Cook this: Glazed lemon, yogurt and olive oil pound cake from Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple

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Our cookbook of the week is Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple: A New Way to Bake Gluten-Free by Aran Goyoaga. Over the next two days, we’ll feature another recipe from the book and an interview with the author.

To try another recipe from the book, check out: Double chocolate fennel-buckwheat crinkle cookies; and fig, honey and lemon tea cakes.

Aran Goyoaga amped up the lemon in a childhood favourite for this pound cake. The yogurt- and olive-oil based recipe was inspired by one her mother made often when Goyoaga was growing up in Amorebieta, Basque Country.

“You buy a little jar of yogurt and you measure one yogurt, one olive oil, three flour, two sugar and one packet of Royal (baking powder),” says Goyoaga. “And then lemon zest. So (this recipe) comes from that — the simplicity of it.”

The moist, lemony cake was the first she ever made and Goyoaga has fond memories of anxiously waiting for it to cool on the balcony.

“In the wintertime, we’d put everything out on the balcony to cool,” she recalls. “And it didn’t have any glaze or anything. The glaze came more from just adding more lemon flavour — and my kids love glaze.”

It’s still one of her mom’s favourite cakes to bake: “She hardly ever bakes but when she does, that’s all she makes — or my banana bread that she learned from me.”

As with all of the recipes in Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple, the cake is gluten-free and Goyoaga offers a dairy-free option here as well, using homemade cashew-coconut yogurt.

GLAZED LEMON, YOGURT AND OLIVE OIL POUND CAKE

For the cake:
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (from 2 to 3 medium lemons)
1 cup (140 g) superfine brown rice flour
1 cup (100 g) almond flour, any lumps broken up
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (115 g) whole-milk yogurt or Cashew-Coconut Yogurt (recipe follows)
1/2 cup (110 g) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the glaze:
2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
2 to 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp finely chopped pistachios, for topping

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Grease the inside of an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with a little bit of olive oil.

Step 2

To make the cake, in a large bowl, rub together the sugar and lemon zest until fragrant. This helps release the natural lemon oil. Whisk in the remaining ingredients until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely if you want the glaze to stay thick on top of the cake. If the cake is warm, the glaze will melt and run off.

Step 3

To make the glaze, in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and lump free. As you begin to whisk, it might seem too thick, but as the sugar absorbs the juice, the glaze will thin out. The glaze should be pourable but not too runny.

Step 4

Put a tray or baking sheet under the wire rack and pour the glaze all over the cake, letting it run over the edges. Wait a few minutes for the glaze to set. Sprinkle the top with the pistachios, then serve. The cake will keep at room temperature for 3 days. If you refrigerate it, the glaze will soften.

Makes: 1 loaf

CASHEW-COCONUT YOGURT

1 cup (150 g) raw cashews
3 cups (675 g) canned coconut cream
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp (about 2 capsules) probiotic powder (50 billion CFU)

Step 1

Put the cashews in a medium bowl and cover them with abundant cold water. Put in the refrigerator to soak for 8 to 12 hours, then drain.

Step 2

Puree the soaked cashews, coconut cream, and maple syrup in a high-speed blender until very smooth. You might have to stop, stir and blend several times to ensure there are no gritty cashew pieces. Gently heat the mixture in a small saucepan over low heat until it reaches 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Do not let the mixture get too hot or it will kill the bacteria.

Step 3

Put the probiotic powder in a medium bowl and whisk in about 1 cup of the cream mixture until it’s smooth and lump-free. Pour in the remaining cream and whisk to combine.

Step 4

Pour the yogurt into eight 4-ounce (120-mL) glass jars or a 1-quart (1-litre) mason jar. Put them, uncovered, on a baking sheet inside the oven with the oven light on for 8 to 12 hours. The yogurt will thicken. Lid the jars and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before using. The yogurt will keep, refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

Makes: 1 quart (1 L)

Recipes and image excerpted from Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple: A New Way to Bake Gluten-Free by permission of Sasquatch Books. ©2021 by Aran Goyoaga.

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