Nina and Naomi: Yogurt Pot Cake

One of my favourite things to whip up in a hurry is Nigella Lawson's yogurt pot cake. It's lovely and light and a great excuse to use my savarin 'ring' cake tin. If ever you find a half eaten pot of yogurt sitting in the fridge the then this is what you need to make.
It's a really versatile cake that can be dressed up in any way you like. Last time I made it I kept things simple using vanilla yeo valley yogurt instead of natural and served it up with a spoonful of marscapone and a handful of blueberries. Most of the ingredients in this cake are measured using a 150g yogurt pot making it a no nonsense delight!

Yogurt Pot Cake

150g yogurt of choice

150ml flavourless vegetable oil

3 eggs

250g caster sugar

2 capful's vanilla extract

zest of half unwaxed lemon/orange

175g plain flour

75g cornflour

icing sugar to serve

1x22cm Savarin or ring mould

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease your savarin using vegetable oil. Now in a spotlessly clean (preferably stainless steel) bowl, separate your eggs keeping the whites in this bowl and yolks in another large bowl. Whisk the egg whites until you have nice stiff peaks.

Next add your yogurt into the egg yolks making sure you scrape all of the yogurt out. You are now going to use this to measure out your sugar, 2 pots worth into the yolk and yogurt mix. Whisk until light and airy.

Measure out 1 pot of vegetable oil and add slowly into your egg yolk mixture, continuing to whisk all the while. Now add the lemon zest and the two capful's of vanilla extract. Followed by 2 pots of plain flour and 1 pot of cornflour. Make sure all of the new components are well combined before taking a large metal spoon and transferring the egg whites into the mixture. Do this slowly bit by bit folding in each dollop of egg whites to make sure it is incorporated well without losing all the airiness. Once you have done this you can now fill your savarin or ring mould with the batter.

Place into the oven and leave to bake for 30-35 minutes. It will naturally crack on top giving it a nice rustic look and the sides should be coming away from the edges of your tin when it is ready. If you are unsure slide a skewer into the middle and see if it comes away clean. If so, it's ready to come out. Place on a wire rack and let it cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out. Dust with icing sugar and serve preferable with some nice strong coffee and some summer berries. Deeeeelish!