Torta allo yogurt (YOGURT SPONGE CAKE)

Italians love good yogurt. They love it plain, flavoured, cool or frozen!

A Yogurteria is a kind of bar, where you can buy ice cream made using frozen yogurt.



The flavours are many (I prefer plain yogurt ice cream to the traditional kind made with cream) and so are the toppings you can request: nuts, fruit, syrup and many, many others. Frozen yogurt is wonderful!

 

You would be wrong in thinking that Tiramisu` was Italy's most popular cake, as the MOST POPULAR CAKE IN ITALY "trophy" has to go to Torta allo Yogurt. Everyone in Italy makes Torta allo Yogurt (Yogurt Sponge Cake.) Children make it, adults make it... everyone makes it... but I never had done, which is why I wanted to try!

One of ingredients, of course, is yogurt, in a pot, any flavour you like. You can eat the cake plain, or you can fill it with cream and fruit, or have it with cream on the side. I had mine with crème fraîche,  as this has a yogurt like flavour, is not sweet and I like it.

People in Italy sometimes have a big slice of this cake after a meal.. very filling. Personally, I had rather have a smallish piece at about 4.pm with a cup of espresso (last cup of the day!) or with tea.

I was brave today, and, like I said before, I made a Torta allo Yogurt. I was quite shocked when it turned out fluffy, fragrant and... cooked! Yes... I really was shocked! I didn't make a pancake... it was a cake! Success!

Torta allo Yogurt

(Italian yogurt Sponge Cake)

When you make this cake, you need to empty the contents of the yogurt pot into a small dish, as this will be the measure for almost all the ingredients (the size of the pot is up to you)

Ingredients:

1 pot of yogurt

(can be fruit flavoured)

3 whole eggs

2 pots sugar

3 pots plain or 00 flour

                                                      1 pot vegetable oil

1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

1 bag Italian Vanillina Paneangeli or

few drops vanilla extract

To decorate:

Icing sugar

fresh fruit

Have all your ingredients ready, before you start.

Brake your eggs into a bowl, add 2 (empty yogurt) cups of sugar and whisk until quite fluffy.

Add 3 cups of flour to the egg mixture, and again, whisk until the ingredients are blended, then add the vegetable oil (1 cup.) and the yogurt.

 

Incorporate the oil and the yogurt, then add your baking powder, vanilla extract or Vanillina Paneangeli and gently fold into the mixture.



Lightly grease (with butter) and flour a 6'' round cake tin, pour the mixture into it and bake into a preheated oven (170C/ 325F/Gas3) for 30 minutes. Don't be tempted to open the oven too soon, as the cake will "sink." Your cake will be ready when it feels soft and "springy" in the middle.

I didn't want to cut my cake, as it looked so beautiful. I decorated it with icing sugar and a variety of green fruit, mint leaves and lime peel. Too pretty to eat.