Cranberry Orange Almond Yogurt Cake

The first post of the new year!

This cake had two inspirations: one, the simple and delicious french yogurt cake from Chocolate and Zucchini (you'll recall, I made her raspberry almond version for our first-ever Friedman potluck, and people accused it of being "healthy"), and two, the memory of my friend and kitchen mentor Jean Logan, who was my friend Kate's mom.

Kate and I met in when we were two years old, and have been the best of friends ever since, even though we've never been in school together since preschool. Kate's house was the setting for many sleepovers, campouts in the backyard, and craft projects throughout my childhood. It was also one of the places I was introduced to good food. With a small, simple kitchen and everyday equipment, Kate's mom produced such exotic and yummy things: prosciutto-wrapped melon, homemade pasta, shepherd's pie. So in our house, if we ever made something that was really delicious, even better than just good enough for company, we'd say it was "good enough for the Logans." We were honored when Jean asked for my mom's cranberry orange bread recipe after we'd made it one Christmas, and now I always associate cranberry-orange-anything with her.

The Logans made us a new year's dinner when I was home last weekend (wild rice soup, awesome beets, and popovers), and I made a cranberry orange almond version of the yogurt cake above for the occasion. I make it a lot because it's incredibly simple, not too sweet, takes to a lot of different seasonal ingredients, and never fails - except if you try to make it with low-fat yogurt.

Cranberry Orange Almond Yogurt Cake (that's a mouthful)

1 c plain yogurt (must be full-fat; either Greek or regular will do)
1 c brown sugar
1/4 c vegetable oil
1.5 c flour
1/4 c ground almonds (pulse them in a food processor)
3 eggs
1 T baking powder
2 T orange zest
1 c fresh cranberries, plus more for garnish

Grease and flour a 9 or 10 inch cake pan, ideally with a removable bottom or springform. Preheat oven to 350F.

Stir together the yogurt, brown sugar, and oil in a bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each one. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and ground almonds, and then add this to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined (don't overmix). Finally, stir in the cranberries and orange zest.

Turn into the pan and bake 50-60 minutes, or until it looks done. Let cool on a cake rack and run around the edges with a knife, then turn out onto a serving plate (or just skip this part, of course.)

Kate and I garnished it with candied cranberries (kind of a failed version of these), slivered almonds, and lightly-whipped cream flavored with amaretto.