I'm Walkin' on Sunshine Lemon Yogurt Cake

Lemon Yogurt Cake seemed to be just the thing to bake last week. Gray days and flurries make it seem like spring isn't just around the corner. And we all know it is almost spring. It is! We are mere weeks away, and if nature isn't going to help me out, I figured I'd make my own sunshine. 

Sunny yolks and fluffy clouds of sugar and yogurt

I usually jot down notes in my cookbooks and on printed recipes to keep track of how things went and any changes I'd like to make next time I use the recipe. The note on the lemon yogurt cake shows that I made it almost exactly a year ago, at the tail-end of February, which I think means I was having similar end of winter feelings then. 

Lemon-scented batter

This recipe is from Orangette, whose blog I just love, and whom I hope will return to the world of blogging soon. This is the recipe that led her future husband to her blog, so maybe you've read about it before. Maybe you've even made it before. I'd urge you to take another look at it and bake it now, when a simple lemon cake can transport you from the dregs of winter to a place of citrus and warmth.

Pale yellow glaze

I have tweaked the recipe just a bit, zesting only one lemon and using the juice of half a lemon for the glaze (the original recipe calls for the juice of two lemons, which always left me with soggy cake).

Sunshine on a plate

I'm Walkin' on Sunshine Lemon Yogurt Cake

Adapted from Orangette's Gâteau au Citron, or, French-Style Yogurt Cake with Lemon


Cake ingredients:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Glaze ingredients:
Juice from half a lemon
1/4 cup powdered sugar

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stir the eggs, sugar, and yogurt in a large bowl until well-blended. Mix in flour, baking powder, and lemon zest and stir until just combined. (Tip: if you zest your lemon directly into the batter, all of those lovely drops of lemon oil will make it into your cake, too.) Add in the oil and mix briskly until it's well-blended into the rest of the batter. 

Pour batter into a well-oiled 8-inch round cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, until cake springs back when touched. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then remove from pan and transfer to a rack to cool completely. 

For the glaze:

Mix lemon juice and powdered sugar in a bowl. (Tip: if the powdered sugar doesn't dissolve all the way, microwave for a few seconds at a time until it is completely dissolved into the juice.) Spoon the glaze over the cake; it will soak into the cake, giving a burst of tart citrus flavor to complement the slightly sweet cake.

Eat up and enjoy the sunshine you've made. 

*It's almost spring. Hooray!*