Stephen Ceideburg
2 1/2 c Sifted cake flour
1 1/2 ts Baking powder
1 ts Baking soda
1/4 ts Salt
8 oz Unsalted butter, room
-temperature
1 1/2 c Sugar
4 Eggs, room temperature
2 oz Unblanched almonds, ground
2 ts Finely grated zest of 1
-lemon
8 oz Plain low-fat yogurt, room
-temperature
This recipe illustrates a helpful feature: ingredients listed with weights.
It’s easy to go to the supermarket and buy 8 ounces of yogurt and 2 ounces
of almonds, but try eyeballing 2 cups yogurt or 1/3 cup almonds.
Adjust rack in lower third of oven; preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease
and flour a 10-inch tube pan or a 12-cup Bundt (decorative) tube pan.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt onto a sheet of waxed
paper.
Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a large mixing
bowl). Using an electric mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment,
cream the butter on medium speed until it is lighter in color and has a
satiny appearance. Maintaining the same speed, add the sugar and continue
to cream until the mixture is very light in color and fluffy in appearance.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Continue to cream, stopping the mixer and
scraping the sides of the bowl at least once. When the mixture appears
fluffy, light in color and velvety, and has increased in volume, detach the
paddle and bowl. Stir in the ground almonds and lemon zest with a rubber
spatula.
Using the rubber spatula, stir in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Then add half
of the yogurt, stirring to blend. Repeat, alternating dry and liquid
ingredients, ending with a final addition of flour. Scrape the sides of the
bowl often, and mix until smooth after each addition. Spoon the batter into
the prepared pan and level it.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake springs back slightly when touched
lightly in the center the sides begin to contract from the pan and a wooden
toothpick inserted in the center. comes out free of cake. Place the cake on
a rack to cool for 10 minutes.
Cover the cake with a cooling rack, and invert it onto the rack. Carefully
lift off the pan. Cool completely before serving.
If you plan to use this cake within 24 hours, wrap it in plastic wrap and
store at room temperature. To freeze, cover the plastic wrapped package
with foil.
PER SERVING: 370 calories, 6 g protein, 43 g carbohydrate, 20 g fat (11 g
saturated), 113 mg cholesterol, 193 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.
Flo Braker writing in The San Francisco Chronicle, 10/25/93.
Yields
12 Servings
