Do Frenchwomen Stay Thin?

Clotilde DuSolier of Chocolate and Zucchini said in this blog entry that Frenchwomen generally stay thin by exercising portion control and doing a fair amount of walking. She does really seem to love her cakes, and she looks thin, so it must be working for her.

One of her favorites is Gâteau au Yaourt. The recipe doesn't read like a diet-book special, does it?

 Ingredients   Total
qty unit item prep type DASH servings

2.00 large eggs  meat 2
1.00 cup whole milk ygrt dairy 1
1.00 cup sugar  sweet 16
0.50 cup oil  fat 24
2.00 cups all-purps flour grain 15.625
1.00 Tbs baking powder   
1.00 tsp vanilla extract   
1.00 Tbs light rum   
----
1.00 cup whole milk ygrt fat 1.714285714
2.00 large eggs   fat 2

I've listed the yogurt and eggs twice, so I can count the extra bit of fat in the whole milk yogurt and whole eggs (instead of just the whites). It turns out to be a lot less than the 1/2 cup of oil, of course.

Mix it all up, bake it in a 10-inch cake pan, and cut it into 16 slices (59g or about 2oz each), and you get

Nutritional Summary
Servings: 16: Serving Size: 1/16 of cake: Calories: 187: Fat(g): 8: Sodium (g): 83

Food Group Serving(s)
DASH: Vegetables: 0.0: Fruits/Juices: 0.0: Dairy: 0.1: Grains: 1.0: Meat/Fish: 0.1: Seeds: 0.0: Fats: 1.7: Sweets: 1.0
USDA: Vegetables: 0.0: Fruits/Juices: 0.0: Dairy: 0.1: Grains: 1.0: Meat/Fish/Seeds: 0.1: Fats: 1.7: Sweets: 1.0

Which is not too bad for a bite of a "fluffy, cloud-like and moist affair, not too sweet, and just perfect for any time of day". Imagine this cake as a substitute for a slice of toast (1 oz) with 2 teaspoons of butter and a tablespoon of jam. Unless the bread, jam, and butter are all truly exceptional, I think I might make the trade. Or step up the exercise.