Emily Takoudes is a senior editor at Clarkson Potter where she edits both first-time and established authors–including Alana Chernila, Alice Waters, Hugh Acheson, Lynne Rossetto Kasper, Anne Burrell, and Melissa d’Arabian.
Food Network star Melissa d’Arabian wrote a charming story about Muriel’s Yogurt Cake in her upcoming debut cookbook, Ten Dollar Dinners (Clarkson Potter, August 2012), so while I was editing, I made the cake at home—and it’s as “quick to make and easy to love” as Melissa promised! My three-year-old loved the cake so much (the big chocolate chips and all the powdered sugar) that she insisted on it for her birthday party a couple weeks later. It was then much loved by all her little friends and their parents.
Check out the excerpt at the end of this post for a sneak peek at Melissa’s new cookbook, Ten Dollar Dinners!
Muriel’s Yogurt Cake with Chocolate Chips
Recipe from Ten Dollar Dinners by Melissa d’Arabian
Makes 1 Bundt cake
Preparation time: 20 minutes (plus time to cool)
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Muriel is my French mother-in-law, and she makes this cake for us whenever she comes to our house for a visit. She uses a six-ounce plastic yogurt container to measure out the ingredients the girls think it’s hilarious that she uses the plastic cup instead of measuring cups (which is why I included the yogurt container measurements in the recipe)! It’s a basic yet lovely cake that is quick to make and easy to love.
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (two 6-ounce yogurt cups full)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar (one 6-ounce yogurt cup full)
2 large eggs
¾ cup plain yogurt (one 6-ounce yogurt cup full)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons mini semisweet chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a nonstick Bundt pan with neutral flavored pan spray and set aside. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer) cream the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions; scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. In a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt and vanilla together and set aside. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture mixing until no dry streaks remain, followed by half of the yogurt mixture. Repeat, ending with the last one third of the flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir in the chocolate chips and then scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
3. Remove the cake from the oven and cool 15 minutes before inverting the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. Place some confectioners’ sugar in a fine-mesh sieve and dust over the top of the cake. Slice and serve.
Click here for more recipes from the upcoming Ten Dollar Dinners by Melissa d’Arabian:
