Monday, September 26, 2011

Lemon Yogurt Cake


Secret Recipe Club time!  That means another month has zoomed by...It's all going too quickly.

Today is reveal day for The Secret Recipe Club, when everyone posts a recipe from their secret blog assignment for the month.  The group was founded by Amanda of Amanda's Cookin' and is a great way to discover new blogs.  The group is up near 300 participants now and is broken into 4 separate groups of about 75 each all with different reveal dates each month.  To learn more about The Secret Recipe Club click here.

For September I was assigned Kate's blog,  A Spoonful of Thyme.  I spent quite a bit of time browsing her lovely blog.  She has a vast array of fantastic looking recipes as well lots of fun travel adventures.  Maybe Kate will let me tag along on her next vacation!  Kate has a number of tasty looking shrimp recipes that especially caught my eye and I have bookmarked for future use.  In the end, my sweet tooth took over.  How shocking!  And with an abundance of lemons in my fridge, I selected Lemon Yogurt Cake by Ina Garten.  Kate has shared the cake on her blog 3 times.  Sounds like the mark of a good recipe! 

The cake has a serious lemon flavor going on.  There is lemon zest in the cake.  A lemon syrup is poured over the cake while it's still warm and seeps in to further moisten the cake.  When the cake is completely cooled a lemon glaze goes over the top.  That's a triple lemon punch!  The cake is easy to make and super moist.  It would be great for breakfast, an afternoon snack or dessert.


I tend to like my lemon flavor a bit more subtle, so I might skip the lemon syrup next time.   All in all a good cake.  To make it even more special, top each slice with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Go check out Kate and A Spoonful of Thyme for more great recipes.

Lemon Yogurt Cake
from Barefoot Contessa at Home via A Spoonful of Thyme

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 extra large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Dust flour inside the pan coating all sides.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl and set aside.  In another bowl whisk yogurt, eggs, 1 cup of the sugar, vanilla and lemon zest.  Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Fold vegetable oil into the batter until fully incorporated.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, stir 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook until sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear, about 5 minutes.

When the cake is done cooking let it cool in the pan on a rack for about 10 minutes.  Use a knife to loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and carefully remove the cake and set it on a wire rack set over a baking sheet.  Pour the lemon syrup over the cake allowing it to soak in.  Let the cake cook completely.

Make the glaze by whisking together the confectioners sugar and lemon juice.  Pour glaze over the fully cooled cake.  Allow the glaze to set for at least 30 minutes before slicing.


25 comments:

  1. This cake looks so moist and delicious. Beautiful pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, this cake looks amazing! Great recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those are some great looking photos! Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love Ina's lemon yogurt cake. Great pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You chose one of my favorite cake recipes to share! Ina's Lemon Yogurt Cake is amazing. Your glaze looks perfect! I am thinking that I must get too anxious and glaze too soon... Thank you for visiting/reviewing my blog! I hope you will come back and try one of the shrimp recipes!

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is some serious Yum! I've saved this to try later!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I made a yogurt cake one time and I had forgotten how moist it was until reading your post. This looks fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You had me at "serious lemon flavor"!! This looks fantastic. Definitely bookmarking this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. My husband is a huge lemon fan. I will need to make this for him.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the lemon pound cake at Starbucks. This looks just like it. I will have to do a taste test! Great pics and great SRC post.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's one lovely cake right there! Sounds so moist with that yogurt! Bookmarking this to make :) So nice to be in SRC with you! Oh, and I am your newest follower :)

    http://steaknpotatoeskindagurl.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yes, yes, yes please! Like the Food Hunter's hubby I'm a huge lemon fan! Now, could you package that up and mail it to, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dang - that looks good!! I am adding this to my list to bake - sooner rather than later.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have Inas cookbook with the picture of the cake in it. I will have to make it now. You got a great SRC blog and you picked a great recipe. Thanks for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I saw Ina bake this cake on an episode a long time ago and thought it looked really delicious. I never got around to making it so I'm really glad to hear it's as good as it looks! I can never get enough lemon in my desserts so it's right up my alley :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I would have been pumped to get Kate's blog! These little lemon cakes look and sound delicious. Beautiful SRC post.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Delicious! I'm making it for my man - he's going to love it! Thanks for choosing and sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  18. that looks so pretty! love the photos!

    Glad to be in Group C with you!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Such a heavenly and moist looking cake!
    Awesome to be in the Secret Recipe Club with you. Here is my post from group C - http://su.pr/2rtACr

    ReplyDelete
  20. I too watched Ina bake it and have wanted to try it ever since. so much yummy lemon flavor everywhere!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Holy cow, these photos are the prettiest I've seen on all the SRC posts! Wow. I'm so making this. How can I resist those pics?!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I absolutely love lemons and this cake sounds and looks so lovely and moist. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  23. This cake was amazing. I did however, leave off the confectioner's sugar topping. I made it three times and each time, it tasted like soap to me. Weird, I know, but regardless, that cake is amazing! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to hear the cake turned out. Sorry to hear the glaze caused issues. You could always try another citrus or meyer lemon, which is sweeter than a standard lemon. I know meyers have a very short season, but you still may be able to find them.

      Delete