French-Style Yogurt Cake

I was inspired when I saw Happy HomeBaker and Simply Anne's post on lemon yogurt cake. First, it looked beautiful and yummy; second, it was so easy to make, without having to use any creaming or even 2 bowls for those mixed-in methods such as quick bread - perfect for me to make on a weekday after work. Third, it has no butter, but canola oil, so is considered healthier than normal butter cakes.

I halved the recipe as I knew my small family of 3 in this house definitely will not be able to finish. I was abit worried that it won't work for half the recipe but I go for it anyway. The original recipe came from Molly's blog - Orangette. She used lemon for the syrup while i changed it to orange. I baked mine in a small 5-inch pan. It rose beautifully, but in a very unsymmetrical way, looks very ugly though.. Haha, probably due to my mixing. I had some additonal batter, so I poured it in a heart-shaped mini cake mould I bought from Daiso not long ago. It was cute! Best for baking little hearts to your beloved. Hmmm...maybe can bake some chocolate hearts next time... :P

This was a really nice, flavourful cake. It taste good even without the glaze and was finished within a day! My little nephew liked it too. :)

I will try it again, with other modifications.

Ok here's the recipe:

Ingredients for the cake:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour (I used normal all purpose)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp grated orange zest
• 1/2 cup canola oil

Ingredients for the glaze (optional):

• Juice from 1 1/2 orange
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, stirring until well blended.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, and zest, mixing to just combine.
4. Add the oil and stir to incorporate. At first, it will look like a horrible, oily mess, but keep stirring, and it will come together into a smooth batter.
5. Pour and scrape the batter into a buttered 9-inch round cake pan.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake feels springy to the touch and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.
7. Cool cake on a rack for about 20 minutes; then turn it out of the pan to cool completely.
8. When the cake is thoroughly cooled, combine the lemon juice and powdered sugar in a small bowl and spoon it gently over the cake. The glaze will be thin and will soak in like a syrup.

Recipe Source: Orangette

Note: I find the batter abit too oily. You might want to try increase the yogurt to 3/4 cup and reduce the oil to 1/4 cup as what Alphineberry did.