Honey Cardamom Caramel

I had some yogurt that needed to
be used and I'm so happy it was used to make this yummy lemon cake.  My
house smelled delicious while it was baking and I could hardly wait for it to
cool before slicing into it right before dinner (I told myself it was a light
appetizer).  It was perfectly lemony and light.  Instead of baking the cake
in one loaf pan, I used ramekins to make mini cakes and then the rest of the
batter I baked in a smaller loaf pan.  I watched as the cake sat on my kitchen counter
tempting my little family to slice a piece each time one of us
would walk through the kitchen.  It's lemony goodness was too hard to
resist and so we sliced (sometimes only a half a piece only to return soon
after for the other half) until nothing remained but crumbs.

Lemon Yogurt Cake







1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour



2 teaspoons baking powder



1/2 teaspoon kosher salt



1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt



1 1/3 cup sugar, divided



3 extra-large eggs



2 teaspoons grated lemon zest



1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract



1/2 cup vegetable oil



1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon
juice







Glaze:





1 cup confectioners' sugar,
sifted



2 tablespoons freshly squeezed
lemon juice







Preheat oven to 350 degrees
F.  Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan.  Line the bottom
with parchment paper.  Grease and flour the pan.







Sift together the flour, baking
powder, and salt into a medium sized bowl.  In another bowl, whisk
together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla.  Slowly
whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  With a rubber
spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all
incorporated.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50
minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out
clean.







While the cake is baking,
combine 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/3 cup sugar in a small saucepan and cook over
medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves and mixture is clear.  Set
aside.







When the cake is done, allow it
to cool in the pan for ten minutes.  Carefully remove cake from pan and
place on a cooling rack.  While the cake is still warm, pour the
lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in.  Cool.







For the glaze, combine the
confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir to combine. 
Pour glaze over cake once the cake has cooled.







*Instead of making the cake in
the size of loaf pan used in the recipe, I used a smaller loaf pan and then
used a few ramekins to make little mini cakes that turned out super cute and
fun.







Recipe from Ina
Garten