Categories: BakingCakesSweetsThe Secret Recipe Club

October Secret Recipe Club

By the time this post goes live, I will have finished my One Week Raw Diet and most definitely will be feasting on some hot, cooked food. I plan to make dhoklas for my breakfast and in all probability that is what I will be eating the time this post goes live.

It definitely was a difficult week, with the dinner time being the toughest but honestly not as difficult as I thought it would be. I was sure I would quit by Day 3 or Day 4, and my body would be really weak, and would have a constant headache. The last time I went on a diet (quite a few years back) was when I tried the GM diet. By Day 4 of the GM diet, I had a headache and decided it wasn’t worth it and quit with a bowl of Maggi in my hand.

This diet, though, has been different. I did not feel weak at all. My skin improved- I had my periods when I started so I had the occasional pimple before that but I could feel my skin more bright than usual. I have lost about 5 pounds since the start of this month- which includes the one week of the gluten free sugar free diet and then one week I went raw. It might not seem much, but I was never going for anything drastic. My goal is to lose about 5-6 kgs (10-12 pounds) by the end of this month. I will be continuing on my gluten and sugar free diet till end October, with Halloween being the day I quit. I will talk more about how my raw diet went and share any other information that could be helpful to someone planning to do the same. But all that will be in another post. Today I will be sharing this lemon yogurt cake, which is neither raw, nor gluten free, nor is it sugar free, but if what I have heard about it is true, its one cake recipe you would want to try.

For October’s SRC, I got A Feast for the Eyes as my assigned blog. To know more about the Secret Recipe Club, check the website here. It is very unfortunate that I got Debby’s blog the month I decided to go gluten and sugar free. There are so many great recipes on her blog. Debby’s mother’s family owned restaurants in Germany, and her mother was an excellent cook herself and that is where Debby gets the talent of cooking. I found it very amusing when I read her “about me” section and she referred to her mom as Mutti. I am presently reading the War Brides and that’s where I learnt mutti is what mothers are known as in Austria/germany, and thus did not have to wonder what Mutti meant when she mentioned the word.

I finally chose a recipe for lemon yogurt cake. The reason why I chose this particular recipe is that it came highly recommended by one of my friends who had tried the recipe from Ina Garten’s foodnetwork page. My friend was all praises for it and had mentioned once or twice that I should try the recipe. When I saw the same recipe on Debby’s site I knew what I wanted to make, since Debby too loved the recipe. I made it last Wednesday so that V could take it to his Office for his Thursday’s meeting. Since I could not taste the cake, I can not comment on how I found it, but V said people in his office enjoyed it.

I was a little scared that the cake might have come out rubbery. My friend who has recommended the recipe has tried it twice. The first time it came out perfect, but the second time around it was rubbery, probably because she overmixed it. The recipe calls for mixing the wet ingredients with the dry and then adding oil and mixing again. Even though I made sure I do not over mix it, I was a little wary when I cut into the cake. I wasn’t sure whether it was the lemon syrup and supposed to be a dense cake that was giving the cake that look, but I was a little scared that it might be rubbery in texture. Though when I touched and crumbled it, it seemed fine. And since someone in V’s office went for a second piece, I guess it turned out fine.

The cake’s greatest strength is in how easy it is. Especially when you know you won’t get to taste a cake, you want it to be easy. No mixers required for making the cake, all you need are just two bowls and a whisk. Plus, this cake is fairly healthy as cakes go, not a lot of sugar, no butter, not even a lot of oil.

So when life gives you lemons, make this lemon yogurt cake!

LEMON YOGURT CAKE
Recipe adapted from here

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: one loaf size cake

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1⅓ cups sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs ( I used large eggs because that's all I had on hand)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease an 8½ by 4¼ by 2½-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper (Don’t skip this). Grease and flour the pan.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla.
Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated, but being careful as to not over mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Meanwhile, cook the ⅓ cup lemon juice and remaining ⅓ cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan.
While the cake is still warm, poke some holes in the cake and pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. You could also use a pastry brush to spread the syrup. Cool.