Friday, November 21, 2008

Lemon Yogurt Cake

lemon yogurt cake

I am greeted by my greasy reflection, while sitting in front of a mirror to type this entry. The loose t-shirt I have on, is glued uncomfortably to my back. In case you are wondering, I am far from the dry and cold winter in the northern hemisphere. And yes, we are back to the hot and humid foodies paradise- Singapore!

In my rush to clear up the fridge content before our 3 weeks vacation, I baked this lemon yogurt cake. Instead of our usual travel companion-banana cake, we have this to snack on board the 20 odd hours flight.

The lemon yogurt cake recipe originated from one of my favorite cookbook author- Ina Garten. Her lemon cake recipe is one of the early recipes I have tried when I first started baking. It is also one of my all time favorites.

lemon yogurt cake

Her lemon yogurt cake uses the same technique of brushing lemon syrup onto the hot cake, which assures that the cake stays moist and packed full with lemony flavor. The kind of cake that I would gladly eat anytime of the day. Instead of using whole milk yogurt, I used the greek yogurt samples I got from Stonyfield Farm. I added 2 containers of the 5.3 oz Oiko organic Greek yogurt, which was slightly more than the recipe indicated. Because I remember having lots of syrup leftover when I made the lemon cake last time, I simply used the juice from 2 lemons, in which the zest had been added to the batter earlier on.

For the convenience of packing, I made the cake with my mini loaf pan and did some personalization with each. Frozen blueberries were added to one mini pan, making that a lemon blueberry cake. The next one has poppy seed in it, making it a lemon poppy seed cake. I left one au naturel, and one with lesser poppy seed in case OCT decides he doesn't like poppy seed.

lemon yogurt cake

How glad we were having the lemon yogurt cake on board with us! The food that United Airline served in the economy class cabins were horrendous! OCT who is not a picky eater laments that the portion has shrunken too. Naturally, he was hungry before the next meal was served. The yogurt cake saved us from resorting to the airline pretzels. :)


Lemon Yogurt Cake
adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa At Home

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 containers of 5.3oz organic Greek yogurt
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons of poppy seed
1/4 cup of frozen blueberries (more if you are making a big loaf cake)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan or the mini loaf pans.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup 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.

Add in your preferred add on ingredients (poppy seed or blueberries) and bake for about 50 minutes, (if you are using the big loaf pan) about 25-30 minutes (if you are using smaller pans),or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/4 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup 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. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

43 comments:

  1. I love this cake! Your pictures turned out great...making the cake look super moist!

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  2. Eerk! Airline food is the worst. Cathay Pacific is the only one I've ever liked-- and only the breakfast. Give me one of those cakes anytime, though! Doesn't matter which "flavor"-- I love them all!

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  3. Amazingly delicious! And what a great treat to have on a flight!

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  4. Anonymous12:39 PM

    Oh Lucky you!! Enjoy the good food and time with family. Eat an extra portion of hawker food for me!
    Great to see your post on the lemon yogurt cake. I was just thinking of giving the recipe a try since I just checked out the Barefoot Contessa cookbook from the library. Good to know you've had good results from it, though I've found Ina Garten's recipes pretty good and easy to make generally.
    Also, I wanted to thank you for the clarification regarding the plums for your Plum tart recipe. I made it for a party and got some great compliments. Thanks.
    Have a safe trip back.
    -fay

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  5. Yumm! I'd eat that poppy seed cake in one bite!

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  6. my mother in law LOVES lemon cake, I'll have to try these recipes. I love that you used Greek yogurt!

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  7. looks yummy babe! haha i love anything with lemon in it! cant wait to try. eat more minced pork noodles for me hahaha
    i heard abt horrible things abt UA food heh Enjoy your holidays back home!!

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  8. wow these are so nice. I like yogurt cake . I tried this recipe and i really liked it. The photos are really nice. Bon voyage :)

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  9. This looks ABSOLUTELY delicious! Thanks so much for sharing.

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  10. They look too pretty! Have a great vacation!

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  11. Hi Mandy, I have never thought of bringing any homemade cakes on board a plane...I will certainly do so on my next trip ;)
    Welcome back, and hope you have a great time here!

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  12. Anonymous10:52 PM

    These look lovely! I love Ina Garten's recipes too. You did an excellent job. Have a great vacation!

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  13. Hi Mandy!
    Welcome back to the wonderful food paradise Singapore!! Hope you have a good "asian glutton" holiday! :)

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  14. This is the absolute recipe for me. I LOVE everything with yoghurt and lemons. And the pictures are beautiful!

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  15. I love the purple tone in this image. so lovely!

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  16. Gorgeous and delicious looking cakes!

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  17. Your cakes look so great and you can see very clearly how moist they are - I have never used a staple in my fridge (Greek Yogurt) in this type of recipe - I will try these for sure as I am all about Ina as well -

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  18. Mandy,
    This looks uber yummy delicious! It's so moist and I can feel the lemonny taste already. I'll bake this when I get back to Malaysia.
    *hands up* I agree that airline food is the worst and I often get hungry before they serve the next.
    Enjoy Singapore while I cant wait to cross the Tebrau Straits.

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  19. I gotta try your recipe at home, looks delicious!!!

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  20. Anonymous1:52 PM

    Looks good!! I haven't tried lemon yogurt cake before...a must try for me!

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  21. Have a wonderful vacation! Stopping by via Tastespotting...you have a wonderful blog!

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  22. Wow, another great recipe to try! Thank you for sharing this, Margot

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  23. Mmm that looks rather good!

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  24. Anonymous1:58 PM

    These look delicious!I've got frozen blueberries in the freezer from this summer and they're waiting to be used. All i need to do is buy some yogurt and bake...i'll definitely try this recipe!

    Laura Niemi
    Finland

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  25. looks so good, look forward to your back :)

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  26. Anonymous10:09 AM

    My co-blogger also made Ina's lemon yogurt cake. Yours and hers turned out very differently but they all look absolutely delicious!

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  27. Anonymous11:21 AM

    Not that anyone would need further confirmation after viewing those lovely photos, but just wanted to say I too love the Lemon Yogurt Cake recipe. It is an even-better, from-scratch substitute for the "lemon poke cake" of my childhood.

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  28. oh boy! this is probably the only way I'd enjoy a cake that's bursting with lemon flavor!!:) it indeed looks inviting, and I hope you didn't finish it all up before getting on the plane!!:)

    have a great time!:)

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  29. Awesome cakes! I'm sure that they made the tedious flight less unbearable. =D

    Please enjoy your trip in hot and humid Sg! I hope that you'll have a pleasant stay! =D

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  30. I allways love mini loafs! They're lovely, both versions! Enjoy your trip!

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  31. I hope you have a wonderul stay here in Singapore (",)

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  32. YUM, those looked so moist and delicious!

    Have a happy trip!
    ~ingrid

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  33. I love your cakes, they look absolutely fantastic! With food like this, I could be persuaded to get over my fear of flying! :)

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  34. Greetings from Central NY...a far cry from Singapore! These lemon cakes look so good. We are driving to Atlanta for Christmas and I am going to tuck some of these in the car with us for a snack. I will be making that yoummy looking coffeecake at my daughter's over the holidays!

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  35. Anonymous1:49 AM

    I made this cake today. Unfortunately, it was far from nice. I threw the whole loaf away after my nephews and family members refused to eat them.

    How long did u whisk your yogurt mixture for? I assumed that since u didn't specify, it should be less than 2-3 mins correct?

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  36. Cherie,

    I am sorry that your loaf cake didn't turn out well. I whisk everything until they are just combined. I didn't really notice how long it took.

    Did you use Greek yogurt/full-fat yogurt? I had a similarly bad experience when I used the non-fat yogurt once. The final texture did turn out rubbery.

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  37. Anonymous12:14 AM

    Dear Mandy,

    Thanks for your reply. I did what u did, whisk till combined.

    I used greek yogurt. Hmm...

    U mentioned 2 containers of 5.3oz of yogurt right? So total yogurt used would be 10.6oz?

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  38. 9/11/2011
    My cake turned out awesome. My digital scale does not give me 10.6oz (what is that in a fraction - 6/10? lol) so I used 10.75 oz (it took a little longer than 50 mins to bake) and frozen blueberries. During painting my house I threw away my old flour sifter so I used my regular fine mesh strainer.
    It is nice to find a recipe with measurements that actually work. Thank you

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  39. ps. I used my first two ripe Improved Meyer Lemons ... Yum

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  40. Cerine10:33 PM

    Can't remember how many times I've made this cake, I tried it with blueberries and poppy seeds as well, excellent recipe. I sometimes substitute cranberries or chocolate chips for the blueberries. Delicious. Thanks a million

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  41. i have a really importanly question i am from switzerland and wanted to ask how much 2 containers of 5.3oz greek yogurt in grams do you know this?
    pls give me quick an answer!
    thank you:)

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  42. Just finished making two loaves. One Poppy Seed and the other with Cranberries.
    This just added to my lemon Sunday baking theme. Thanks for the recipe. Dianne

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  43. has enyone ever tried to use regular liquid yogurt? it has better taste but its not that firm, and would the amount of it be the same as the greek?

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