Iced Almond-Lemon Loaf Cake | Stonyfield + OXO

Yogurt has always been one of my favorite go-to snacks when I need something quick and easy. And with the new yogurt flavors that can be found in the grocery store today, they can even make a great dessert! But did you know that yogurt also makes a great ingredient to cook and bake with?

I had the chance to take a peek at a great new cookbook titled Yogurt Culture by Cheryl Sternman Rule and was inspired to go beyond the spoon with this versatile ingredient!

I often dollop plain Greek yogurt on savory dishes for a little extra tang the way you'd use sour cream. It's a great addition to lightened up dips and sauces, too!

But you know that baking rules my heart... and it just so happens that yogurt works perfectly in baked recipes and even no-cook mousses, puddings and frozen treats!

With the help of my friends at Stonyfield and OXO {who sent me a handy-dandy little whisk just in time since mine had seen better days}, I gathered up some simple ingredients and baked up this fragrant loaf cake -- just one of the many delightful recipes you'll find in Yogurt Culture. Yogurt makes an appearance twice here; there's some in the batter and even a bit in the icing! The aroma of sweet almond extract permeates the buttery cake and the lemon zest brightens up the flavor giving it a citrusy zing.

This cake would be perfect for serving at a brunch {maybe for Mother's Day?!} or cutting into pieces and using in a trifle. It's also amazing with a little bit of extra vanilla yogurt spooned on top... because why not add just a little more yogurt?!

If you're ready to get to know yogurt on a different level, I highly recommend checking out Yogurt Culture and discovering the many sides of this household favorite!

Disclosure: As aI received a copy of Yogurt Culture for review along with a whisk from OXO and product coupons from Stonyfield. As always, the opinions read here are all my own!

Iced Almond-Lemon Loaf Cake
Makes one 9-inch loaf
Recipe barely adapted from Cheryl Sternman Rule's Yogurt Culture

For the cake
10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus soft butter for greasing the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup almond meal {or enough ground almonds to make 1/2 cup}
Zest of 2 large lemons
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat vanilla yogurt (not Greek)

For the icing
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon plain whole-milk or low-fat Vanilla yogurt (not Greek)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F, with a rack in the center position. Generously butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

Mix the batter. Into a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk in the almond meal and lemon zest. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed. Beat in the almond extract. Slowly beat in half the dry ingredients, then the yogurt, then the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1 to 2 minutes to develop some structure.

Bake the cake. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until risen and lightly browned and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Slide a knife around the perimeter and invert the cake onto the rack. Cool completely, then flip right side up.

Ice the cake. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. Whisk in the yogurt and then the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the icing is smooth, thick, and drips slowly from the whisk. Wave the whisk over the cake to drizzle lines of icing, or scrape the icing over the cake and smooth with an offset spatula.

Store. Once the icing firms, cover the cake with plastic wrap. It can be kept at room temperature for up to 48 hours, or covered with a layer of foil and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
 

Almond Joy Cheesecake Truffles

Something happens to me when I walk into Target. {Or HomeGoods for that matter... but that's a story for another day.}

I go from a logical, budget-conscious adult to a teenage shopoholic in about .3 seconds.

"Oooh... is that a lace peplum top?"
"OMG! I'm in love with this Threshold tray!!"
"Um, I NEED those shoes/melamine plates/paper straws/organizational items/notecards...etc."

And the Dollar Spot? Let's not even go there. {P.S. I've become obsessed with the mini-rolls of trendy printed wrapping paper that they've had lately. You have probably seen a few in the background of previous posts.}

It's a problem.

Most of the time, I manage to walk out, wallet unscathed. But that's taken years, YEARS of practice.

The weird thing is, the very same thing happens to me in the grocery section. I don't know what it is. It's just food. But the food that I bypass at my normal grocery store suddenly takes on a whole new attraction when it's packaged in an Archer Farms box. Maybe it's the cute little rooster. Who knows.

Anyway, I was at Target a few weeks ago and it was by the grace of all things good & holy that I got out without dipping into my retirement fund. I did buy a cute little lace tank dress {the first article of clothing I've bought myself in months, I've been so good}, but at $24.99 I figured it was a steal for a date night with the hubby or the next party where I need to look semi-presentable.

What does this have to do with food, you might be asking? Well... I broke the cardinal rule of any grocery shopping -- Target or not -- and went to the store hungry. Big no-no. And I found myself magnetically pulled into the aisle I never, ever enter: The Candy Aisle.

You can imagine what nearly transpired there. Complete low blood sugar shopping meltdown. But with promises of hummus & veggies slinging me back into reality from the basket of my quickly filling cart {and a package of the new Cookies & Creme Dove Promises as my chosen "treat"}, I turned on my heels and made a beeline for checkout before any more damage could be done.

When I got home, I put everything away with a sense of accomplishment, glad that I had not let the TarGETITRIGHTNOW demon overtake me.

And then I made Almond Joy Cheesecake Truffles.

Sigh.

I never said I was a saint.

Almond Joy Cheesecake Truffles

1 {8 oz.} package cream cheese {I used 1/3 less fat... not that it really matters.}
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, divided
20 almonds {I used Emerald brand Cocoa Roast Almonds}
Approx 5-6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, melted {I use Baker's because it melts & coats well}*

1. Prepare a small sheet pan by lining with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, add cream cheese, coconut, vanilla, and 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar. Pulse until a thick paste forms.
3. Transfer mixture to a small bowl and mix in remaining 1/4 cup of confectioners' sugar by hand. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until slightly hardened.
4. When ready to continue, using a small cookie scoop, scoop about about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into your hand and roll into a ball. Place on prepared sheet pan. Repeat with rest of mixture. {Should make about 20 truffles.}
5. Insert an almond into the center of each coconut ball.*
6. Dip coconut balls into melted chocolate. I like to use the fork & spoon method, or sometimes just plop them right into the chocolate, flip them around to get coated and scoop them out with a spoon. Do what makes you happy. :)
7. Carefully place dipped coconut balls back onto sheet. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until the chocolate is set.

Enjoy!

*You can definitely coat these using melted chocolate chips, too. But I find that it's hard to get a smooth coating, and I think it has something to do with the fact that there is something added to chips to help them retain their chippy shape. Or maybe I'm imagining it. Either way, I like good quality chocolate or baking chocolate for dipping things. The end.

Florentine Cookies

I'm going to be honest: I had grand plans of posting tons and tons of amazing cookie recipes throughout the month of December leading up to Christmas.

But if my eyes aren't deceiving me, the calendar says that it's the 27th... a mere 4 days away from the New Year. And while I've been able to share a few recipes here and there, it didn't quite work out as I had anticipated.

Does that ever happen to you? You look forward to something so much, and then when it's over you realize it didn't go at all like you had planned.

Sometimes things happen that kind of dash your plans to bits: Changes in a work schedule. Life events that take priority over being in the kitchen and blogging. Surgery. Recovery.

And so, plans change.

We are forced learn to be flexible, even those of us who are quite rigid most of the time. We learn that our "plans" are more of a rough draft than a strict itinerary. We take it day by day and do what we can, when time allows. And we learn to be content with that.

Or at least, that's been the case with me personally as this year comes to a close and we look to the possibilities and experiences that lie ahead in the New Year.

With that said, I'd like to share a great cookie recipe with you, even though Christmas has come and gone for this year. {Because heaven knows you don't need it to be Christmas to make cookies.} This was a cookie that I brought to an Italian Potluck party at a friend's house earlier in the month. Everyone that tried these cookies raved about them... one person told me it was the best cookie she ever had, which is quite a compliment in my book!

 

As it turns out, these are the perfect cookie to share for today's post, because they sort of represent what I was trying to explain earlier. They start out a bit hard and rigid... kind of rough and difficult to work with. You watch them in the oven and think, "These aren't going to turn out." But sure enough, they eventually soften and relax. They let the heat wash over them and mold them into their new form.

They stop trying to hold together and just let you see right through.

 

And when they do, they turn out to be one of the prettiest things you've ever seen.

So, as we wrap up 2012, I'll be working on finding the balance between planning and experiencing, scheduling and anticipating. It's a challenge I feel grateful to take on because it means that I'm learning, growing, and getting a chance to continue to work on it all.

Perhaps my mantra this year will be, "Be the Florentine!".  :)

How are you "preparing" for 2013?


Florentine Cookies
 Adapted from Food Network

1 3/4 cups sliced, blanched almonds (about 5 ounces)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Zest of 1 orange, finely grated {alternatively you can use about 1/4 tsp orange extract, but the taste won't be quite as strong}

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Optional Topping:

 

1/4 to 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

*For a runnier drizzling consistency, add about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon canola oil

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.

 

2. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the almonds until finely ground but watch to make sure they do not start turning into almond butter. Combine ground almonds, flour, orange zest, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

 

3. In a small saucepan, melt sugar, cream, corn syrup, and butter over medium heat. Bring to a rolling boil, then cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat, add vanilla, then stir and pour into almond mixture and mix until just combined. Set aside to cool, about 15-20 minutes.

 

4. Using a teaspoon measure {will yield 3 inch cookies} sprayed with a little non-stick cooking spray for easy removal, scoop a teaspoon of mixture and roll into a ball. Place 3 to 4 inches from each other on baking sheet {they will spread a lot}.

 

*Note: If, after a while, your mixture has hardened and it hard to scoop, heat in the microwave on high for 30 second intervals until it reaches a softened state once again.

 

5. Bake cookies for 10 to 11 minutes until they are thin and lacy with an even golden color. Be careful not to over bake.

 

6. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool slightly on baking sheet before gently removing them with a spatula and transferring to a baking rack.

 

Optional:

 

Lightly drizzle cookies with melted chocolate and in refrigerator for 15 minutes or until set.