Watts Cooking?

February is a difficult month as far as weather goes. November is pleasantly crisp; in December you're too busy worrying about Christmas to care; in January the bitter cold starts to get annoying and February is just a cruel cruel month.

This may explain the recent surge of citrus-related posts all around the blogosphere. This was all I needed to remind me of a recipe I've been eyeing for a long time: Orangette's French Style Yoghurt Cake with Lemon. Ummm... Hello? How amazing does that sound? I'm an admitted lover of French food. I don't cook it as much as I'd like, but French bistros usually top my list when trying to pick a restaurant to eat out at.


My first thought was that a yoghurt cake would be very moist - I was right on. The plain yoghurt also nicely cuts through the sugar to make sure that the cake isn't too sweet. And adding lemon? What better way to beat the winter blues than with nice sunny lemon? I'm a big fan of lemony desserts to begin with, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this recipe. Again, the tartness of the lemon is a good counterbalance to the somewhat high amount of sugar in the recipe. I personally like to taste the acidity of the lemon in desserts. I'm also the kind of person who likes a quite tart lemonade, so I suppose it makes sense.

I did get a few eyebrow raises from the sceptics at home who didn't believe a cake without an inch of frosting could be good. "But there's no frosting!", they complained. I tried to explain that there would be a glaze, but they didn't want to hear it... That is until it came out of the oven and was coated by the aforementioned heavenly glaze. "Hmmm... That looks like it could be pretty good.... Can I have a piece?" Ahh! I knew they would come around.

In the end everyone loved it. The glaze really is a lovely touch and makes the cake even more moist. This cake is just so simple, but that's part of its charm. It's a traditional French farmhouse cake, where all the ingredients were measured with a pot of yoghurt. I'm always amazed at how a few simple ingredients can be transformed into something so magical. This cake is perfectly rustic. Nothing frilly or over the top about it. It's the perfect afternoon snack with a warm cup of tea on a snowy day to make you forget just how cold it really is outside.


Recipe - French Style Yoghurt Cake with Lemon (Gâteau au yogourt avec citron)

I can't say enough about the lovely writing style of Molly over at Orangette. Please go take a look at her great blog for the recipe. I used it as is and it turned out perfectly. Also, I made it in a round cake pan this time, but I think it could even work in a loaf pan as more of a lemon bread.

And make sure to take a look at the variations she suggests. A French Style Yoghurt Cake with Strawberries has already made its way on to my 'Things to cook'... list.