Lemon Yogurt Cake

When I think of lemon cake, I think of a warm hug right out of the oven. Sounds strange, I know, but I think all you foodies out there might be able to relate. Sporadically throughout the year, I find myself craving a moist lemony cake…usually when I am in need of a hug, but no one is around at the moment for me to grab. This can be a hug needed either for celebratory reasons or a hug for comfort. Either way, lemon cake usually does the trick and I feel better in no time! It starts in the kitchen, where most of my happy times begin and ends with me biting into a little slice of lemon-heaven.

This is one of my favorite lemon cake recipes (and I've tried a lot of them)! I have adapted this recipe to be lower in fat and sugar than its original version and the final product remains moist, tender, and full of lemony goodness! One of my favorite aspects of this cake is that it is moistened with non-fat plain Greek yogurt.  It adds a hint of twang only yogurt can give and ensures a moist crumb without the added fat of butter.

Hope your lemon hug is a happy one : ) 

Lemon Yogurt Cake

 Cake Ingredients-

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 lemon, zested and juiced (one lemon usually yields about 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice)

½ cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

½ cup canola oil

Icing Ingredients-

¾ cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9” round cake pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.

In a large bowl, combine yogurt, sugar, eggs, oil, an 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Whisk to mix thoroughly.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Once it comes together into a smooth, pale yellow batter, pour into prepared pan.

Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. It is important NOT to over bake, as it will decrease the cake’s moistness.

(This part requires patience, so get a book or make a phone call to your mom)- Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack for 7-10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert cake onto the cooling rack and allow to cool an addition 7-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine icing ingredients and whisk well to dissolve all sugar completely. Place the cake on plate and spoon icing over the top. Allow icing to drip down the sides to create a decorative pattern. Serve immediately to enjoy warm.

Note- This cake lasts beautifully for two days. It's even better the second day, as it's moistness only increases. If you don’t think you can eat it all in two days, then I recommend slicing off what you don’t think you will eat and freezing it for a later date.