I Baked! Yogurt Cake w/Cinnamon-Orange Glaze

You might want to sit down for this: I wanted to bake something. 

 I'm so tired of all the snow and ice and cold and shivers, and thought baking a treat would warm up the house and my spirits. I didn't want something complicated or overly sweet, but I wanted to bake a cake.  But what kind of cake? I remembered reading about using yogurt in baking, so I found a few recipes online and added my own two cents (i.e. the almond extract, cinnamon, cointreau, the glaze).

I wanted to make a bundt cake, but I couldn't find my pan. I know I have one, I just can't seem to locate it. (Maybe if I baked more...) I used a normal, round cake pan and the cake turned out golden brown on top and light and spongy inside. It reminded me a bit of the texture of a dulce de leche cake.


When I popped the cake out of the pan (I breathed a sigh of relief when it all came out in one piece), I noticed that the middle was still a wee bit gooey--not raw, but not totally done--which means my trusty convection oven may be on the fritz, or that cake baking just isn't my thing. But, since being resourceful in the kitchen is my forte, instead of covering the cake with foil and putting it back in the oven to continue cooking at a lower heat, I used a pastry ring and cut out the middle -- instant bundt cake. Ha!

This isn't an overly sweet cake, so I whisked together some powdered sugar, half & half, orange extract and cinnamon and brushed it on the cake while it was still warm. I put the cake on a pretty plate and put some water on for tea. All I could smell was sugar and orange and cinnamon. It tasted pretty great, too. A perfect pick-me-up on a winter's day.


Yogurt Cake with Cinnamon-Orange Glaze
Ingredients:
11/4 cups plain yogurt (Greek is fine)
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 TBS Cointreau (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp almond extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
For the Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4+ cup of half & half or heavy cream (add more for thinner glaze)
1/4 tsp orange extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Minimal MESS/ingredients/clean-up: Category 1

To Do:
  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a round cake pan with parchment paper (or use baking spray).
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. (Yogurt-salt.)
  • In a different bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda, then stir the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. (Don't overmix.)
  • Transfer the batter into your prepared cake pan and bake until the top is golden brown and the cake is firm, about 45 minutes. 
  • Let cool about 10 minutes, then invert cake onto a plate and gently remove from the pan. If you used parchment paper, peel it off the cake and discard.
  • While the cake is cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, half & half, cinnamon and orange extract (adding more or less to taste), then spoon over the warm cake until it is completely glazed, and enjoy!

Stay warm!
xoxo