Lemon Vanilla Yogurt Cake

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Do you ever want cake for breakfast?   I do!   When I am in that kind of a mood I often make myself a coffee cake because that is the acceptable cake to eat at breakfast time.  However, I wondered if I could make a different type of cake that would also work well for breakfast or brunch.

I came up with the idea for a Lemon Yogurt Cake.  I figured a cake made with yogurt had to be good for breakfast.  Plus the addition of the lemon juice would make the cake bright and perfect for pairing with orange juice, mimosas, or a cup of hot tea.  I thought I could make this work.

This cake is really simple to make.  There aren’t a ton of ingredients and not much decoration either.  I didn’t want to use frosting to decorate this cake because then it would be more of a dessert cake than a breakfast cake. I was a little worried about the cake sticking to the bottom of the pan since I was using yogurt and I knew it would be a little more moist than a normal cake.

I used an 8 inch round Silpat on the bottom of my cake pan so that it wouldn’t stick. Silpat works great because it helps cook food evenly without burning and it releases baked goods without any difficulty and makes clean up a snap.

As for the cake, I used plain Stonyfield Organic yogurt.  I was going to use the vanilla flavor but I ended up using a vanilla bean instead.  Otherwise I think the vanilla flavored yogurt would pair nicely with the lemon flavor in this cake.  I also used granulated sugar and plenty of fresh squeezed lemon juice.   I think using fresh juice is key to giving this cake that tart lemon flavor.

The resulting cake was delicious.   It wasn’t as sweet as a dessert cake which was perfect for breakfast.  It was slightly tart from the lemon and plenty sweet.  The vanilla was a very subtle flavor but I could definitely taste it.   The cake was less crumbly then most cakes I make but I really liked that about it.

For decoration all I did was make a simple lemon glaze and then sprinkle the top with sanding sugar.  I also grabbed a handful of pastel Easter sprinkles and sprinkles them lightly over the top.  The cake looked so happy and ready for spring.  This would be a great cake to serve at an Easter or spring brunch.

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Lemon Yogurt Cake

Yield: serves 12

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

A delicious cake made with fresh lemon juice and organic yogurt that works well for breakfast or brunch.

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Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/3 c. lemon juice

For the glaze and decoration:

• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 Tablespoons clear sanding sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons pastel sprinkles

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place an 8 inch round Silpat in the bottom of an 8 inch cake pan. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
4. In a large bowl combine the yogurt and sugar. Add in the eggs and mix until well combined.
5. Add the butter to yogurt mixture and use a mixer on medium speed to beat until smooth.
6. Add in the vanilla and scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into the yogurt mixture. Mix until combined.
7. Stir in the lemon juice.
8. Add the flour mixture to the yogurt mixture and mix until just combined.
9. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cake is baked all the way through. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
10. To make the glaze whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over top of the cooled cake.
11. Quickly sprinkle with the sanding sugar and pastel sprinkles.

Notes

A Hezzi-D Original recipe