My Big Fat Greek Yogurt Lemon Bundt - Day #25 - I Like Big Bundts

Day 25 of I Like Big Bundts: 30 Days of Bundt Cakes
My Big Fat Greek Yogurt Lemon Bundt

If there is any movie moment that everyone identifies with the Bundts...it has got to be My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

It's a Bundt. Boont? BundTT. Bonk?
There's a hole in this cake.

And then the Greek family puts a flower pot in the center.

Thanks to my friend JustJenn of JustJennDesigns for making the logo!

Today, on Day #25 (five days to go!!!! I feel like I'm on mile 25 of a strange 30 day marathon where you actually GAIN weight going through it...must rethink this exercise campaign soon)... I give you My Big Fat Greek Yogurt Lemon Bundt!

I took the Barefoot Contessa's awesome Lemon Yogurt Cake and bake it up in a 10-cup Bundt. It didn't fill that Bundt pan, so you can make it in a small 6-cup Bundt too. I used 2% plain Greek yogurt instead of her full-fat regular yogurt.

I love that this has TWO lemon glazes. Awesomeness.
You pour a warm lemon syrup over the cake while hot...

...and then a glaze after it cools.

I thought it most appropriate to use my Chrysanthemum Bundt from Nordic Ware for this flower cake! Don't you just love the mini-Gerber daisy?! One of my favorite flowers!

Yeah, yeah. Come back tomorrow for another Bundt. I hope you aren't getting sick of these yet...because I'm close to having H1N1Bundt1. :) No, my love of the Bundt remains strong...I just need a vacation for a few days after National Bundt Day (November 15th)! See you tomorrow!
- mary the food librarian

Recipe:
Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Yogurt Cake
from Food Network

I Like Big Bundts recap:
The Food Librarian confesses: I Like Big Bundts
Day 1: Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing
Day 2: Chocolate-Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Mocha Icing
Day 3: Pumpkin-Apple Spiced Bundt
Day 4: Cinnamon Ripple Sweet Potato Bundt
Day 5: Chocolate Zucchini Bundt
Day 6: Cardamom Vanilla Bundt
Day 7: Monkey Bread in a Bundt
Day 8: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day 9: Coconut Bundt
Day 10: Sweet Potato Bundt
Day 11: Mom's Apple Cake Bundt
Day 12: Meyer Lemon Bundt
Day 13: Candy Corn Jello Bundt
Day 14: Spiced Cranberry Bundt
Day 15: Blueberry-Buttermilk Bundt
Day 16: Nutella Bundt
Day 17: Carrot Walnut Bundt
Day 18: Pear Ginger Bundt
Day 19: Persimmon Bundt
Day 20: Banana Chocolate Marble Bundt
Day 21: Martha Stewart Chocolate Bundt
Day 22: Whipped Cream Bundt
Day 23: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bundt
Day 24: Brown Sugar & Chocolate Chip Pound Bundt w/ Maple-Espresso Glaze

Mini-Yogurt Cake with Strawberries

Mini-Yogurt Cakes with Strawberries and Yoplait Vanilla Yogurt

Today's my last day visiting my friends Racheal and Lee in the DC area. Yesterday, I made a light dessert with some ingredients we had on hand.

And yes, those are glass coasters! :)

Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Yogurt Cake
This is 1/4 of Ina's recipe, and it made 5 regular size cupcakes.

sift together (dry):
1/4 c + 2 T flour, 1/2 t baking powder, dash of salt

whisk together (wet):
1/4 c yogurt (I used French vanilla Yoplait yogurt), 1/4 c sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 t zest (I used orange because that is what we had on hand), 1/8 t vanilla

oil: 2 T oil (I used vegetable oil, but have also used olive oil)

1. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until smooth.
2. Fold in oil until combined.
3. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
4. This only makes 5 cupcakes...if you want the full recipe for a loaf or cake pan, click here.

Ina's recipe has a lovely lemon syrup, but I didn't have any lemons. I split the cupcake and spread some strawberry jam in the center with diced strawberries. I filled and topped one of them with the remaining Yoplait vanilla yogurt.

The lemon sauce would have been great on this, but luckily the fresh California strawberries were nice and tasty.

Since Racheal's big blowout California baby shower was postponed because she is now on modified bed rest for early contractions, I made a small breakfast shower to present her with gifts from friend and former neighbor, Diane and me. Yes, that's the Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt cake I love so much! :)

And if you think Racheal and I just sat around vegging out and eating for a week, you are wrong. We had a book discussion group too! Well, sorta. We watched both BBC's "Colin Firth in his glory" Pride and Prejudice as well as Bridget Jones's Diary. Then we had a lively discussion comparing the two movies that are based on Jane Austen's classic. Deep, in-depth discussions of Mr. Darcy's gaze at Elizabeth while she played the pianoforte, and when Mark Darcy looks at Bridget during her blue soup dinner! And, we discussed the latest issue of People...since we both read it cover-to-cover. Such an academic vacation, no?

If the mom is this cute in these hooded towels, the baby boy is going to be adorable. Before the trip, I took my mom with me to Babies R Us and she was amazed there was a whole wall dedicated to pacifiers...times have changed from cloth diapers!

Thanks Racheal and Lee for letting me stay at your new house! I enjoyed hanging out with you and your three other sons, cats Jake, Elwood and Samson! Can't wait to see you when you visit Los Angeles with your newest Baby Boy in October! Love, Auntie Mary

French Yogurt Cake with Lemon Curd (Tuesdays with Dorie)

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction selected French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze on pages 224-225 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

My Open Letter

Dear Liliana,
How did you know? How did you know that this cake is my soulmate? I love this cake! I want to try it on a plane, in a train, and with orange zest, strawberries and mint, and with some lime.

Thanks for a great pick. - Mary the Food Librarian

I made mine with Greek yogurt from Trader Joe's and baked it in a 9" cake pan.
I split the layer and layered lemon curd in the middle.

I just topped it with powdered sugar...Dorie uses lemon marmalade and that sounds delicious too!

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Calamansi and Meyer Lemon Yogurt Cake (inspired by Barefoot Contessa’s Lemon Yogurt Cake)

Calamansi and Meyer Lemon Yogurt Cake

Recently, Cheryl, the Children’s Librarian, brought in a basketful of the most adorable citrus fruit from her aunt’s backyard! Have you ever met the CALAMANSI? Oh, you should! They are petite, perfectly round and have a sweet and sour personality.

According to Alan Davidson’s The Oxford Companion to Food (2nd edition, 2006) (oh yeah, I’m pulling out the reference books now!):

Calamansi (or kalamansi or calamondin/kalamondin) is a hybrid of the mandarin orange and the kumquat. It is a small citrus fruit of the Philippines which plays an important role in Filipino cookery.

Aren’t these the cutest? They look like those little pumpkin candies – only these are real and have vitamin C!

Fresh from the Oven made cute loaves in November and recently, Butter & Sugar made an Orange Yogurt cake. Both took inspiration from the Barefoot Contessa’s Lemon Yogurt Cake.

I made a few changes to her recipe to use the Calamansi and Meyer Lemons. Click here for Ina's recipe!

This cake has a lovely crumb!

Dry ingredients, sifted together:
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour, 2 t baking powder, 1/2 t salt

Wet ingredients, whisk together:
1 c low-fat lemon yogurt from Trader Joe’s (because I didn't want to leave the house to get the whole-milk plain yogurt, which is actually hard to find - they all seem to be non-fat or low-fat. Next time, I might use Greek yogurt since I always have this around.)
1 c sugar
3 large eggs
2 t grated citrus zest (I used 1 t calamansi and 1 t meyer lemon)
1/2 t pure vanilla extract

After mixing the dry and wet ingredients together, fold in oil:
1/2 c olive oil (Ina uses vegetable oil, but I thought adding some Omega-3s would be a good thing!)

Ina uses a loaf pan and bakes it for 50 minutes (350 degrees), but I used a 9" round and baked it for 40 minutes.

Syrup:
1/3 c freshly squeezed juice (I had 80% calamansi and 20% meyer lemon)
1/3 c sugar
While the cake was baking, make the syrup by dissolving sugar in small pan with lemon juice. After the cake comes out of the oven, let sit for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and poke some holes in the cake with a toothpick. Pour or brush on the syrup.

Ina has a glaze of juice and powdered sugar, but I just dusted it with powdered sugar.

This cake is really delicious. It is light, very moist and wonderful for a breakfast or tea snack. As you can see by the many adaptations, you can make it any way you want. And now that there are lots of citrus around, there is no excuse for not making this!

Thanks Cheryl for introducing me to the wonderful world of calamansi citrus!