French food classic: yoghurt cake

Due to popular request, I am posting this French classic recipe.

The yoghurt cake is a French classic. It is one of the first thing I learnt to cook/bake by myself. It is something my mum whipped out in a few minutes whenever she needed a last minute cake. It has as many variations as there are cheeses in France. The premise for the cake is that you take an individual plain yoghurt pot, use its content and then use the pot for measuring the rest of the ingredients. The quantities are therefore easy to remember and you don't need a lot of equipment (no scale for example) - very hand when you are a student living away from home.

This week, I posted a picture of this cake in the making on my Instagram account and a few people messaged me to ask me fore the recipe.

The one I made today had pears and chocolate in. The basic recipe has neither. And it is still delicious and moist. Here is a good basic recipe from a friend. Feel free to add anything in. It is really versatile.

Pear and chocolate yoghurt cake going in! #baking #lifewhilepapagetsfixed

A photo posted by Annabelle (@thepiripirilexicon) on Jun 8, 2015 at 2:36am PDT

Yoghurt cake with pears and chocolate chips*

Ingredients (serves 6): 

- 1 pot of yoghurt (normally about 125g but because you are using the pot as a measure, it doesn't really matter) 
- 2 pots of granulated sugar  
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 3 pots of flour 
- 1 pot of chocolate chips (or sprinkles) 
- 3/4 of a pot of oil (vegetable)
- 3 eggs 
- 3 large pears

Preparation: 
Heat the oven to gas mark 6 (180°C). 
Peel the pears, then cut in half and then into thin slices. Put them aside. 
Put the yoghurt in a bowl. Mix the yoghurt, sugar, eggs until they become slightly frothy. 
Add the flour and yeast. Mix. 
Then add the oil slowly until you get a uniform and smooth batter. Then stir in half of the pear pieces (gently not to break them), then add the chocolate sprinkles, stirring again. 
Butter or oil a cake tin. Pour the mixture over the entire surface and then add the other half of the pears on top. 
Bake for about 40 minutes. 
Enjoy warm or cold.

Bon appétit.


You can see what other delicious things I like to bake/cook here:
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*The recipe was adapted from here.