Orange Yogurt Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Regular visitors to One Perfect Bite know that I love European, barely sweet desserts. This cake fits that mold. It's extremely easy to make and remarkable in that it has a buttery taste despite the fact it contains no butter. It's high and moist, a bit lighter that most yogurt cakes and is a perfect base for berries and a dollop of cream. I've used orange zest to flavor the cake but lemon or cocoa could also have been used. I baked mine in an 8-inch cheese cake pan with fixed sides because I like the height it gives the cake. A 9-inch cake pan with high sides or a chiffon cake pan can also be used. Make sure the center of the cake is done before you remove it from the oven. The first time I made the cake I didn't follow my own directions and the undercooked center forced me to create an unintended tube cake. Here's the recipe.

Orange Yogurt Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons strained orange juice
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup vanilla flavored Greek yogurt (see cook's note below)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Confectioners' sugar (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch cheesecake pan with fixed sides. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; grease. Dust pan with flour. Set aside.
2) In bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thick and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add orange zest and juice and beat until well combined, about 1 minute longer.
3) Sift flour, salt and baking powder together into another bowl. Fold into batter.
4) Add yogurt to batter and stir to mix. Add oil and stir to combine.
5) Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake in lower third of oven until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and continue to cool on a rack. Transfer to a cake plate and dust with Confectioners' sugar if using. Yield: 8 servings.

Cook's note: Plain yogurt, strained to remove excess liquid, flavored with a teaspoon of vanilla extract can be used as a substitute for Greek yogurt. If you use a 9-inch pan reduce cooking time by about 10 minutes.