Fluffy Yogurt Cake (GF)

I had the pleasure of making a Chanukah party for the kids (and grandkids) and decided instead of ordering pizza or bagels and stuff, would do it myself – tastier and appreciated by the masses at large. Amongst other things, the lentil soup Lentil soup and marak katom (orange soup) Daniella’s Orange Soup (Marak Katom) tuna noodle casserole Mom’s Tuna Noodle Casserole (I polled them and that’s what they wanted!) and lox cream cheese (bought) and various other spreads and the same noodle casserole but GF for my Noa, I decided to make cheesecake for dessert and a yogurt cake as something new to try.

I made it gluten free for Noa and it was easy since there’s no crust to this and you simply sub cornstarch (cornflour) for the regular flour which I actually think works better in this cake. My regular cheesecake Cheesecake for Dorie is as my daughter Rach said, NY style i.e., thick and creamy and I figured I’d go for lighter and fluffier with this cake. Don’t let the yogurt title fool you into thinking it’s really lo-cal since I used 10% Greek yogurt but it still ain’t the full fat cream cheese, so be it. As is to be expected, I had firm votes for one cake over the other but enough really loved the yogurt cake to be a hit (and Noa was in 7th heaven) so now I’ve got 2 choices when talking cheesecake. By the by, we had some leftover cake which DH utterly demolished. I guess it’s fair considering I had squirreled away a piece in the fridge for me. I know my people 😉 .

I originally saw the basis for this cake in a Claudia Roden recipe, but I messed around with it as is my wont, just sayin’.

So gather your ingredients and let’s go! Preheat your oven to 350 F/180 C and grease a 10 inch (25 cm) round pan. Set aside.

As you can see, it’s not too many ingredients but yeah, ya gotta separate the eggs. So suck it up and get 2 bowls (it is what it is) and take 2 tablespoons of sugar and place in bowl with egg whites.

And get that egg whipping on. Beat them till soft peaks (not stiff) form like so:

and keep going till it looks like this:

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Not to a meringue like consistency. K. Now ya gotta use a separate bowl or just scoop the egg whites into a small bowl on the side. Place the yolks with the 1/2 cup sugar into the bowl

and whip together till light in color.

When it’s increased in volume and a bit lighter, add the yogurt, cornstarch, lemon yogurt and a pinch of salt.

Beat till smooth.

Remember your patiently waiting whipped egg whites? Now’s the time to fold them in gently but thoroughly by hand with a spatula or whisk. Try not to deflate them too much, use a light hand.

The end result should look like this:

If there are bits of egg white peeking out, no big, it’s fine. K. Take your prepared greased pan and pour the mixture into the pan, smoothing top evenly.

Pop cake into the preheated oven and bake about 30 minutes or till top is golden brown. The cake will puff up in the oven like so:

and then deflate like so:

and it pulls away from the edges of the pan (see above). This is how it should be, if this happens you’ve done nothing wrong, it’s supposed to do this. K. Now let the cake cool completely and when cooled, cover lightly but don’t let touch top of cake or it’ll ruin the top. If need be, place toothpicks in 3 spots around cake and then cover with parchment paper which sorta floats above the cake. Then pop into fridge for minimum 2 hours to get nice and chilled. Serve chilled to happy eaters.

Fluffy Yogurt Cake (GF)

4 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar + 2 tablespoons sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch

1 1/4 cups (300 grams) full fat 10% plain Greek yoghurt

1 cup (227 grams) lemon yogurt

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F –  180 C.

Prepare a 10 inch or 25 cm round pan by greasing well. Set aside.

 Beat the egg whites with the two tablespoons of  sugar  until soft peaks form and set aside in separate bowl.

In original bowl, combine the egg yolks and ½ cup sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the mixture is light yellow and increases  in volume in bowl.

Add the cornstarch, Greek style yogurt, lemon yogurt, and salt and beat until smooth.

With a light hand fold in the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture with a spatula or whisk till combined but don’t deflate the whites too much.

Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top

Bake the cake about 30 minutes or till top is a beautiful golden brown.

The cake will puff up in the oven and when you remove it, it will fall (don’t worry, it’s supposed to).

Let the cake cool completely and cover without letting cover touch top of cake (it will pull off the browned top) so place toothpicks in cake in 3 spots and gently place parchment paper on top loosely and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. If you wish to remove the cake from the pan only do so after really cold.