French Yoghurt Cakes with a Marmalade Glaze

I have developed a slight obsession with marmalade.

I blame my recent trip to Krabi, Thailand where we stayed in a wonderful little family run hotel called @Krabi Pura, and every morning we were cooked a lovely complimentary breakfast of eggs and toast with marmalade - since then I've been going through jars of it at home.

So when I stumbled across the Tuesday With Dorie Bakers doing this French Yoghurt Cake with a Marmalade Glaze, I had to try it for myself. I knew this would make my Mum happy too, she is a sucker for marmalade.

I'm just copying the recipe from the link above but with my variations:

French Yoghurt Cake w Marmalade Glaze

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (Original recipe calls for 1/2 cup almond meal but no almond meal for me!)
  


• 2 teaspoons baking powder


• Pinch of salt


• 1 cup sugar


• Grated zest of 1 lemon


• 1/2 cup plain yogurt - I used low fat (2%) yoghurt
  


• 3 large eggs


• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• 1/2 cup flavorless oil, such canola or safflower

I only had olive oil but it didn't upset the flavour at all and I took out about 3 tablespoons of oil from this, in a lame attempt to make the cake slightly healthier. Even with the low fat yoghurt and less oil the cake was ridiculously moist and lovely so I think I might try to take even more oil out next time! And instead of making one big cake, I separated the cake mixture into cupcake papers, because it makes it easier for me to share it with people and it takes half the time to bake!

For the Glaze :

1/2 cup lemon marmalade, strained (I used orange marmalade and didn't bother straining it - I love the peel!)

1 teaspoon water

Preparation:

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Generously butter an 81/2-x-41/2-inch loaf pan and place the pan on a baking sheet. (I lined a cupcake tray with paper casings instead)
   


2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
   


3. Put the sugar and zest in a medium bowl and, with your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla and whisking vigorously until the mixture is very well blended. Still whisking, add the dry ingredients, then switch to a large rubber spatula and fold in the oil. You'll have a thick, smooth batter with a slight sheen. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
   


4. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, (Only 20-25 minutes for cupcakes!) or until the cake begins to come away from the sides of the pan; it should be golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the center will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then run a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Unmold, and cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.

To Make the Glaze:
Put the marmalade in a small saucepan or in a microwave-safe bowl, stir in the teaspoon of the water and heat until the jelly is hot and liquefied. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the cake with the glaze.

So I don't think my arm muscles were quite up to the task of hand whisking, I think next time I will use an electric beater to get a lighter cake. I didn't mind it but my brother complained that it was on the denser side. The orange marmalade was a good match for the cake and my mum loved them.