Spring Skiing + Spring Berries = Yogurt Kuchen

What's better - spring skiing or fresh spring berries? Lucky Lou gets both.

After our last day of skiing in Austria a year ago, we feasted on a delightful light cake full of fresh fruit. When I asked the rotund kitchen frau for the recipe, she gruffly replied that it was just a simple yogurt cake. For months I’ve been searching for a recipe with no luck. I experimented a bit with old recipes from my mother and after a few tries came up with a pleasant version, perfect for the berries in season now.

For simplicity, my recipe is for a single layer cake rather than this layered masterpiece.

Yogurt Kuchen

Kuchen
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted butter
2 egg whites, slightly whipped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla

Yogurt fruit filling
1 1/2 cups non-fat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 large egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups fresh berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries)
1 kiwi, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

This recipe is for a single layer cake, rather than the multi layer shown in the photos.

For kuchen dough, mix together sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add rest of the dough ingredients. After a soft dough forms, press into lightly greased 9 inch springform.

To prepare the filling, mix sugar, yogurt, egg yolks, egg, vanilla, lemon juice and zest.

Arrange half most of the berries and fruit on top of kuchen dough. Pour yogurt mixture over fruit and top with the rest of the fruit. Bake 350°F for 45 minutes. Center should be set but not dried out. Let cool for 20 minutes. Remove sides of springform and cool for another hour. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Serve cold.