Vanilla Yogurt Cake with Orange Glaze

I'm on a mini-loaf kick these days.  I saw this on one of the food photo sites, and my mouth immediately started watering.  I love orange.  More than lemon.  I love the way the house smells when something orange is baking.  It's bright and comforting all at once.  I added the orange zest of half a tangelo to the cake batter, and the zest of the other half of the tangelo to the glaze.  As usual, I made a slight mistake when putting this together.  The recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of orange juice, divided.  Goofy me, I added all 4 tablespoons to the batter, instead of reserving 2 tablespoons for brushing over the loaves when they came out of the oven.  It didn't harm the cake at all, though it did take a few extra minutes to bake thoroughly.  And I still brushed the juice called for over the cakes while they were still hot.

Overall, I love this cake.  I love the way it looks, the way it smells, and more importantly, the way it tastes!!  It's moist and perfect with a cup of tea or, like today, with my morning coffee.  Yum!


Vanilla Yogurt Cake with Orange Glaze

1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, seed scraped out, pod discarded
1-1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
grated zest of half an orange (or tangelo)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 ounces Greek yogurt

4 tablespoons orange juice, divided

Spray two 6 x 3.2 x 3.4 inch loaf pans with baking spray. Or coat with butter and flour.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Using a stand mixer (or a large bowl and and electric hand mixer), beat together the egg, egg yolk, and sugar on medium-high speed, until it turns pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla beans, vanilla extract, oil, and zest, and beat another minute, until fully incorporated.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

With the mixer on low speed, add half the amount of dry ingredients. Then add half the amount of Greek yogurt, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Add remaining dry ingredients and followed by the remaining yogurt, reserving the remaining 2 tablespoons of juice until after loaves are baked. Remove from mixer and finish mixing by hand using a spatula until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Pour into prepared pans and bake for 35 - 40 minutes.

Remove from oven. Using a toothpick or large wooden skewer poke holes into the cake. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice over hot loaves.

Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan. Place on wire rack to finish cooling. When cool, glaze cakes.

Orange Glaze
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
6 tablespoons orange juice
zest of half an orange (or tangelo)

Combine the two ingredients together with a whisk. Pour over cakes.

Source:  http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2009/10/19/like-taffy/#comment-61940

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