Haiii I'm back! Holiday Olive Oil Yogurt Cakes
- Amy Yu
- Dec 21, 2014
- 3 min read
Merry Christmas!!! I can’t believe that another semester has come and gone. It feels like someone is pressing the fast forward button on my life. I’m over half-way done with college (yay!) and I’ve gotta say I’m kind of psyched. Don’t get me wrong, college is awesome people I get to hang out with AMAZING people every single day, but I’m definitely not going to miss the stress of exams and writing papers. Despite my complaints, I’m sure that in ten years, all I’m going to do is reminisce about how great college was, just like everyone else.
I’m so excited to be going home for the holidays, to see my dogs, my family and friends, and to have disgustingly large amounts of free time! Netflix and fat pants, here I come! (Oh wait, I’ve already been wearing nothing but fat pants for two weeks because I turned into a hermit to study for finals…but still….)
Speaking of holiday fattiness, right after my last final, I decided to bake cake. I was itching to use the mini loaf pans that my friends Crystal and Felicia gave me for Christmas and just happened to have two eggs and a cup of yogurt left in my fridge. Baking these cakes was the perfect way to make cute holiday parting gifts for my friends, to de-stress, and to clean out the fridge before break. Talk about triple win!
This cake recipe came together around one big consideration: what can I make with a cup of yogurt and two eggs? I decided to go with olive oil as my flavor base but used less than traditional olive oil cakes for a more subtle flavor. I had an awkward tiny bit of cornmeal left in the pantry and I thought that it would add nice texture and flavor to complement the olive oil, so I decided to swap it in for some of the flour. I went for simple this time on flavors because I didn’t want to mask the flavors of olive oil and cornmeal, but you could easily add some citrus zest or chopped fresh herbs to jazz up the cake. I decided to top each cake with sliced dried figs and almonds for textural contrast, sweetness, and holiday fanciness. An extra drizzle of olive oil on top is definitely not optional. :P
These cakes are super simple to put together, literally a two bowl affair. They’re deceivingly fancy looking, so you can be super impressive at holiday parties. They’re also extremely delicious; Crystal, Felicia, and Dee can attest. ;) They’re moist with a tender crumb, extremely aromatic from the olive oil and cornmeal, and not overly sweet (although you can adjust the sweetness to your preferences). The figs and almonds complement the flavors of the cake and really take these simple cakes to the next level.
Since these were gifts, I decided to wrap them in parchment paper, tie it up with pretty ribbon, and make gift tags. Yes, I even wrapped the one for myself, because otherwise it wouldn’t spell CFAD (See-Fad).
So to recap, I’m alive and back to blogging for the next three weeks. You don’t want these Holiday Olive Oil Yogurt Cakes, you NEED them. You should bake extra and share them with your friends after wrapping them all-hipster-like in parchment paper. Happy holidays and happy munching!
Holiday Olive Oil Yogurt Cakes
Make 4 Mini Loaves
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornmeal
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 cup plain yogurt
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
¾-1 cup granulated sugar, depending on your sweetness preference
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Sliced dried figs and almonds, for decorating
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease four mini-loaf pans with cooking spray and place them on a cookie sheet.
Whisk or sift together the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, sugar, and eggs.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the loaf pans. Arrange dried figs and almonds as desired on top and gently press into the batter. Lightly drizzle with more olive oil on top.
Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a only a few moist crumbs. Cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy right away warm out of the oven or cool completely and wrap in parchment paper to gift to your friends. ;) Bread keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or up to 6 weeks in the freezer.
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