As a little girl, I was very fussy about food, and had my parents terribly worried. So, now and then, my sister, the first real baker in the family, would make something plain, sweet, only for me. The type of cake any child would like. When I grew up and started baking too, she kindly provided me with a recipe that still gives me the warm feeling of knowing that someone really cares about me. This cake needs no food scales (you use the empty yogurt pot to measure ingredients), and allows you to use different flavours of yogurt (banana suits it well).
Make it for someone you love!
Requirements:
- a 20-cm springform tin, or a mould of any shape, provided it is not too small. If the mould is too small and deep, the dough will not cook properly in the middle
- 1 pot of yogurt (plain or banana) then use the pot to measure ingredients
- 3 pots of plain flour
- 2 pots of granulated or caster sugar
- 3 medium free-range eggs
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (or a sachet of vanillina if you are in Italy)
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder (or a sachet of Lievito Bertolini if you are in Italy)
- 1/2 (half) a pot of vegetable oil (I use weak olive oil)
- icing sugar to dust
Pre-heat the oven to 170 °C (fan assisted) or 180 °C (traditional).
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients, alternating them (start with flour, then sugar, then one egg, then some oil, and repeat). You can do this by hand or using a food processor; however you do it, make sure you get rid of all the bumps. The result will be quite liquid.
Rub butter on the tin or mould you have chosen, then dust it with flour and get rid of the excess. This way, your cake won't stick when you turn it out.
Pour the dough into the tin and bake for 20 minutes, then check the cake by inserting a skewer into its centre. If the skewer comes out dry, the cake is ready. Otherwise, check again after 5 minutes. The top of the cake should look golden.
Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then turn it out of the mould or tin.
Wait 10 more minutes, then sieve some icing sugar on top of it, and share the love!
TIP: You can use the same recipe to make delicious chocolate-chip yogurt muffins. Add a sachet of plain or dark chocolate chips, then line the holes of a muffin tray with paper cases. Bake for 15 minutes, then insert a skewer or toothpick in the centres of two muffins. If it comes out clean, they are ready. Otherwise, check again after 5 minutes.
