Lemon Yogurt Cake Recipe, Moist and Delicious

It's not often that I make any sort of dessert, (which has something to do with not being able to stay away from it!) but when springtime finally arrived, I had to try this lemon yogurt cake from Ina Garten. When I told my daughter that I was making this recipe, she asked if I were going barefoot. Very funny, very funny. Not only am I not going barefoot, but I'm wearing a polar fleece jacket today!  Anyway...I couldn't find whole-milk yogurt, but other than that, I followed Ina Garten's recipe exactly. It was moist and delicious and sufficiently lemony, but would have been even better had I found the whole-milk yogurt, rather than 0% fat. This bread needs fat to make it delectably moist. As it was, I'd give my version four stars out of five. I'm pretty sure it would have been a full five stars otherwise.

Lemon Yogurt Cake Recipe:

I make this only about once a year because it is incredibly good. One bite always demands more. It's dangerous, believe me.

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. kosher salt (I used plain old table salt)
1 c. plain whole-milk yogurt (I only had 0% fat yogurt)
1 1/3 c. sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs
2 t. grated lemon zest (I used a bit more)
1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the glaze:

1 c. confectioners' sugar
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used more. When I crave lemon, it's serious business.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a small loaf pan (8.5 x 4.25 x 2.5). Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, 1 c. sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until a [knife] comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 c. lemon juice and remaining sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. [After that, I poked holes in the top of the cake and then drizzled the glaze over it, leaving it in the pan for a while so that it could soak in well. After that, though it was a little messy doing it this way, I removed the cake from the pan and put it on a serving plate.]

I also tend not to follow instructions that tell me to sift this and that and separate items out, or there are too many steps involved. Life is short. I find that it makes very little difference (to me) if I just put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. Sorry to all you purists, but the end result is pretty close without the tedium.

Original recipe from FoodNetwork.com

And another of my favorite lemony recipes, Lemon Pie Bars.

Check out this amazing lemony recipe Lemon Pie Bars on an older CranberryMorning post. I have included a GF alternative.

The lemon season might be old news to the rest of you, but we're really just getting started with springtime here in NW Wisconsin, so I'm craving lemon!

So, let me dish you up* a piece of dessert, then grab yourself a cup of coffee and sit with me on my front porch.

 Hmm. Guess that coffee needs to be a bit stronger!

* dish you up?? What kind of English is that? I don't know, but it's a familiar way to put it in this neck of the woods. 

***

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This post is linked to some of the following:

Mosaic Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and Amaze Me Monday and  Roses of Inspiration and  Treasure Box Tuesday and KatheWithAnE and Tuesday with a Twist  and  Tweak it Tuesday and It's a Party! and Good Fences and  Home & Garden Thursday  and Freedom Fridays  and Vintage Inspiration Friday