My (currently) favorite cake

I have to share this recipe with you for an EVO (that's extra virgin olive oil) and Yoghurt cake. I got it from Dorie Greenspan's website. It is so, so, so easy and very moist and delicious.

You will need:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup sugar (actually I put in somewhere between 1/2 a cup and 3/4 of a cup depending on my mood - I find 1 cup to be a bit too much)
• Finely grated zest of 1 lime (or lemon, or whatever citrus)
  
• 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt (I use a rather uninspiring long-life variety because it's all I can get but it works just fine)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I don't have any so I don't use it)
• 1/2 cup evo (extra-virgin olive oil) (but I've seen other similar recipes that call for other types of oil so if you don't have access to evo, it's not the end of the world, just use whatever you have)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (or 350 degrees F) [or in my case just turn the oven on as I have a very basic Chinese contraption on which you can't really control the heat, it's more like hot, and really hot].

Butter a loaf pan, or a small cake tin.

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt and keep near by.

Put the sugar and zest in a medium bowl and rub the ingredients together until the sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the yogurt, eggs and vanilla. When the mixture is well blended, gently whisk in the dry ingredients. Switch to a spatula and fold in the oil. The batter will be thick and shiny. Scrape it into the pan and smooth the top.

[Sometimes I take half a cup of raisins and chopped up dried apricots, pour some whisky, rum, brandy or whatever is lying around, bring to a boil for a couple of minutes - don't make the same mistake as me and let the alcohol catch on fire, my right arm has no hair left on it, but at least my eyebrows are still in tact - let the raisins stand for 30 minutes and soak up the alcohol, then pour in half the cake mixture and sprinkle in half of the lovely drunken fruit, pour over the other half of the cake mixture and sprinkle over the remaining fruit. The reason for doing it this way is that if you mix in the fruit into the mixture, most of the fruit sinks to the bottom, this way, it seems to be more evenly distributed. I reckon so anyway.]

Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes [in my oven, this only takes 25 minutes so keep a watchful eye on it], or until it is golden and starts to come away from the sides of the pan; a knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up.

So good.