Orange yoghurt cake
Hello! This is a very quick post from Dubai! Alastair and I have had a great time in the UK over the past couple of weeks and now we’re flying to Singapore for several days. I can’t wait to eat some Asian food, although we have been quite spoilt in the meals we’ve eaten while in the UK – no complaints about English food from me! There has been a lot of pub meals, a couple of great home cooked meals (courtesy of my inlaws) and one very indulgent splurge that I can’t wait to blog about.
But more on that later – let’s talk about cake! About an orange yoghurt cake, to be exact. I am loving this cake at the moment. I love it so much that I’ve baked it about five times in the past few months. (My colleagues, Alastair and Pat have enjoyed it too!).
It has a good balance of orange flavour and sweetness, but it’s the texture that I love the most. It’s moist and soft, but not so soft that it falls apart on you.
The yoghurt in the cake keeps it super moist, and I have substituted the yoghurt successfully with sour cream. I tend to use them interchangably in recipes, depending on whatever I have in the fridge at the time! The recipe says to bake it for two hours, but mine has never come close to needing two hours in the oven. I normally start checking on it after an hour, and mine usually takes about 1 hour 15.
I like to top it with the simple orange (or lemon) icing suggested in the recipe. I’m not generally an icing fan, but the simple icing sugar icing is great with this cake and really seems to complement it, even though it’s still nice unadorned.
If you’re not an orange fan (BFF), try it with a different flavour eg lemon or lime. I’ve even wondered about replacing the oranbge juice with a cocoa mixture. I must experiment when I run out of oranges.
Must fly – literally – our flight is boarding! But do try this cake – it’s gorgeous.
Orange yoghurt cake
Adapted from: Australian Women’s Weekly Bake
125g butter, softened
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
3 eggs, separated
2 cups (300g) self raising flour
1/4 cup (60ml) orange juice
1 cup (250g) yoghurt
Orange icing
1&1/2 cups (240g) icing sugar
30g butter, softened
2 tablespoons orange juice
Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease a 14cm x 21cm loaf pan and line the base and sides with baking paper.
In an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until pale. Add the sugar and orange rind, and beat on high speed until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, on medium speed. Mix in the sifted flour and combined juice and yoghurt in two batches on low speed.
Beat the egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
Gently fold a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture. Repeat with the rest of the egg whites.
Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for two hours (note, start checking on it after an hour. My cakes normally only take about 1 hour, 20 mins.)
Stand the cake in the pan for five minutes and then turn, top side up, onto a wire rack to cool.
When cool, spread the orange icing over the cake.
Orange icing: Combine the sifted icing sugar and butter in a small bowl. Warm the orange juice in the microwave, and stir in enough juice to make the icing spreadable.
Hannah
October 8, 2010 @ 11:13 pm
Aw! AW! Agnes! I saw the title and had my whole comment planned out immediately. I was going to do this whole joke about how if you didn’t want to be my BFF anymore all you had to do was say so, not scare me away with orange cakes…
But then I saw the shout-out and I was so filled with love that my little it’s-night-time-and-I’m-lonely heart went SWOOSH!
Which pretty much means a) I want to try this with lime and b) I *really* have to book that flight soon!
Agnes
October 19, 2010 @ 9:34 pm
I’m still waiting! And I’ll greet you with an orange yoghurt cake. 😉 (Okay, no I won’t. See what a kind BFF i am?)
mademoiselle délicieuse
October 9, 2010 @ 1:03 am
Looks like it has a beautiful crumb, much like pound cake. Must be the yoghurt/sour cream working some magic. Can’t wait to hear about your overseas adventures!
Agnes
October 19, 2010 @ 9:35 pm
I love yoghurt / sour cream in cakes. Adds more yumminess!
Gourmet Getaways
October 9, 2010 @ 9:00 am
Yum!! That looks amazing! I love moist orange cakes, my nan does a beautiful one. Sour cream or yoghurt instead of milk seems to make for a great crumb.
Now… how did you manage to do this story while your flight was boarding??? It is a great story and the pictures are awesome, what is your secret?
Agnes
October 19, 2010 @ 9:36 pm
Hehee, well I actually had written out most of the post already and had the photos already uploaded. So I just had to finish off the post while I was waiting for our flight to board!
leaf @ theindolentcook
October 9, 2010 @ 7:13 pm
Yum, that looks so soft and enticing!
Agnes
October 19, 2010 @ 9:36 pm
It’s so yum – I can’t resist it!
Conor @ HoldtheBeef
October 10, 2010 @ 5:04 pm
This cake DOES look gorgeous. I had a beautiful orange cake the other day made by a friend, and realised just how long it had been between orange cakes for me. I used to make them regularly as they’re my Dad’s favourite, but I haven’t made one in years. This one looks perfect, I think I’ll have to bust it out for my Dad next time I’m up north 🙂
(also, cannot wait to read about your indulgent meal, I can feel the jealousy rising already!!)
Agnes
October 19, 2010 @ 9:37 pm
Aww, you’re such a good daughter! I bet your Dad would love it.
Lingy
October 12, 2010 @ 10:40 pm
That looks amazing Agnes! It looks so light and fluffy, I like the idea of the yogurt too.
Please don’t work too hard on blogging, and enjoy your Europe trip as much as possible! 🙂 x0x0
Agnes
October 19, 2010 @ 9:39 pm
Hehee, I didn’t have much internet access while I was away, so not much blogging was possible! But I worked quite hard before I left so I had stuff to post while I was away. 😀
Maria@TheGourmetChallenge
October 16, 2010 @ 10:08 am
So funny, i would have to have this with a cup of tes, and thats what youve got inthe photo!
Agnes
October 19, 2010 @ 9:40 pm
Oh, I always need a cup of tea with cake. Must have! 🙂
Jas
March 18, 2013 @ 11:07 am
Hi,
I made thie cake the 1st time and it was very good but a little hard. I am making it a 2ndtime but dough is like bread dough…very sticky…i do not know what i am doing wrong…is this normal?
Thanks.
Agnes
March 24, 2013 @ 10:06 pm
Hi! Hmm, is your butter soft? And are you beating it until it’s really fluffy? It shouldn’t be hard 🙁