There is a reason why citrus is in season in February. We need it, it’s grey in February, and the snow mounds look as if they’ve turned to granite. Citrus smells like sun light, when the aroma fills the house your spirits are lifted you feel lighter. The taste of citrus cuts through all the delicious soups and stews you’ve been enjoying through the winter with a promise of fresh produce very soon. A squeeze of anything citrus will encourage you to put your boots on one more time because winter will be over eventually. Dried citrus peel in the fireplace is one of the best ways to fill the room with delish.
Another way to fill the house with warmth and light is to bake. I sometimes turn to Aunt Millie’s recipe box for something old fashioned, something with legacy, go figure, something from her. The problem is that many of these scribbled recipes aren’t all that legible any more. Her Italian pound cake recipe is a mess but as luck would have it Dorie Greenspan posted a recipe for Valentine’s Day called Mediterranean Yogurt Cake. It was an adaptation of a French cake that she updated with citrus, clementine to be exact. Aunt Millie’s pound cake had ricotta but yogurt could easily take its place and the thought of citrus had me at the first click. Here’s my version of Aunt Millie’s Pound cake via Dorie’s Mediterranean Yogurt Cake. Let’s call it Mediterranean Pound Cake.
| Preheat oven to 350 | 8 ½ X 4 ½ loaf pan sprayed with baking spray |
| 1 cup sugar | 1 container (5.3oz) greek yogurt |
| Zest of one orange | 3 large eggs |
| 1 ½ cups flour. My flour canister has AP flour and white whole wheat. | 2 tsp good real vanilla extract |
| 2 tsp baking powder | ½ tsp Fiori di Sicilia the Italian secret weapon for baking. Or orange oil/extract. Either of these are optional |
| Pinch of salt | ½ cup mild olive oil |
The thing I love about Dorie’s adaptation is infusing the sugar with the orange zest. In a bowl large enough to mix your cake, you don’t need a mixer for this, mix the sugar and zest together with your fingers rubbing the zest into the sugar and distributing it throughout. This first step sets the stage with anticipation, the aroma is glorious and you haven’t done a thing yet.
Whisk the yogurt into the sugar mixture. You can use the whisk for the entire recipe.
Now the eggs, one at a time. You’ll have to whisk more vigorously for the eggs.
Then the vanilla and Fiori di Sicilia or orange oil if you’re using those.
Your dry ingredients are next. I measure out the flour, baking powder and salt onto a paper plate and do a quick whisk to incorporate them together. Then you can just add them into the batter and whisk easily just until they are incorporated.
Last slowly add the olive oil in, slowly. I did it in two additions. Slowly, did I mention slowly, until it is smoothed into the batter.
Pour your batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for about 50 minutes. Test with a cake tester, I don’t own a cake tester so I use a knife, when it comes out clean you’re there. Rest the loaf pan on the stove for 5 minutes then turn your cake out onto a rack to cool.
For the last 45 minutes your home has been filled, I mean your whole home, with the smell of citrus/vanilla and baked amazing. I made this pound cake on Wednesday and it held up beautifully until today when we finished it at breakfast with Gramma. She approved. Nough said. I hope you try it, I hope you love it.
