Olive Oil-Yogurt Cake

From The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen. Copyright 2016. Published with permission.

• Servings: 12.

The Editors of America's Test Kitchen have created a collection of 500 recipes using the ingredients, flavors, and healthy eating long the tradition and practice of countries that rim the Mediterranean Sea.  In this book, The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook, ATK has completely eliminated the use of butter, an ingredient that is rarely used in the region's cooking -- even in its cakes.  Instead olive oil, a healthy fat that often has a fruity flavor, is used in its place.

As it says in the headnote to this recipe:

"Popular throughout Spain and France, this simple cake exists in many forms—with or without citrus; glazed, drenched in syrup, dusted with confectioners’ sugar, or unadorned; baked in a cake pan, baking dish, loaf pan, or Bundt pan — but the basic recipe is the same: extra-virgin olive oil and yogurt are combined with eggs, sugar, flour, and leavener (usually baking powder and sometimes baking soda) to create a moist, delicate cake with a slightly coarse crumb and a subtly tangy, mildly fruity aroma."

In addition, whole-milk yogurt (not Greek and not low-fat) adds tenderness and moisture to the cake's crumb as well as tang to the lemon glaze.

Advice from ATK's editors:  for the best flavor use high quality olive oil.

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 3 cups (15 oz.) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 oz.) granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• Lemon Glaze:
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon plain whole-milk yogurt
• 2 cups (8 oz.) confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12‑cup nonstick Bundt pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. In separate large bowl, whisk sugar and eggs together until sugar is mostly dissolved and mixture is pale and frothy, about 1 minute. Whisk in oil and yogurt until combined. Using rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until combined and no dry flour remains.
2. Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth top, and gently tap pan on counter to settle batter. Bake until cake is golden brown and wooden skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
3. For the lemon glaze: Whisk 2 tablespoons lemon juice, yogurt, and confectioners’ sugar together in bowl until smooth, adding more lemon juice gradually as needed until glaze is thick but still pourable (mixture should leave faint trail across bottom of mixing bowl when drizzled from whisk). Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then gently turn cake out onto wire rack. Drizzle half of glaze over warm cake and let cool for 1 hour. Drizzle remaining glaze over cake and let cool completely, about 2 hours. Serve.