Yaourtíni - Greek yogurt moist cake, flavored with lemon

Yaourtíni was a very popular cake during the 80's. I remember my mother used to make it
for family gatherings or at Easter. Its very fresh flavor coming from both the yogurt and
lemon zest  was something that everyone liked in a dessert especially after a heavy meal. 
All that before chocolate became the Queen of desserts and other modern desserts replaced many of the well known traditional ones.
Yaourtini is a cake we still serve at the restaurant and I'm sure you will love it too.

Greek yogurt (γιαούρτι - yaoúrti) has become very popular worldwide because of its
delicate balanced sourness, full taste and of course its thickness, something that makes it easy
to use in many recipes, sweet or savory, as a replacement for double cream or other milk
creams rich in fat. It's most visible characteristic compared to ordinary yogurt is its density, a result of it being  double-strained. 
You can find Greek yogurt almost everywhere, but if you can't, you can strain thinner yogurt at home to thicken it and use it in recipes that call for Greek yogurt. To strain yogurt, place a colander lined with cheesecloth over a large bowl (to catch the liquid) and empty two cups of plain yogurt into the colander; leave it to drain for 2-3 hours. Two cups of plain yogurt will obtain about 1 cup of thick strained yogurt. If the weather is very hot, let it drain in the fridge.

Yaourtíni

Makes 24 servings (I used a 23x33cm baking pan)

250gr Greek yogurt

150gr butter melted

250gr granulated sugar

5 eggs (yolks separated from whites)

80gr milk

250gr self-raising cake flour

½ tsp baking soda

80gr semolina flour (semolina absorbs syrup, keeping the cake moist)

½ tsp salt

zest from a lemon

almond flakes for decoration (about 3Tsps)


For the syrup:
                        400gr granulated sugar

                        400gr water


Preheat the oven to 170 C. Grease the baking pan and then dust with flour. That is, shake to
cover the whole surface with flour and then discard the excess flour.

In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg whites with a mixer at low speed until foamy, and then
beat at medium- high speed until they become shiny, thick, and stiff, but not dry. Set aside.
Cream the butter, sugar and salt in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add
the egg yolks one by one, beating continuously. Add milk, yogurt, baking soda, lemon zest
and all at once add the semolina and the flour to the batter; beat at low speed until the
flour disappears. Add half the egg whites, folding gently with a rubber spatula or a large
spoon until they are well mixed into the batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites gently,
and then pour the batter in the baking pan.

Bake for 50-60min or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out
clean. Let the Yaourtíni cool completely.

The Syrup:
In a sauce pan over medium heat add both water and sugar and bring to a boil; let
simmer for 3 min and with care pour it slowly all over the cool cake. Sprinkle with almond
flakes when cool again. Keep refrigerated.