Doubling as a delicious maths problem

July 26, 2024 4:04 AM

"France's easy-to-make yoghurt cake recipe relies on volume measures facilitated by the ubiquitous 125g terracotta yoghurt pot." Bringing Up Bébé’s Yogurt Cake Recipe. Yogurt cakes seem to do well with citrus. Yogurt research continues[SLPDF], as does functional cake research. There is also cake research, of course, which is not to be confused with cake ingredient science.

This post brought to you courtesy of Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes, which was previously recommended here on the blue, and the author of which (Aleksandra Crapanzano) is featured in the first link of this post. Also inspired by my own cake research over the last few months.

posted by cupcakeninja (30 comments total)

*goes off on a tangent*
posted by HearHere at 4:09 AM on July 26, 2024 [3 favorites]

ubiquitous 125g terracotta yoghurt pot

No pictures of this ubiquitous item in the first couple of links, but a quick Google show that yes, they are very nice looking objects. We get some fancy yoghurt in similar pots here, but they’re glass not terracotta.
posted by rh at 4:17 AM on July 26, 2024 [3 favorites]

This post brought to you courtesy of Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes, which was previously recommended here on the blue

Re-recommending Gateau, because it is awesome. The strawberry-and-yogurt cake I made earlier this summer came from there. I like having a simple cake around the house for a low-key sweet nibble; nothing huge and fancy, more like a simple "I just want a snack" kind of thing. Think like a bake sale kind of cake - zucchini bread, pound cake, coffee cake, whatever. Yogurt cakes absolutely fill the bill.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:27 AM on July 26, 2024 [4 favorites]

This aligns with my home-yoghurt-making, surplus-terracotta-yoghurt-pot-owning, French-cake-desiring interests. Thanks, yoghurt-pot-cupcakeninja!
posted by rory at 4:45 AM on July 26, 2024 [2 favorites]

That's timely. Yesterday, for reasons, I yomped up the 500m/1650ft hill behind our house _and_ sent a picture of a birthday cake to friends who have just returned to Colorado. I got a reply "Thanks again for thinking of us and wish you were able to bring that cake in person" which sent me down a memory-tunnel of reading Betty Crocker cake packets in the US in the last century, with all the additional hoops that high altitude cooks have to go through to prevent their cakes having soggy middles. Because air pressure is lower, cakes tend to be fizzier, boiling temperatures are lower and liquids evaporate faster, and you shouldn't follow the standard recipe. The scientists at Betty Crocker give some hints about what to do above 3,500 ft = a tad over 1,000 m. The solutions require some of: less fat / more flour / more water / more time.
Not my dog anymore: the highest point in Ireland is 100ft lower than the high altitude cut-off.
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:50 AM on July 26, 2024 [3 favorites]

Think like a bake sale kind of cake

Exactly! I've been baking a cake from Gateau (thank you again for the rec!) once a week or twice every three weeks, and it's definitely been a manageable sort of treat to have around. Good on its own, good with tea, maybe with whipped cream, but not an "I shall now unintentionally consume 1,000 calories in one sitting" sort of treat. I haven't even gotten beyond yogurt cake variations yet--next is probably going to be a lemon yogurt cake with sugar crust and macerated nectarines.

To the science part, I've been trying different pan configurations because I bake gluten-free (I use King Arthur all-purpose), and sometimes it doesn't quite work as I'd like: too dense, settles in one area, etc. Thus far, I've found an extra-tall loaf pan to work best. I don't ordinarily have problems, so I'm assuming it's something about the yogurt and overall batter density.
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:56 AM on July 26, 2024 [1 favorite]

Man, I want one of those pots.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:13 AM on July 26, 2024 [1 favorite]

BobTheScientist, I don't live at high altitude, but a few years ago, I moved to an area that's both wetter and typically 2-3 degrees (F) cooler than my previous location. I've gotten used to adjusting mentally, but the general environmental changes have been notable: wood rots faster outside, humidity is higher in the house, things seem to mold more quickly, etc. I haven't especially noticed effects while baking that I can't attribute to something else, but in general most recipes seem to take a little longer.
posted by cupcakeninja at 5:29 AM on July 26, 2024

I've seen the pots from the photo rh linked to at Wegmans because of course Wegmans sells yogurt in little ceramic pots.

Market Basket and Stop and Shop both have the glass Oui brand jars.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:43 AM on July 26, 2024

We used to have a deli near us in London that sold yoghurt in these pots. Our kid used them as cups until around age six.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 5:52 AM on July 26, 2024

From the caption to one of the photos:

France's no-fuss gâteau au yaourt just needs a bowl, whisk and jar of yoghurt (Credit: Sergii Koval/Alamy)

From the ingredients list:

1 jar (½ cup/125g) plain whole milk yoghurt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 jars (1 cup/200g) granulated sugar
3 jars (1½ cups/180g) all-purpose (plain) or cake flour, plus more for the pan
2 tsp baking powder
1 jar (½ cup/108g) neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
butter for greasing

Maybe I'm a pedant, but I am always furious about the clickbait of "Build a stronkulator with just 10¢ of popsicle sticks!" that has those sticks show up somewhere between the tub of expensive resin and the $10,000 Engronjubator Rig.

Just a bowl, a whisk, and a jar of yoghurt will get you aerated yoghurt, not a cake.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 5:55 AM on July 26, 2024 [3 favorites]

I wonder if the clickbait is always intentional these days. I suspect that many sites are auto-generated captions and alt-text, given some of the truly baffling descriptors I've seen lately. And, you know, if they're using LLMs trained on the internet, the language of clickbait is right there to pull from... :-/
posted by cupcakeninja at 6:02 AM on July 26, 2024

As someone who does keto, I was intrigued by the almond flour version of the yogurt cake but then googling told me that hers uses a mix of almond and wheat flour which doesn't work for me but then more googling brought me quite a large number of almond flour yogurt cake recipes that don't call for any wheat flour and now I might need to make cake.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:17 AM on July 26, 2024 [2 favorites]

Just a bowl, a whisk, and a jar of yoghurt will get you aerated yoghurt, not a cake.

Yeah, you're not wrong. I think, though, that the cooking-nerd translation for "just a bowl, a whisk, and a jar of yoghurt" is:

"Just a bowl [as opposed to three], a whisk [as opposed to a stand mixer], and a jar of yoghurt [instead of something exotic, you still have to go with the flour/fat/eggs/sugar of course]". The flour/eggs/fat/sugar/optional leavening are kind of taken as a given by baking nerds, and the only thing you add to those things is the yogurt.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:29 AM on July 26, 2024 [1 favorite]

It is similar to "three ingredient" recipes where they mean ”other than pantry staples like salt and garlic and oil and such that everyone is presumed to already own”. The pedant in me is annoyed by it, but I get what it means.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:54 AM on July 26, 2024 [3 favorites]

These were called 1-2-3-4 cakes for a while, after a similar proportional recipe.

As a teen I worked on how big you can make them without running into what I guess are square-cube laws as they cook .
posted by clew at 7:07 AM on July 26, 2024 [2 favorites]

I'm very surprised at the total lack of salt. Desserts need some salt. I stand by that and would not even try making this without salt.
posted by SoberHighland at 10:01 AM on July 26, 2024 [2 favorites]

Firsthand anecdata based on author's experience a few minutes ago: These are delicious.

See figure (1).
posted by sourcequench at 1:41 PM on July 26, 2024 [2 favorites]

I swear that when I bought Gateau I couldn't find a measurement for the standard yoghurt pot in it and also nearly had a breakdown after three cake fails with this recipe which I attributed at the time to weirdnesses between international cup sizes. I ended up returning the book in a huff, and then cooked the cake perfectly the first time around when I found a recipe on someone's blog that was in millilitres and grams. I can't tell if I'm just suddenly stupid or just going mad. Maybe both? Should I hang my head in shame and re-purchase the book?
posted by ninazer0 at 5:18 PM on July 26, 2024

Nice- I've become addicted to La Fermière yogurt, which come in terra cotta pots (that are unfortunately unrecyclable, though we've drilled an experimental hole in one to see if it works as a plant pot). Their pots hold 140 grams so it might throw things off a little, but I think I'll try this. Possibly with their orange blossom honey yogurt.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:33 PM on July 26, 2024

I make yogurt cakes constantly; it's my go-to for any event where bringing food is requested or appreciated. I am however always a bit jealous that I can't use a cute little yogurt vessel as my measuring cup.(Double jealous that single-serving plain yogurt is not a thing in the US.)
posted by desuetude at 11:08 PM on July 26, 2024 [1 favorite]

ninazer0, I don’t think you should hang your head in shame. I just checked, and a weight equivalent is listed, but maybe it wasn’t in an earlier printing? In any case, while I think it’s a lovely book, it sounds like you’re doing great without it. :-)
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:43 AM on July 27, 2024 [2 favorites]

Yeah, there are other "simple cake" books out there if you want to explore; there are two from author Yossy Arefi, "Snacking Cakes" and "Snacking Bakes," that would suit. Arefi has also created her recipes to work with melted butter as opposed to softened butter, so you can get to baking right away instead of thinking "you know, I want cake - oh crap, I need to let the butter come up to room temperature and that will take three hours, dammit." I actually have both those books and "Gateau" and all are good (hey, I like baking). I'm actually looking in "Gateau" right now and it does have the measurements listed in the yogurt cake recipe, but it is a little quirky in the layout. (It also has a recipe for a peach and lemon verbena yogurt cake, and I'm getting peaches in the farmshare today and the lemon verbena in the garden is growing like gangbusters so I'm now planning to bake!)

The big thing I liked about "Gateau" was actually the variations-on-recipes angle; I tend to follow recipes kind of slavishly, and anything that helps nudge me into the "you can improvise a little bit and make something your own" is good. The basic pound cake recipe has a list of fifty-two ways to change it up (adding various flavorings, splitting it horizontally and adding lemon curd or jam, etc.); and the yogurt cake recipe intro suggests having a look at those as well.

Back to the science - you know, I've always noticed the instructions for high-altitude baking on the sides of various cake mixes, but never thought to wonder why they were there or what higher altitudes would affect baking. BobTheScientist's comment answered that question for me before I even thought to ask - thank you!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:51 AM on July 27, 2024

I made the citrus variation in the original link and can confirm: it was good and ridiculously easy. I definitely do not have access to yogurt in charming terra cotta pots, so I used the weights. The top got a little too brown before the center had finished baking, so I had to put foil over it to prevent it from burning, but I think I can fix that next time by adjusting where I put my oven rack. I'll definitely be making that again, possibly tomorrow.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:55 AM on July 27, 2024

oh crap, I need to let the butter come up to room temperature and that will take three hours, dammit

I stick a stick of butter down a front pants pocket. When it’s no longer uncomfortably cold it’s time to bake!
posted by clew at 10:52 AM on July 27, 2024 [2 favorites]

Sprouts market has La Fermiere. The lemon flavor comes in a pleasing lavender shade. I will give this a shot and report back.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:52 AM on August 12, 2024 [1 favorite]

It was too wet, but I did make it in a loaf pan.

I will try again, measuring the ingredients to the indentation in the Fermiere jar and see if that's better. And in a Corningware round or a springform.

(It was totally edible, and tasty; but messy and and I had to bake it twice as long before a knife came out clean. My gas oven is imprecise, and the yogurt I used may have more water--I used the Fermiere jar, but other yogurt.)
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:04 PM on August 19, 2024

I made Version 1 from the first link in a loaf pan (using sunflower oil), which was a good consistency but tasted a little too oily for my liking. The kids liked it, though. I wonder what using melted butter instead would do ... turn it into a butter cake, duh. Might try the one with lemon and vanilla to see if that takes the oily edge off.
posted by rory at 1:24 AM on August 24, 2024

(It was totally edible, and tasty; but messy and and I had to bake it twice as long before a knife came out clean. My gas oven is imprecise, and the yogurt I used may have more water--I used the Fermiere jar, but other yogurt.)

Honestly, I'd have a look at the oven itself. I was having issues with slow bake times for a while and finally broke down and got a cheap oven thermometer - and that's how I learned that my oven was just way off in terms of temperature. I adjusted to compensate, going by the thermometer to make sure the temperature was what it should be, and that improved.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:50 AM on August 24, 2024 [2 favorites]

I bake gluten-free, and I have found that a "tall" loaf pan did better with sogginess. That's a useful thing for GF bread generally, in my experience, but it did solve a specific problem with the yogurt cake. The lime version was a dense mass, and the orange-clove version turned out springy and perfect-ish.
posted by cupcakeninja at 8:37 AM on August 25, 2024