Lemon Yogurt Cake & Strawberry Compote

During my quest searching for the elusive Moroccan ever-so-light yogurt cake, I came across several French yogurt cake recipes, all of which claim to be simple and light. I picked this one from Smitten Kitchen's blog because it seemed to have the least sugar content, and visually looks the lightest! I wasn't disappointed at all. It was not only light, but moist and flavorful. I used lemon, instead of lime, it worked. And used another JustOneCookBook's Strawberry Compote recipe, instead of the blackberry sauce. The sweet and freshness of the compote complemented the tanginess of the cake perfectly.  It was light enough to have for breakfast, with a cup of tea. Enjoy!

French Lemon Yogurt Cake with Strawberry Compote 

Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen (Yogurt Cake) and JustOneCookBook (Strawberry Compote)

Makes: One 9x5 loaf pan / 9 inch round pan

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 cup whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt (i prefer this to greek yogurt as it is more tangy, but both work)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & sweep)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
Mixture of  2TBSP granulated sugar and 1/2tsp ground cinnamon to dust pan.
Sprinkle of granulated sugar and handful of slivered/chopped almonds for garnish

Strawberry compote:
16 ounces (454g) strawberries
1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. corn starch

Directions:

Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. 
2. Grease pan with oil/butter. Dust greased pan with the sugar/cinnamon mixture (I really like this dusting, but you can use flour instead if you prefer).
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, oil, sugar, lime zest and juice. Add the eggs one by one, whisking well after each addition. 
4. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together, right over your yogurt batter.
5. Stir with a spoon until just combined (don't overmix)
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. (Optional: top with some silvered/chopped almonds) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. 
7. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let stand for 10 minutes (Optional: sprinkle some granulated sugar on top). Flip the cake onto a plate and flip it back on the rack. Serve slightly warm.

Cake stays moist and keeps very well for up to three days, wrapped in plastic at room temperature

Strawberry compote:

1. Rinse the strawberries under cold water and use the point of the knife or point of your peeler to remove the hull out of the tops. Cut strawberries in half. Zest and juice the lemon. 
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, water, and corn starch and whisk well. 
3. Add the lemon zest and juice. 
4. Add in strawberries and mix gently. 
5. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes stirring/breaking strawberries up constantly. 
6. Remove from heat when the mixture thickens. 
7. Allow to cool slightly if you want to user a blender to puree it (I didn't blender/puree it).

You can store it for 3-4 days in the fridge and for months in the freezer.