Orange and peach yoghurt cake

Here's sharing with you an easy to prepare, moist and delicious orange flavoured yoghurt cake which I made using my Bosch Maxomixx hand blender set. This simple cake is made with basic baking ingredients that are readily available and it takes no time to whip up.

I topped the cake with peach slices which makes the cake a delightful and refreshing treat that pairs well with a hot cup of tea especially on a cold, gloomy afternoon.

Its sunny disposition brightens up my morning and it is pleasing to the eyes as it is to the palate...

the golden crumbs tastes tangy and sweet while the scent of the orange makes one feels joyful...what a great way to kick start the day.

The batter is prepared using the creaming method, that is, beating butter with sugar to incorporate air into the batter. The batter will turn pale, increase in volume and become light and fluffy. I usually leave the butter to soften in room temperature (which is around 28-30 degC) for 15 to 20mins. During this time, I will gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients. The butter should be firm and easily leaves an imprint when you press a finger into it. It is important not to leave the butter out for too long especially if the weather is hot, if the butter appears greasy or becomes too soft, it will not be able to hold too much air or give as much volume when creamed with sugar. As a result, the cake may not rise that well during baking.

The next step is whisking in the eggs. Patience is key. Add the eggs in several portions and whisk well each time it is added. Adding eggs too much at a time will cause the batter to curdle. Using room temperature eggs will also help to prevent curdling. If the batter starts to curdle, add some flour to the mixture to stop it from curdling. Do not try to continue to whisk a curdled batter as it will make worst.

Due to the 'runny' consistency of beaten eggs, I tend to pour too much eggs into the batter. However, with a hand held whisk, I can prevent curdling as I could easily manoeuvre the whisk over the batter so as to incorporate the eggs a little at a time. The balloon whisk attachment of the Bosch hand blender works like a charm. If the butter is still too cold or too firm, I could use the turbo button or pulse function to beat the mixture as it provides more power. The balloon whisk is also much easier to clean as compared to the paddles of my handheld electric mixer.

The final steps involved whisking in some orange juice and zest, followed by flour and yoghurt. I added the flour alternate with the yoghurt to prevent curdling and also for easier mixing.

The finished batter could fill up slightly more than half the height of my 7 inch round pan.

The cake rose beautifully and the crust baked to a nice golden hue.

The texture of this zesty cake is tender and moist, smells good and is full of orange flavour. Everyone in my family loves it. It is going to be another great add-on to my baking repertoire, something which I will turn to whenever I feel like baking on a whim :)



Orange and Peach Yoghurt Cake

Ingredients:
(makes one 7" cake)

150g unsalted butter, cut into cubes (leave to soften at room temperature for about 15~20mins)
120g caster sugar
2 medium sized eggs, lightly beaten (about 100g without shell)
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
200g cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
120g plain yoghurt
some canned peach slices

Method:

• Grease the sides of a 7" round pan with some butter, dust with flour. Line the base with parchment paper, set aside.
• Cut canned peaches into 8 slices. Rinse, drain and pat dry with paper towel, set aside.
• Sift cake flour and baking powder together, set aside.
• Place butter in a mixing bowl. Using the Bosch MaxoMixx hand blender with the whisk attachment, whisk the butter using speed 8 for about 1 minute. Add in the caster sugar, whisk until the batter becomes pale, creamy and fluffy (takes about 2 mins). Stop in between to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Add in the beaten eggs in a few separate additions, whisk well each time the eggs is added.
• Add in the orange juice and orange zest, whisk to combine.
• Sift in half of the cake flour/baking powder mixture. With a spatula, stir until the flour mixture is incorporated into the batter.
• Add in the yoghurt, stir with spatula until just incorporated.
• Sift in the rest of the flour mixture, stir until flour mixture is just incorporated into the batter. Do not over mix. Scrape down the sides and the base of the mixing bowl to make sure there is no residual flour mixture.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan. Spread and smoothen the top with the spatula. Arrange peach slices on top. 
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180deg for 50-55 mins till the top turns golden brown or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
• Remove cake from oven, let cool slightly for about 10mins. Run a knife along the sides of the pan (use oven mitten as the pan will still be hot). Invert the pan onto a plate or baking tray. Remove the pan and the parchment paper on the base of the cake. Place cake right side up on a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving, optional. The cake can be stored in room temperature for a day, any leftovers can be stored in the fridge, let the cake returns to room temperature before serving.