Orange yoghurt cake

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.

Orange yoghurt cake

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

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.