Lemon-Yogurt Cake

Due to an error in time management, I hadn't baked a cake for Sunday afternoon tea at my Mum-n-Law's house.  I tried to tell myself that it didn't matter, but it has become a sort of tradition that we have a home made cake for afternoon tea.

We could make a quick detour to one of the posh supermarkets and purchase a cake but that just feels like cheating.  It was almost 11 am, I was still in my pj's, and needed to cook lunch.  It was now or never....

Then I remembered a recipe for Lemon-Yogurt Cake that I'd been meaning to try.  It sounded like just the sort of recipe I could put together in next to no time.  I grabbed a cake tin, a paper tin liner, collected all the ingredients and whacked on the oven.  No time to loose! 

Fortunately, this cake can be made in one bowl using a wire whisk, no heavy equipment required. 

 Here's the recipe:

1 cup plain or Greek yogurt
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup canola oil 
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest from two lemons 

For the lemon syrup:

juice from the two lemons
1 1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoons water

Heat the oven to 350F/180C.  Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake pan and place a circle of baking paper in the bottom of the tin OR use a paper liner. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and oil.  Add the eggs one at a time, whisking between each addition.   Beat in the yogurt and lemon zest.  Stir in the salt and baking powder. Now stir in the flour, but only put in about a third of it at a time.  Stir well after each addition but do not beat.  The flour just needs to be incorporated into the wet ingredients. 

Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin.  Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until a tester comes out with only a few moist crumbs.  I began testing my cake at about 30 minutes.  

When the cake is baked, prepare the lemon syrup.

Place the lemon juice, water, and sugar into a small sauce pan.  Cook over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar melts.  Bring to a boil and let the syrup cook for 3 or 4 minutes.  The syrup will reduce and become slightly thick.  Poke a few holes in the cake with a skewer.  Spoon half of the hot lemon syrup over the warm cake.  Allow the syrup to soak into the cake before spooning over the remaining lemon syrup.  Leave the cake to cool in the tin before serving. 

'But you have TWO Lemon-Yogurt cakes', I hear you cry.  There is method in my madness... one for afternoon tea and one for ME!  

PS- Mum-N-Law LOVED it!