Tuesday, March 17, 2009

French Yogurt Cake (TWD)

I was looking forward to making this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, French Yogurt Cake w. Marmalade Glaze. I was soooo tempted to try the olive oil variation (w. citrus and herb flavors --- sounds so delicious), but stayed the course and stuck with the original version first.

With the exception of the glaze, I followed recipe instruction as exactly as written. As I didn't have any marmalade handy, I nixed the marmalade glaze and instead made a lemon syrup (1/4 C lemon juice, 1/4 C sugar - gently warm until the sugar melts) and brushed the top of the loaf as it was cooling.
This cake is really wonderful and delicious on its own! I could tastle a sutble nutty flavor from the ground almonds, along with a terrific tart, tangy flavor from the lemon and yogurt. The lemon syrup also lent a nice tang and kept the cake moist.

Although I don't think you need to adorn this cake with anything else, Dorie Greenspan suggests serving this with some fruit and something creamy like creme fraiche. In my case, I had some lovely mini kiwis that needed some attention. This terrific find comes from Trader Joe's. These minis are the size of a kumquat and unlike it's full-sized cousin, you can pop these in your mouth and enjoy them, skin and all:
I also had some lemon cream leftover from a prior bake-a-thon:

With minimal fuss, this cake (with or without its accompaniaments) is a simple yet special treat. I typically dispatch my baked goods to my colleagues or my husband's work, but in this case I hoarded this cake all for myself ... should I feel guilty for not sharing?...naw!!!

Thanks to Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction for the delicious pick this week! Please visit Liliana's blog for the recipe, and make sure to check out the TWD blogroll to see how my fellow bakers fared.

40 comments:

Cristine said...

Your presentation is lovely! The kiwis are a great addition!

Isabelle Lambert said...

c'est superbement réussi, les photos sont extras et j'adore tes tulipes :)

chocolatechic said...

I didn't know that kiwi came in mini form.

How cool is that!


Your cake looks wonderful.

Marthe said...

Those mini kiwi's sound amazing! Yum!

Steph said...

Linda, as always your cake looks amazing! I love how close knit the crumb is. Mine turned out a little too coarse.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

looks so, so pretty! a lemon glaze is a great sub, and curd--oh my! beautiful tulips, too (they are my favorite flower).

Amanda said...

Such gorgeous photos! I LOVED this cake, it smelled so good while cooking and tasted wonderful :) I paired it with simple lemon curd. YUM!

The Food Librarian said...

Beautiful!!! I want to dive right into my computer screen. I haven't seen those mini kiwis - they look so cute without that fuzzy brown skin! Must try!

betty geek said...

PLEASE FEED ME.

Banjo said...

oh gosh it was just delicious wasn't it?! I wish I still had some left over! Beautifully done...

Amy of Sing For Your Supper said...

Oooh wow - this looks great! Love the kiwis!

-Amy
www.singforyoursupperblog.com

Jennifer said...

LOVE the shot of the cake with the tulips!!!!

jDub said...

i love the mini kiwis in your pics!!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Everything you make looks FABULOUS!

Hope you don't mind but I'm going to add you to my blogroll! THX!
~ingrid

vibi said...

ALL your pictures are crazy amazing! WOW... expecially the one with the tulips! I'm jealous... those are my favorite flowers! hummm... was it because you made such tasty and wonderful yogurt cake, you got such a thoughful bouquet??? LOL either way... you deserved them!

Anonymous said...

Lemon syrup sounds delicious with this cake. The pictures are beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Your cake looks gorgeous. I love the mini-kiwis and the lemon cream sounds yummy.

Heather B said...

yea for mini kiwis! Love 'em! Great job this week!

Passionate Baker said...

your cake looks fantastic!
great job!<3

Pamela said...

Such beautiful pictures! Great job.

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

Lemon cream, mini kiwis, and a slice of this cake...yes! Looks delicious, and I love how the tulips are bowing down to it! Spring is coming.

Tami said...

Your cake turned out very nice. I will definitely have to try it with some sort of lemon filling or topping. I put a strawberry topping on mine that was really good.

Natalie said...

The kiwis are making my mouth water! Love it!

My sister-in-law got me the mini angel food pans - I know I've seen some similar at Michael's craft store. I think that have mini bundt pans as well!

Amy said...

Beautiful pictures! I saw those mini kiwis at TJ's too. I was very tempted to get some.

Anonymous said...

You didn't actually make that. I saw those photos in the recent issue of Gourmet. :)
wow - superb presentation! You know how to make something look stunningly delicious!

Ivette said...

It's true that this cake needs nothing to go with it.. but your choice of mini kiwis looks amazingly good!

Liliana said...

Your cake looks wonderful! Especially paired with the kiwis and lemon cream. Beautiful photos!

Thanks for stopping by.

Nancy/n.o.e said...

If I had that cake I wouldn't share it either! I loved the almonds, too, and the moistness, and, well, everything. Now I want to make the regular version. And kiwis that don't need peeling? Sign me up.
Nancy

spike. said...

Looks great. The riviera version is great too- you should try that one next time!

Peggy said...

Linda I am amazed by your beautiful photos. I'm certainly lacking in that area. Wasn't this a delicious cake? Love the mini kiwis too!

TeaLady said...

Beautiful pics of a beautiful cake. Great job.

Melissa said...

Those mini kiwis look great! Glad you enjoyed it!

Anonymous said...

Your photos are beautiful. I'll have to look for some mini kiwis!

Unknown said...

Great job! Your cake and the accompanying kiwis look wonderful!

Babette said...

Love the green of the kiwi. Mine was like yours with the flecks of almond and the subtle flavor--and depth of texture--from the almonds is fabulous.

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

What a beautiful cake and the mini kiwis are so pretty!

Anonymous said...

Oooooh KIWIS! I would love some kiwis with that cake! That would be the perfectly light springtime-ish summery dessert or mid afternoon snack! Great idea!

Engineer Baker said...

Oh, I want those cute lil kiwis. I love kiwis, but barely ever find them in my grocery store (where you can hardly ever find anything, I swear!). Those sound like a perfect pairing with the cake - fabulous!

LyB said...

Love the idea of serving this with fruit, it looks just that much more special.

kimberly said...

Your photos are indeed beautiful, as so many have noted above! I wonder if you'd be so kind as to divulge how you achieved such a tight-knit crumb! Mine never seem to be so perfectly pretty. (:

Do share?

Looking forward to more gluttony on your photos. :D

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