French Yogurt Cake with a Strawberry-Rhubarb Swirl
/Summary: I adapted this from an Andrew Knowlton yogurt cake recipe in the May 2012 Bon Appétit. AK's used more yogurt and did not include the strawberry-rhubarb compote. If you don't incorporate the fruit swirl, up the yogurt to 3/4 cup. You can make this cake up to three days in advance.
Yield: one loaf-shaped cake; roughly 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- ½ cup whole-milk Greek yogurt (I used 2%)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons strawberry-rhubarb puree
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Coat a standard loaf pan (8½" x 4¼") loaf pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Dust with flour; tap out excess and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and kosher salt.
In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers until the sugar is moist. Add the yogurt, veg oil, eggs and vanilla extract and whisk to blend.
Fold the dry ingredients in until just combined, and gently fold in the ⅓ cup of strawberry-rhubarb puree.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Dollop the remaining 2 tablespoons strawberry-rhubarb puree in a line down the center of the cake's top. Bake until the top of the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 45-55 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto rack, and let cool completely.
