Zesty Yogurt Cake

Maybe it's out of boredom, or maybe it's this never ending winter, or more likely it's the sugar rush, but we've had cookies and/or cake every night since we've been in Quebec. We walked (yet another two hours) into town for groceries today and came back equipped with vegetables, fruits, butter and eggs. I believe that every home cook secretly enjoys some of the more repetitive tasks that are unavoidable in food preparation; the endless chopping of vegetables, for example, or the muscle straining whipping of butter and sugar. There is one repetitive task I've always found therapeutic: the zesting of citrus fruits. Also because I find zested citrus hilarious, like catching one's favorite professor in nightshirt and nightcap.

Though the refrigerator is now stocked with fresh produce, I felt an obligation to clear out some of the food the owner of the house left. Maybe it's the Chinese upbringing in me, but I almost never throw out food, even when the food is bordering on inedible. I've been meaning to use up the goat's milk yogurt left by the owner ever since she left town for sunnier parts three weeks ago, and judging from most of the food she left behind (we found canned food that expired two years ago! that means whatever is in the can is at least a decade old!), that yogurt probably has been sitting in the fridge for longer than I can imagine. But it smelled alright and yogurt keeps for a long time, right? Especially in the fridge. And there's no expiration date, which does NOT mean the date rubbed off, but rather, that it never goes bad.

What I really wanted was cookies, but we deliberately did not get more white sugar in hopes of curbing this baking frenzy we've been on. But alas, the brown sugar was giving me attitude and I just had to show it who's boss. The cake is moist and delicious and despite using only the zest, the grapefruit flavor really came through. I stupidly decided to bake the cake in a small, deep round dish rather than a regular loaf pan, but the cake managed to save itself from my stupidity. It took longer to bake and I obsessively checked it every minute after 15 minutes, but the longer baking time created a thin crispy crust, leaving the cake as moist and light as ever.

ZESTY YOGURT CAKE
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen, the recipe below is half the original)

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• zest of one grapefruit (or lemon or lime, though the grapefruit was perfect for it)
  
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Zest the grapefruit into a bowl and whisk together with brown sugar, yogurt, vanilla and eggs.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Measure out the oil. Whisk the flour mixture and oil into the sugar/yogurt mixture a little a time, mixing thoroughly and until batter is smooth.

Grease a loaf pan or small casserole dish and pour batter in. Bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on the shallowness of the pan. Cake is done when a knife or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.