This moist, orange, yogurt cake is lovely simply sprinkled with some powdered sugar. Or, to dress it up, serve it with fresh orange segments or berries and a dollop of whipped cream! 

Makes one cake, serving 6–8

Special equipment: One 9” round cake pan or one 8½” x 4½” x 2½” loaf pan

1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
zest and juice of one orange, divided
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon orange blossom water (optional)
½ cup vegetable oil

Soaking Syrup
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line the bottom of the baking pan with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, zest, vanilla extract, orange blossom water and 1 tablespoon orange juice.

Gently and gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Be careful not to overmix.

Gradually stir in the vegetable oil, again being careful not to overmix the batter. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until lightly golden brown and slightly springy, approximately 40 minutes, rotating halfway through for a round cake or about 50 minutes for a loaf or until slightly springy, and a cake tester comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, mix together the remaining ¼ cup orange juice with the ¼ cup granulated sugar. Heat on the stove or in a microwave safe bowl, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. 

Let the cake cool about 10 minutes before brushing it with the warm syrup, using all of it. Allow it to soak in.

This cake is best stored at room temperature in an air-tight container.

This recipe appeared as an online exclusive in January 2020 as part of a larger story on Winter Citrus.