Staple Recipe: Yogurt Cake

Ingredients :

1 6oz container of plain yogurt (or 3/4 cup yogurt)

1 yogurt container of vegetable oil 

1 packet of leuvre chimique (2 tsp baking powder) (*can skip if using self-rising flour*)

2 yogurt containers of sugar

3 yogurt containers of flour

3 eggs

To Make:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C or Oven level 6)

Mix ingredients in a large bowl.  

Pour mixture into a greased cake pan or cupcake liners.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes (less for cupcakes) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cake cool partly before removing from pan, then cool entirely on a wire rack before frosting.

Variations:

Spice Cake

• sub brown sugar for white sugar
• add 2 tsp pumpkin spice mix (1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp all spice and 1/4 tsp ground cloves)
• top with cream cheese frosting (1 package or 3oz cream cheese softened, 1/3 cup butter softened, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 cups powdered sugar)

Pumpkin Spice Cake

• prepare as spice cake above but add canned pumpkin puree to batter before baking

Carrot Cake

• prepare as spice cake above but add shredded carrots, chopped walnuts, and golden raisins to batter before baking.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

• Prepare as spice cake above but lay rings of pineapple in pan before adding batter
• flip cake over to cool
• decorate with a light caramel glaze and/or maraschino cherries placed in each hole of the pineapples

Chocolate Cake

• add cocoa powder to mix before baking
• top with a chocolate sour cream frosting (1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, 1/4 butter, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 1/2-2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, melt butter, chocolate and sour cream together, add rest of ingredients and beat till smooth)

Chocolate Coconut Cake

• prepare as chocolate cake above but add shredded coconut to batter before baking
• sprinkle coconut on top of chocolate frosting for decoration

Chocolate Coffee Cake

• prepare as chocolate cake above but add instant coffee to mix before baking

Birthday Cake

• Add rainbow sprinkles to mix before baking
• Top with creamy butter frosting (1/3 cup butter, 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, 3-4 Tbsp milk, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, cream together and beat till light and fluffy) and more rainbow sprinkles or chocolate candies

Lemon cake

• add lemon extract to batter
• add lemon zest if desired
• top with a glaze (powdered sugar and milk)

Apple Rum Cake

• add thinly sliced, diced or shredded apples to batter
• add a Tbsp of Cognac or Rum

Other Variations:

Add Different Mix-ins: coconut, walnuts, cocoa powder, instant coffee, shredded carrot, raisins, chocolate chips, pecans, almond extract, orange extract, dried apricots (snipped into small chunks), craisens, espresso...

Vary Yogurt Flavors: cherry, banana, blueberry, strawberry, pineapple, vanilla...

Vary Frostings and Toppings: glaze (powdered sugar and milk), chocolate frosting, buttercream frosting, cream cheese frosting, caramel sauce, a sprinkling of powdered sugar, whip cream, a sprinkling of cocoa powder, Nutella...

Veggie Tot Hotdish: The No Can Recipe

Here's a quick freezer meal that's easy to assemble and can be frozen as a make-ahead meal as well.  Our vegetarian version of the Minnesota Classic: Tater Tot Hotdish.

The big differences?
1. No canned ingredients (original recipe calls for canned veggies and soup)
2. No ground beef (go without or use those awesome Trader Joe's tofu crumbles)
3.  Use veggies on hand (I used some frozen corn and peas mixed with a bag of mixed vegetables)

Here's how to whip it up quickly for dinner tonight or to freeze ahead for another day.

Take a glass baking dish or ceramic casserole dish.

Sprinkle in a variety of mixed frozen vegetables.

Add ground tofu if desired.

Top with homemade cream of mushroom soup (Homemade white sauce thinned with milk and cooked with sliced mushrooms.  You can blend it all in a blender like I did after it's cooked for a smoother texture.)  Stir.


Cover top with a layer of frozen tater tots

Cover and freeze or bake directly at 350 to 425 until hot in the middle and bubbling a the sides.

That's it!  Easy, quick and healthier that the original.   You can even use sweet potato tots if you want but they're a bit crumbly.  Enjoy for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

This freezes well in a casserole dish or aluminum pan.  Before baking, assemble frozen ingredients and cooled sauce into freezer safe container.  When ready to eat, reheat in oven until warm throughout.