French Yogurt Cake

I was told this is a staple in every French kitchen. My French mother, when I lived in France my junior year, gave me a version of this recipe using a small individual yogurt container as the measurer for the yogurt, the sugar and the flour! I had forgotten it till I just saw a more modern version of it in a magazine.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a standard loaf pan with non-stick spray (or butter or margarine) and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. Whisk together 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 tsp of baking powder, and 3/4 tsp of kosher salt in a bowl.

In a larger bowl, rub 1 cup of sugar with 2 Tbsp of grated lemon zest to moisten the sugar. Add one 7 oz Plain Greek Yogurt cup, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, 2 large eggs and 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Whisk those together then add the dry ingredients just to blend.

Pour batter in the loaf pan and bake till brown and a tester comes out clean (I use a knife), about 50-55 minutes. Let it cool on a wire rack then slice and enjoy!!

Crepes

3 cups of flour, 3 cups of water, 4 eggs, 4 tablespoons of oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl of a standard mixer. Put in 2 cups of the water and let it mix for a couple of minutes. Add 2 of the eggs and again, let it mix for a couple of minutes. Add the other half of the eggs and again, let it mix for a couple of minutes until there are no lumps and the batter starts to have bubbles that come to the surface and pop. While the mixer continues to turn, add, in succession, the 4 tablespoons of oil.

I now take the bowl out from the mixer and stir it with a spoon so I can determine how thick it is. You want it to be the thickness of a “creme anglaise” or an English cream- so it needs to run easily off the spoon but feel slightly thick. Take the last cup of water and add 1/4 cup at a time till it is the right consistency.

Now let the batter rest for 20 minutes and then try stirring again. If it has thickened, put a little more water in to thin it to that “creme anglaise” consistency.

Okay, now you’re ready to cook. Take a standard pan (I’ve included a picture of mine) and heat it on medium/medium high heat. put a small pat of butter in the pan and when it’s sizzling, take a ladle full of batter and holding your pan in one hand at an angle, slowly pour batter into the pan and swish it around so you cover the bottom of the pan. Set it back on the fire, and let it cook till it starts to curl at the edges and you can, with a fork, lift it slightly and see it’s cooked on the bottom (just a minute or two). Now comes the fun and also tricky part. Take the pan in front of you, gently tilt it away from you to slide the crepe halfway out of the pan, then use your wrists and flip it in the air to turn it! I know it sounds hard but it really isn’t! Immediately add to the pan, on top of the crepe, whatever you are putting in it- if it’s an egg, pre-scramble it in a cup beforehand and spread it around the crepe with a fork so it can cook. I let that cook for a moment before adding cheese and/or ham grated up. Keep an eye on the edge of the crepe and the underside by lifting it slightly with your fork and when it’s done, fold it gently over in half and slide it on your plate. To prepare the pan for the next person, put another small bit of butter in the pan and swizzle it around, then it’s up to them to ladle the batter into the pan! Let me know how it goes!