Ina's Lemon Yogurt Cake Saves the Day

I have lemons and need cake.  Ina, can you help?

This is absolutely PERFECT for my life!
hehehe...okay, back to lemons...
I love lemon and I think that this sweet pup does too...kind of.  :0)

But I do know something that the pup and I definitely have in common...We both like to dance when we see fresh lemons.  That's exactly what I wanted to do when my mom brought over Meyer Lemons the other day. 


Oh wait...this is my mom's dance...Not mine! hehe

After making one disastrously, gross zucchini-lemon cake...blah...I wanted to give it another try.   But with a different recipe.

This is where Ina Garten came in to save the day with her Lemon Yogurt Cake. Hallelujah!!!

Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake

Courtesy of The Food Network

Ingredients:

1 lemon, thinly sliced & seeded
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice (use both of the zested lemons)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup sugar

3 extra-large eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 - 2 tbsp. poppyseeds (I used 1)

Zesty...

Directions:

1.  Add 1/2 water and 1/2 sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Add the lemon slices and simmer for about 25 minutes.  Remove from the heat, and remove the lemon slices, placing them on the parchment lined plate.  Add lemon juice to the syrup and aside aside for later. 

2.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan or a bundt pan. Be generous with the grease - you don't want your cake to stick! Arrange the lemon slices on the bottom of the pan. (Oops!  I forgot, so I put them on top.)

3.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil and poppyseeds into the batter, making sure they're all incorporated.

4.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40-50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

5. When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place the cake on a       serving platter. While the cake is still warm, brush the lemon-sugar syrup over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool. 

Then, invite a friend over so that you can share the goodness.  Fortunately, I can always find someone willing to come and taste-test.  :0)

This is a keeper recipe!