Orange Yogurt Pound Cake

My mother has been making a sour cream pound cake recipe for years that has been passed down from my great aunt (and probably a generation or two before her). It’s famous at holiday gatherings with family members all vying for a slice of heaven. That is, if it even makes it out of the house before my parents, brother, and I have a few sample slices (as was the case this past holiday season). I finally ventured to get the recipe when I spent my first Christmas away from my family two years ago as a way to bake and eat through my feelings. Naturally, I made a couple of tweaks through the addition of orange zest, freshly grated nutmeg during my first iteration, and a pinch of salt which was missing from the original recipe. The sour cream in this pound cake recipe leads to a super moist treat that is perfect for after dinner, on Sunday morning with a cup of tea, or as an afternoon snack. Here I swap the sour cream for Greek yogurt as an experiment to make it slightly less unhealthy, and the difference in taste is unnoticeable. My favorite part of this recipe is the wonderfully crunchy layer that forms on top. The cake can last at room temperature for a few days, but it’s so good that it won’t take much time before you’re only left with crumbs. The amounts here are for a half batch perfect for a loaf pan*, but you can double it to make a larger bundt cake.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (plus extra for greasing the loaf pan)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• zest of 1 orange
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour (plus extra for dusting the loaf pan)
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

Procedure:

1. Preheat your oven to 325˚F.
2. Beat together butter, sugar, and orange zest in a stand mixer (or with an electric mixer) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.
3. Turn down the speed of the mixer to low. Add in the eggs 1 at a time until fully incorporated. Then add the vanilla extract.
4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.
5. Still on low speed, add in half of the dry ingredients to the egg-butter mixture, then the yogurt, followed by the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix until just about fully incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to make the last few strokes by hand and ensure there aren’t any hidden clumps of flour. (FYI—The batter will be fairly thick.)
6. Grease and flour an 8.5″ by 4.5″ loaf pan*. Pour in the cake batter and bake for approximately 90 minutes and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let cool completely (an hour or two) before serving.

*One note about the baking pan: opt for a lightly colored pan if you are in search of one to add to your bakeware collection. Due to the lengthy cooking time required for this cake, a dark metal (as I used) will cause the outsides of the cake to become much browner than they would if baked in an aluminum pan.