Y is for Yogurt Cake

I like yogurt. It's like healthier pudding, right? 

A recipe for Yogurt Cake, though, did not sound one bit appealing, but when you're searching for a Pinterest project that starts with a "Y", it starts looking a lot better. The word "easy" in the title cinched the deal.

Here's the original pin:

http://anitalianinmykitchen.com/
easy-yogurt-cake/

This woman got the recipe from an Italian lady she met at the grocery store while buying yogurt, and the ingredients are pretty simple. Flour. Sugar. Vegetable oil. Eggs. Baking powder. 

Yogurt.

Greek yogurt was her recommendation, and she preferred to use peach flavored yogurt. That sounded easy enough until I stood in front of the yogurt display at Walmart Neighborhood Market, and out of the seemingly THOUSANDS of containers of yogurt, there was not ONE of peach that didn't also include aspartame, which cannot be used in baking.

So I went with vanilla.

The recipe's directions were to use a medium bowl and a hand mixer. I used a medium-large bowl, and that wasn't big enough, as the batter spattered EVERYWHERE. I was sorry I didn't trust my gut and just use my Kitchen Aid, but lesson learned, and otherwise, the batter was very simple to put together. 

Make sure you forget to click the beaters into place so
they fall into the eggs and get all gooey. It's fun.

Can you see the droplets of batter all over the counter?
That's the tip of the iceberg, baby.

Into the pan and into the oven, but after 35 minutes, the center was still doughy. I ended up baking it for an additional ten minutes before it tested done. My next concern was called Trying To Get The Cake To Leave The Pan, which it didn't want to do. It clung very tightly to the bottom of the pan, and I feared it would crack and fall out of the pan in pieces, but a few more shakes and it landed on the cooling rack intact. Second lesson learned: next time, line the pan with a paper towel or parchment paper rather than just greasing it.

It LOOKS like the Pinterest pin.

As soon as the cake was cool (okay, cool ENOUGH), I put it on a plate and dusted it with powdered sugar. Still having low expectations about a cake with yogurt in it, I took a bite.

Ohhh, my! Y is for Yummy! 

The cake tastes very rich, the texture is light and it feels delightful in your mouth. I was afraid it would be too sweet, as the batter was VERY sweet, but it was just right. 

I got all fancy pants with the strawberry, see?

My husband loved it and has declared it our new signature dessert, in case we ever need a signature dessert. He requested I make it some time with lemon yogurt, but I gently informed him that wouldn't work (because I don't like lemon).

Pinterest win! Go make this now.