gâteau au yaourt (à ma façon)

(yogurt cake with strawberries and whipped Grand Marnier yogurt cream)

makes one 8” cake 

what you need:

cake
½ cup + 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
3 fresh egg yolks
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 teaspoons orange blossom water 
1 cup unbleached King Arthur cake flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt (I use Fage 0%)
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
3 fresh egg whites

garnish
½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt  (I use Fage 0%)
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon superfine sugar 
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier (optional)
2 baskets of fresh, beautiful strawberries

organic pea tendril flowers and sweet peas (for garnishing only)
small whole strawberries (as needed)

how to:

Make Yogurt Topping. Place whipping cream in a bowl of a stand alone mixer fit with a whisk attachment. Turn on high. Rain in (pour in) the tablespoon of sugar. Continue to whisk cream on high until the cream forms stiff peaks. Turn mixer off. In a separate bowl, mix the yogurt and Grand Marnier together. Fold the whipped cream into the yogurt. Set aside. The yogurt topping can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Slice Strawberries. Remove the stems and hulls from the strawberries. Slice the strawberries. Set aside.

Preheat Oven/Prepare Pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8 inch cake pan with “baking release” spray.

Dry Ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.

Yolks And Sugar. Place the egg yolks and sugar  (½ cup + 1 tablespoon) in a clean bowl of the stand alone mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed until the yolks are light yellow in color. 

Flavor. Add the orange zest, orange blossom water, and olive oil to the yolks. Mix to incorporate.

Alternate Dry Ingredients With Yogurt. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients to the yolks. Mix to incorporate. Add the yogurt. Mix to incorporate. Add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix to incorporate and set the cake batter aside.

Whisk Egg Whites. Place the egg whites in a separate, clean mixer bowl. Turn the mixer on high. When the whites begin to look foamy, pour in the tablespoon of sugar. Stop mixing when stiff peaks are achieved. 

Fold in egg whites. Add ⅓ of the egg whites to the cake batter and stir to incorporate. Fold the remaining ⅔ of the egg whites into the batter.

Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake on the middle rack in the oven (preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit) until the middle of the cake is set and top is golden brown (about 20-25 minutes). Let the cake cool on a wire rack.

 Garnish. Top the cake with the yogurt topping and the strawberries. Garnish with flowers in a pretty way. Remove the flowers before service….DO NOT EAT THEM (see the companion post for a discussion of edible and inedible flowers). Sweet peas are inedible.