Editor’s note: please make today’s guest welcome, Kristie Welsh, PR and Comms wonderwoman who runs her own agency called Communicated. From now on, Kristie will share monthly recipes with all of us, so that we can wow our friends and family with her achievable but delicious creations.
So, today may or may not be my birthday… And I may or may not be now edging closer to 40 than 30. But to every downside, there is an upside; and today’s upside is brought to you by… CAKE!
Lemon yoghurt cake to be precise.
My very favourite cake, so my choice for our family celebration tonight. The great thing about this cake is that the adults love it as much as the kids.
I like mine extra lemony – so am always a little heavy handed with the lemon juice and zest.
It’s super moist and stores really well (if, unlike me, you have the self-control to not eat it all at once).
I’ve played with quite a few recipes over the years, and I have finally come up with one that I think is just right.
- For the cake:
- 2 cups plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 115g unsalted butter, softened (about ½ cup)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Juice of one large lemon (app. 3 tablespoons)
- Zest of one large lemon, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 3 large egg yolks
- For the lemon syrup:
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup sugar
- For the glaze (optional):
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch round springform cake pan.
- Sift your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat together for a couple of minutes, or until pale and creamy.
- On medium speed, beat in lemon juice and zest, vanilla and yoghurt.
- Add egg yolks one at a time, beating until combined.
- Reduce your mixer speed to low and fold in the flour mixture until just combined.
- Scrape batter (it will be quite thick) into your greased pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
- Bake at 175 degrees for approximately 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. (If it’s sagging in the middle, it probably needs a little longer)
- While the cake is cooking, prepare your lemon syrup by combining the 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/3 cup sugar in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Set it aside and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooked, allow cake to cool in pan for about 10 minutes before placing it on a baking rack over a sheet pan.
- Using a skewer or toothpick, poke holes all over the top of the cake.
- Slowly pour your lemon syrup over the top of the cake, allowing it to soak in.
- I will often serve as is, with a dusting of icing sugar, but if you want to glaze it, just combine your 1 cup icing sugar with about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (or until the mixture is slightly runny), and pour over the top while still warm, allowing the icing to drizzle over the side.
- Allow cake to cool completely before slicing.
Now I love skipping ‘unnecessary’ steps in recipes as much as the next person, but with this one I highly recommend that you don’t forgo the lemon sugar syrup. It gives the cake a beautiful glossy finish, and takes the lemon flavour to the next level, as well as adding moistness. Totally worth the extra one minute it will take you to make it!
By all means skip the glaze icing – I usually just serve it with a dusting of icing sugar (or if I’m feeling really fancy, a white meringue frosting – a good option if you’re trying to impress someone!).
Anyone else a fan of a citrus dessert?
Kristie Welsh is a Brisbane-based mum of three children under six, who runs her own PR and communications consultancy,Communicated, and happens to really, really enjoy good food. She likes to pretend she is a really excellent cook by adapting and creating recipes that are actually incredibly simple, yet look and taste amazing. Kristie counts cooking with Jamie Oliver as her culinary highlight.
Comments 10
Hello
I want to bake this cake ahead and freeze it… can anyone tell me if this is possible?
I’ve not tried it sorry … but I feel it would be freezable.
Hi I just want to confirm if the egg whites didn’t get used in this recipe?
That’s correct.
I love baking with yoghurt, it gives cakes such a wonderful texture – I’m a big fan of Donna Hay’s Lemon Yoghurt cake because it’s one bowl wonderful.
I’ve made a Donna Hay lemon yoghurt cake for a few years now – similar but different – but I’ll give this one a go. I adore anything lemony … so thank you for aiding my downfall! Oh and happy birthday! x
This cake looks yum … and like you I love anything with lemon (or lime!). Unfortunately hubby can’t tolerate dairy so I mainly use grapeseed oil in my baking. Is this a suitable substitute for butter in this recipe or can you suggest something else?
I hope it’s ok to jump in here, Nikki/Kristie/Jacqueline but I make the Donna Hay lemon yoghurt cake and that has oil in and it’s the cat’s whiskers, so I’m sure they answer to your questions is yes!
Thanks Sammie!
Happy Birthday! And yum that looks delicious. I love anything citrus flavoured, so will be making this for sure 🙂