coming and you don't want a lot of left over cake. (Humor me. It could theoretically happen.) Here is what I did.

First: although it looks like a lot of cake in the photograph, in fact I baked only two 9 inch rounds of cake, then in some cases I sliced a round in half and stacked one layer on top of another to make layers. Clothilde's recipe is for one single layer of cake, and since I wanted to test a few variations, I went ahead and doubled the recipe. However, for one layer I substituted Stevia for the sugar, making a cake my diabetic relatives could (and did!) enjoy.

FRENCH YOGURT CAKE RECIPE VERSION WITH SUGAR

This is straight from Clothilde's web site and makes one 9 inch round of cake:

2 eggs
1 cup whole, plain unsweetened yogurt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon light rum

NOTE: I didn't have any light rum, so I used brandy. It seemed fine to my uneducated (spirits-in-cooking- wise) palatte.

ANOTHER NOTE: Clothilde gives the instruction that one can use the yogurt tubs as a measuring device, substituting one tub for one half cup measure, if you are using 4 oz. tubs, for example. Check her site for the explanation.

YET ANOTHER NOTE: The sugarless version of this cake is exactly as above, but substitute Stevia for the sugar. Make sure it is a form of Stevia that measures equivalently for sugar. The brand I bought at Trader Joe's is mixed with Lactose, a milk sugar, and works fine if no one eating the cake is lactose intolerant. In my mind this is far superior to artifical, chemical sugars such as Splenda or Nutrisweet, which I will not use due to toxicity concerns.

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you exhibit A:

This was my favorite. The cake, dusted with confectioner's sugar. Simple, not cloyingly sweet, a lovely little treat.

In the first picture, there it is, side by side with Exhibit B: which is dusted with Chocolate Cocoa Powder. This was OK, but not great, because while I used good quality cocoa, it was also a bit too bitter for the cake. A semi-sweet or sweet cocoa would have been better, methinks.

Exhibit C is the layered version, with spreadable fruit preserve (in this case, home made persimmon jam) as the glaze and filling. This was yummy too.

Exhibit D was essentially the same as C, except that this was the cake made with Stevia, and the persimmon jam was a home-made version also sweetened with Stevia (recipes forthcoming).

CAUTION: If you look at the first picture of cakes, you'll see that the Stevia cake in the upper right corner looks a tad soggy in the middle. Because it cooks differently, I think it could have used a bit more time in the oven. However my home critics were appreciative of the cake anyway and called it a success. Next time I hope it's better.

So there you have it, friends and neighbors. With all these choices (and plenty more you can dream up besides,) you'll find that you can have your cake, and eat it too! "Merci" to Clothilde for a keeper of a recipe.

Comments

[Amy]

I made that cake last year! You're right, it's a lovely little treat.

[Michelle]

Hi, I just found your blog while surfing for Stevia cake recipes. This looks like a good one! Does it the cake taste different from the one made with sugar?

[Judy]

Could you tell me exactly how much Stevia was used in the suger free french yogurt cake? You state that one has to make sure it is a form of Stevia that measures equivalently for sugar. Since the recipe uses 1 cup of sugar does this mean I must use 1 cup of the Stevia from Trader Joe's. Also, what is the exact brand name of Stevia from Trader Joe's. You state it is mixed with Lactose, a milk sugar. Does this mean it is milk sugar sweetened with Stevia?

[Andrea]

Hi Judy
I measured the Stevia like sugar, although I may have used a little less. I believe the brand was called "Sweet N Natural Powder Super Stevia Extract." (It may currently be replaced by the "Trader Darwin" brand at Trader Joe's. ) The container says the ingredients are "pure Stevia Leaf Extract (Stevia Reboudiana)." Then it says "Other ingredients: Lactose (milk sugar)." "It says that one third level teaspoon tastes like one level teaspoon sugar." But it is hard to bake when reducing the quantity by an entire third. The consistency is not ideal but it works for me.
Funny you should ask about this as at this very moment I have the original (with sugar) French yogurt cake in the oven!

[S Roy]

Nice additions with the persimion jam. I would double the rum and vanilla extract too the taste might get 'lost' in the cake. The stacked cake I know is delicious (I have made it with orange marmalade) but for presentation you might want to cut the original cake in half and then stack it together.