GREEK YOGURT COFFEE CAKE

Notes: This cake recipe is quick, tender, delicious and wholesome (as far as cake goes). With a little bit of tang from luscious Greek yogurt and a hint of orange from orange zest the flavors are reminiscent of an orange creamsicle. The cake is topped with a cloud of yogurt buttercream and, wow, does that yogurt flavor come through. As usual, this recipe packs the perfect amount of sweetness and you can almost feel good about eating it for breakfast with coffee. You must use full fat yogurt to get the tender crumb. I used Strauss Organic Greek yogurt, which is extremely creamy and has a wonderful tang that I don’t think is the same as in other Greek yogurts (in my area) but use whatever brand of full fat Greek yogurt you like best. Also, cake flour should be used due to it’s lower gluten content. If you use AP flour the cake will be much more dense.

Ingredients, where noted in grams, were weighed and cup measures are approximations. If you don’t already have a kitchen scale the OXO Good Grips 11 lb Digital Kitchen Scale is an excellent combination of quality (accurate and precise at low gram weights) and price, at around $50. This is the scale I personally have and use (not sponsored).

Special Equipment:

• Loaf pan, 9” x 5” stainless steel.

  These are the loaf pans I have and use (easy to clean and reliable): E-far Loaf Pan for Baking Bread, 9 x 5 Inch

• Large sieve (optional)

• Zester or fine grater (for orange zest)

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temp

• 260 g (1 cup) greek yogurt

• 160 mL avocado or canola oil (I used canola)

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 190 g (1 and 1/2 cups) cake flour

• 18 g (2 tbsp) corn starch

• 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt (I used pink Himalayan)

• Orange zest (one orange)

Yogurt buttercream:

• 113 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temp

• 2 tbsp Greek yogurt

• 4 tbsp powdered sugar

• Pinch of salt (to taste)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F, and place a rack in the middle.

2. Fit an oiled loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside. Make sure to oil both above and below the parchment paper and don’t forget the ends of the pan too.

3. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the cake flour, corn starch, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl thoroughly whisk together the yogurt, oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and orange zest. Use a large sieve to sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and use a spatula to fold together until the flour is just incorporated. The mixture will look a little lumpy and that’s ok, don’t over mix it.

5. Transfer the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and place in the oven. Bake for 33-36 mins until completely golden. At 33 mins use a cake tester inserted in the middle and if it comes out completely clean take out the cake.

6. Let the cake cool for 10 mins in the pan and then flip it onto a cooling rack and let it cool to room temperature.

7. Prepare the yogurt buttercream by first whisking the room temperature butter to a fluffy smooth texture, now add the powdered sugar and a pinch of salt (to taste) and whisk in completely. Finally, add the Greek yogurt and whisk again until fully incorporated.

8. Once the cake has cooled you can dollop the yogurt buttercream on top and use a spatula to make soft swirls.

9. The cake can be kept covered in the fridge for several days.