"French" Vanilla Caramel Cake

My elementary school required french class from first through eighth grade.  It was an everyday class, just like math or science.  Over the years I had some interesting teachers, to say the least.  One of my favorite french teachers was Ms. Claude.  She was young and fun and dressed really cool.  She made us this cake (without the caramel) and brought it to class.  I asked her for the recipe because I loved it so much and had never heard of a cake made with yogurt.  I called it "French" Cake, because it came from my french teacher.  My Mama and I had made this a few times throughout the years.  But, I had forgotten about it until recently.  I don't know what made me think of it, but I decided to hunt for the recipe.  A big job considering my vast collection of recipes and lack of organizational skills!  Sure enough, I found it and made it.  It was good, but needed frosting.  I had been wanting to try to make my own caramel in the crockpot using condensed milk (saw it on Pinterest).  So, I put the two together for this recipe.  It was delicious!  Very sweet and rich and so moist!

Here's how I did it:

"FRENCH" VANILLA CARAMEL CAKE

1 cup plain yogurt
3 cups sugar (it was very sweet - you may want to lessen the sugar)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oil
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 can condensed milk

First, you need to make the caramel.  This can be done in advance and kept in the fridge.  Remove the label from the can of condensed milk.  Place the can (unopened) in crockpot.  Pour in enough water to cover the can completely.
 

Put the lid on the crockpot and cook on low 8 hours.  Remove the can (use tongs - the water's hot).  Let sit to come to room temp.  (If you make it ahead and refrigerate it, let it come to room temp before icing cake)
This is what it looks like when done:  (this is also excellent over ice cream!)

To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix yogurt, sugar, flour, oil, vanilla, and egg yolks together until well blended.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until frothy and soft peaks form.

Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.  Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Poke holes in the cake with a chopstick or skewer while still warm.

Then, spread the caramel you made over the cake.  It will fall into the holes filling the cake with caramel.

Spread more of the caramel over the cake (as much as desired).

Cool a bit before cutting and serving.
Here's what the inside looks like:

It takes some time to make the caramel, but almost no effort.  So worth the time!  I hope you give this "French" Cake a try.  It's so sweet and delicious.  Ca cest bon! (It's so good!)  Merci (Thanks) and Au Revoir (Goodbye).  That concludes the French lesson for today.