On Sunday, my baby boy celebrated his first birthday with a family party in my parent’s backyard. Although it was the hottest day of the summer, no one seemed to mind; there were a lot of cold beverages, plenty of delicious food and games to keep the kids occupied. April Harkanson, who hosts Happy Baby Music! at Amrita Yoga every Friday, supplied a soundtrack of baby hits and kept the little ones busy with her musical instruments.

As we were prepping for the party throughout the week, I became preoccupied with looking at photos from Joey’s first few weeks; I feel so proud of the smart, silly, energetic little boy he’s growing into, but mostly I’m amazed at how quickly one year came and went. Because time has a tendency to flash before our eyes, I made a serious effort to be present and enjoy every moment of the celebration — everything from the decorating and baking to watching Joey enjoy the music and enjoy his first taste of cake.

In the day and age of “smash cakes,” I wanted to put a personal touch on the birthday dessert that would be Joey’s first. This yogurt cake is from Bringing Up Bébé, a book about French parenting. It’s simple and classic. The method of making it, by using yogurt containers as measurement vessels, is hassle-free. I sweetened it with buttercream icing and colorful nonpareils. It certainly catered to the sweet-tooth that Joey has inherited from both sides of the family.

 

Yogurt Cake From Bringing Up Bébé

• 2 six-ounce containers of plain whole-milk fat yogurt (Use the empty containers to measure the other ingredients)
• 2 eggs
• 2 containers of sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Just under 1 container vegetable oil
• 4 containers of all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a loaf pan with a little bit of vegetable oil. Gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; mix gently until ingredients are just combined (batter will be lumpy). Bake for approximately 45 minutes, covering the loaf with foil and continuing to bake if a toothpick inserted in the center does not come out clean. Once fully baked, allow it to cool in the pan and gently remove to serve.