Recipe: Raspberry Yogurt Cake

Raspberry Yogurt Cake for 3 to 4

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour (keep 1/6 cup aside)

1/3 cup ground almonds/almond meal/almond flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch salt

1/3 cup (2/3 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar

2 teaspoons fresh orange juice

2/3 teaspoon almond extract

1/3 teaspoon finely grated orange zest*

1 large egg

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1 cup fresh raspberries (or any berries)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter cake pan. (I used a silicone mini muffin pan, which needs no butter.) Whisk flours (leaving 1/6 Cup aside), baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy. Beat in orange juice, almond extract, and orange peel. Add egg and beat. Mix in yogurt. Add dry ingredients to batter and beat until just incorporated. Toss 1/6 cup flour and raspberries in large bowl. Fold berry mixture into batter. Spoon batter into prepared pan (or mini muffin pan); smooth top. Bake cake until wooden skewer inserted near center comes out clean (about 1 hour 10 minutes in a regular cake pan; my mini muffins took 20 minutes or so, I think). Cool. Invert.

*I have to make a shout-out here: zesting citrus used to take me forever. This zesting tool has changed my life, and now I find myself routinely adding citrus zest to vinaigrettes, frozen goodies, veggies, seafood - pretty much anything I'm putting citrus juice into. Because the flavor imparted by zest comes from the oil in the citrus peel, it does not evaporate (that's why so many baking recipes call for zest). And the zesting tool does not peel away too much, so you don't get any of the bitter white pith.

Adapted from raspberry yogurt cake recipe in Bon Appetit, July 2008.