I had an abundance of yogurt left over in the refrigerator from last week. I usually buy a large container of plain Greek yogurt for myself to eat for breakfast throughout the week and smaller individual containers for Kevin to bring along to work for breakfast throughout the weekday mornings. I didn’t feel like packing yogurt every day for breakfast last week which left me with an abundance of yogurt at the end of the week. The yogurt was also nearing its expiration date. In an effort to not waste the yogurt, I ended up incorporating the yogurt into a cake. I’ve made a yogurt cake in the past and was pleasantly surprised by how the cake turned out. The addition of the yogurt made the cake very moist and soft. While the cake was good, it was missing something. This time around, I decided to add some orange zest to see if citrus was the missing ingredient. The addition of the orange zest definitely enhanced the flavor of the cake. The orange yogurt cake ended up being especially tender, fluffy, and moist thanks to the addition of the yogurt. It also had a very good citrus flavor thanks to the orange zest. The orange yogurt cake made for a great dessert and an even better breakfast the next day.
Orange Yogurt Cake
For the cake:
· 1½ cups all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
· ¾ cup granulated sugar
· 2 large eggs, room temperature
· ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
· ¼ cup whole milk
· Zest of one orange
For the glaze:
· 1 tablespoon of orange juice
· 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
· ½-1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a loaf pan. Set aside.
2) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3) In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Fold in the Greek yogurt. Add half of the flour mixture, and half of the milk. Combine. Add the remaining flour mixture and milk. Combine until batter is smooth. Fold in the orange zest.
4) Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the top of the batter.
5) Place the loaf pan into the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Test doneness of cake by inserting a knife in the center and checking to see if the knife comes out clean.
6) To make the glaze, combine the orange juice and butter. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until the glaze reaches your desired consistency. You may end up not using all of the confectioners’ sugar.
Takeaways: The yogurt cake tastes equally delicious with just lemon zest or both orange and lemon zest. If you are feeling adventurous, try adding lime zest as well. I’ve tried the cake using lemon and orange zest, but have not tried the cake using lime zest. I am definitely thinking of making a triple citrus or LOL cake using lemon, orange, and lime zest in the near future.