Lemon Yoghurt Syrup Cake
This is the kind of cake that is great for beginners because there’s no need to cream butter with sugar and it’s quite quick to bring together. I think the hardest part of baking is knowing when a cake is ready, everybody has different ovens which have different “personalities” and so in my recipes I try to give baking time as an indication but in this case I’ve also recommended other ways to judge readiness. I started thinking about this when I was explaining it to a friend who hadn’t baked a cake before and kept opening the oven to check on it. Another handy tip is if the cake is browning too much, just lightly cover it with foil. To serve, In this recipe I’ve given options for how much sugar is put in the cake and in the syrup – I often err on the side of less sugar but I have friends who prefer the full hit. I’ve often put a dollop of tangy Greek yoghurt but some clotted cream wouldn’t go astray.
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
1/2 cup Greek Yoghurt
Grated zest from 1 lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 eggs
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4-1 cup caster sugar
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Syrup:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3-1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tbsp water
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius (conventional oven). Grease a 20cm springform pan and line the base with baking paper.
Sift flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add salt and whisk everything together and then set aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl whisk together Greek yoghurt, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, caster sugar and eggs.
Tip the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and gently whisk everything together till the flour is just incorporated.
Pour the olive oil into the mixing bowl and gently whisk everything together till the olive oil is well incorporated.
Pour the batter into the springform pan and bake in the oven on the middle rack for approximately 35 minutes or till the cake is golden brown and springs back when gently pressed down on top or till a skewer comes out clean. If the cake starts to dome too much in the centre about half way through the baking time, I reduce the temperature of the oven by another 10 degrees and bake for a little longer.
Remove the cake from the oven and leave it in the springform pan for 5 minutes. Release the cake from the pan and place it on a cooling rack that’s sitting on a baking tray – it’s ready for the first soaking with the syrup.
I usually start preparing the syrup towards the last 10 minutes of baking by adding the ingredients into a small saucepan and heating it up over low-medium heat. Stir everything together till the sugar fully dissolves and it comes to a gentle boil, reduce the heat and simmer for up to 5 minutes or till it starts to thicken. Don’t over reduce it because it’ll continue to thicken once it’s off the heat.
Pour half of the syrup over the warm cake and wait another 20-30 minutes before pouring the rest on. The excess syrup that drips onto the baking tray can be poured back onto the cake immediately but you might need a second baking tray to catch any excess.
Allow the cake to fully cool before serving.