Last night was girl's movie night--Moonlight, which had recently won Best Picture. I promised Tatum and Wendy dessert that we could eat sitting on the sofa. My mouth was in the mood for apple cake, but it was too sticky. We needed something light and special we could hold in our hands. While you might normally associate French desserts with little tarts, fussy bonbons, and so forth, my favorite French sweet is Yogurt Cake.
Lemon Rosemary Yogurt Cake
¾ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 Tbls lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp vanilla
½ cup vanilla yogurt
3 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 Tbls fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Glaze (optional)
1 cup powdered sugar
3 - 4 Tbls fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan or two small cake rounds with cooking spray. (1 large cake round will probably work, but the center might be a little moist.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice, zest, and vanilla. Add yogurt, and add eggs one at a time. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, add rosemary, and add to bowl. Mix for an additional minute, scraping the bowl, until everything is smooth and combined. Pour into pan(s).
Bake for 45 - 50 minutes for loaf pan. 20 - 30 minutes for smaller pans. Test with toothpick. Cook in pan for 10 minutes. Take cake out of pan and cool completely on a rack.
If glazing, whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over cake, let glaze completely set.
Cake tastes best after a few hours or the next day.
