Lemon Yogurt Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite..."Oh, what a tangled web we weave...." I had not intended to post an Ina Garten recipe today. Don't get me wrong. I love Ina and the only reason I don't feature more of her recipes is that we all have her books and actively cook from them. You don't need me to tell you how good she is. Chances are you have already made this lovely loaf cake and aren't interested in seeing yet another take on it. Mea culpa, but after a quick walk through my day you'll see how the unintended came to be and why you are looking at this lemon yogurt cake for the gazillionth time since the recipe for it was first published. Ready? I had yogurt in the refrigerator and needed the space it was holding for a batch of mascarpone that needed to be chilled. I was also looking for several breads or simple cakes that could be used as fillers on our Easter brunch table, making it look more abundant that it actually would be. I thought it would be great if I could find at least one recipe that used the yogurt I needed to get rid of. Genius moves in great broad strokes like that. I spent some time searching and found three candidates, all were simple to make and all would free the space I needed. I zeroed in on one and set to work, but as I was mixing wet and dry ingredients I had an eerie sense that I had done this all before. I'd past the point of no return, so I carried on and put the cake into the oven, more sure than ever that I had made this cake before. I reread the blog from which the recipe came but could find no reference to another source. I checked my blog to see if I had posted this before. A final key word search finally got me to Ina's recipe on the Food Network. I made this recipe back in 2006 and even though I feel a little foolish, at least I can credit Ina with its development. It is a nice cake and if you are a lemon-head you will enjoy this moist cake. I hope that any of you who have not yet tried it will give this recipe shot. Here's Ina's recipe.

Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Ina Garten

Ingredients

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 (2 lemons)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-1/2 by 4-1/4 by 2-1/2-inch loaf pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour pan.

2) Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl. In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and lemon extract. Slowly whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold vegetable oil into batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in center of the loaf comes out clean.

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

4) When cake is done, allow it to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While cake is still warm, pour lemon-sugar mixture over cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

5) For glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over cake. Let sit till set. Yield: 1 loaf (8 to 10 slices).