Raspberry yoghurt cake

As you will have noted from my most recent posts, at the moment I am all about the easy options. As much as I still love to bake, with a baby who doesn't really like to sleep much during the day you need to pick your battles carefully. Very carefully.

I still need to do the washing, eat breakfast etc. so when I do get 15 minutes to myself (somewhat of a luxury at the moment), I look for maximum impact baking options. This is one.

Unashamedly plagiarised from the brilliant Clothilde at Chocolate and Zucchini, this is a fabulous cake. Delicious, moist, tasty, and most of all, easy. Plus we have a large number of raspberry plants bearing fruit at the moment - yes, already! I can't wait for the height of summer when we will be inundated with luscious ripe fruit, bursting with flavour. Unfortunately I only had half the amount required to make this cake but that's better than nothing. And I am determined to make this cake with wholly home grown raspberries before the summer is out.

You can use the measurement device as described - Dairy Farmers does 125ml pots of plain yoghurt, or you can just use a half cup measurement like I do. Either way, it's delicious.

Gâteau au Yaourt à la Framboise

Recipe courtesy of Chocolate and Zucchini

2 tubs of plain yogurt (one tub is 125 ml, which is the French standard, which amounts to 4 oz, or half a cup)
Use one of the empty tubs to measure out :
2 tubs of soft brown sugar
1/2 tub of oil
3 tubs of sifted flour
1/2 tub ground almonds

You will also need :
3 eggs
1 Tbsp baking powder
a good pinch of salt
300 g raspberries (fresh or frozen -- no need to thaw them if they're frozen)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F). Copiously grease a 9-inch (22 cm) round cake pan and line with baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, the oil and the sugar with a wooden spoon or whisk. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition. In a medium bowl combine the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the almonds. Add the flour mixture to the batter in three or four additions, and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.

Alternatively, use your food processor to mix the batter, adding the ingredients in the same order as indicated above.

Pour half the batter into the cake pan. Cover evenly with half of the raspberries. Pour the other half of the batter, and arrange the other half of the raspberries on top.

Put into the oven to bake, for 50 to 60, until the top is springy and a cake tester comes out clean. If it looks like the top of the cake is browning too quickly, cover with foil for the rest of the baking time. Let rest on the counter for at least ten minutes -- I repeat : let rest on the counter for ten minutes -- then run a knife around the cake to loosen it, and turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Delicious served with King Island yoghurt or plain with a cup of tea.

Kitty xx