Oh. Hi.
Today I suddenly remembered that I have this little blog…this excuse to cook all the things…and photograph my food…and eat cake. That last one is really the best perk. So while we’re scrambling to get everything done before we say farewell to our Bangkok home, I wanted to share this one. Because I thought you might need a slice of cake too.
So about the cake. It’s a riff on one I’ve shared before – a dream of a cake if you’ve only got a few minutes to spare and want something that’s not too sweet and not too complex. Perfect with tea or coffee. A cake that uses only one bowl. The generous use of Greek yogurt means this cake is super moist and will stay that way for a couple days in the fridge. But the real star is the semolina that makes up nearly all of the flour here. Its fine grain that usually makes it perfect for pasta gives this cake a lovely little crumb. (And yes, I also like having a food blog because I get to say things like “lovely little crumb” with a straight face.)
I changed things up here and simplified even beyond the very simple original. I threw in strawberries as a shout-out to spring. And baked it round because I thought my cake pans could use some love before they are packed into cavernous boxes and shipped across the big blue ocean.
And with that I’m reminded of some other packing-related task that must be done before I head to bed.
But first, I think I’ll grab another slice.
- Ingredients:
- 1 pint strawberries, quartered
- 1 cup semolina
- ½ cup sugar
- 1½ cup plain yogurt (preferably unsweetened low-fat or regular plain yogurt, although Greek yogurt will work)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 inch cake or springform pan (or use an 8x8 baking dish) with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Scatter strawberries in the bottom of the pan.
- To make the cake, in a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add yogurt and oil and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining ingredients all at once and stir very well until all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated and the batter is smooth.
- Bake just until the center of the cake is set and the top turns golden brown, 25-30 minutes.
- Let the cake cool completely, or chill, before serving.
There’s a lot of action happening beyond the kitchen too, including determined walking efforts.
Will you remind us all where you are moving this time? Thanks!
Mary Ann recently posted..Retiring with Friends
Mary Ann – oh if only we knew! We’re spending some time when we get back to the U.S. traveling around to visit family and friends while we sort out plans for the next adventure / home. I’ll share here as soon as there’s news! Thanks so much for asking.
Thank you Jessie for the lovely recipe. “Happy Walking” those cuties. Have a great weekend!
haha lovely little crumb – getting to say things like that is definitely a perk of food blogging! Good luck with all the preparations for the move! And this cake sounds wonderful!
Ashley recently posted..20 Strawberry Recipes To Make This Summer
Hi Jess,
Your photos are so gorgeous!
I tried this recipe today, and I had a problem with the cake being underdone in the middle. The sides were so delicious and the crumbs were perfect.
I want to give it another try, but I was wondering what kind of yogurt you used in your recipe. Did you use greek yogurt or just plain low fat? The cake were so delicious–I really want it to work!
Thank you so much for the recipe, and I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Julie
Hi Julie! I’m so glad you stopped by and wrote in with this question. I’ve made this cake with both Greek and plain low-fat (as well as vanilla) yogurt with great results, so I suspect that there is a different issue. I’m thinking that the problem may be coming from moisture in the strawberries. Are you using frozen strawberries? Frozen strawberries (or even extra juicy fresh strawberries) might be causing extra moisture in the cake. I’d completely defrost them and drain them well if using frozen. You can also trouble shoot this by turning these into mini-cakes in a muffin tin which will help them to cook all the way through. If you do this, they should just need about 15 minutes to bake. Also check out the original semolina yogurt cake on my site – without the strawberries, that recipe is still delicious!
Hi Jess,
Thank you for your thoughts on my troubleshooting! I used fresh strawberries, so I was thinking the excess moisture had to come from other liquid ingredients.
I’m happy to report that I made this again last night, and it baked perfectly. I think my issue was the yogurt I used in my first trial–I got it from a local creamery, and the yogurt was more of a kefir consistency. I switched to greek yogurt, and the cake was beautiful! Fully baked and still moist and oh so delicious. I LOVE this recipe! Thanks again, Jess!
Julie
Julie – that’s great! I’m so glad you were able to make it work – it’s totally one of my favorites. Thanks so much for letting me know. (PS Too bad that the yogurt didn’t work in this recipe, but how awesome that you have that local yogurt available!)