Tuesday, January 22, 2008

EVO and Yogurt Loaf Cake


I generally love quick breads -- easy to mix and bake, sweet without being a serious indulgence like chocolate chip cookies or cake -- therefore this quick bread recipe that I found on Dorie Greenspan's website was a no-brainer for me. A quick bread featuring yogurt and lime and an interesting twist of extra-virgin olive oil.

The flavor is fine. It's nice and moist and the lime comes through, but that's about the best I can say for it. The olive oil flavor comes through a bit as well, which I don't like much but it's not horrible. What I seriously dislike about the bread is the mouth-feel. It feels... slimy in my mouth... and I don't like it. I will be very interested in what others have to say about this bread.

*****OOPS*****

I made a tactical error with this bread. Quick breads almost always taste better when they have cooled off. In fact, most of them taste best after resting for a day. I initially tasted this bread when it was still a bit warm from the oven -- I was impatient (what... me...? impatient...?) and just wanted to get the picture taken, the taste taken care of, and the blog posted. It was a mistake.

I took another nibble of the bread after it had cooled to room temp and it was much, much better the second time around. The olive oil flavor had faded to just a hint in the background, the lime had come forward a bit more, and the nasty mouth-feel had practically disappeared -- leaving a moist, lime-flavored cake with an interesting twist. Which was exactly what I was looking for. I still want honest opinions of this bread of course, but my impression of it has definitely changed for the better.

EVO and Yogurt Loaf Cake

- makes 8 servings -

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup EVO (extra-virgin olive oil)

Procedure

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter an 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch loaf pan, place the pan on a lined baking sheet and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and keep near by.

1. Put the sugar and zest in a medium bowl and rub the ingredients together until the sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the yogurt, eggs and vanilla. When the mixture is well blended, gently whisk in the dry ingredients. Switch to a spatula and fold in the oil. The batter will be thick and shiny. Scrape it into the pan and smooth the top.

2. Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and starts to come away from the sides of the pan; a knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up.

4 comments:

burkie said...

it was fine. the lime came right through, and i didn't detect the olive taste associated with EVOO. i glad the olive taste wasn't there, but then, why use EVOO rather than regular olive oil, or vegetable oil, or better? unless you like that oily mouth-feel, which i thought was still there. *shrug* fine is about the best i can do. i like your banana bundt cake better! so much, in fact, i made it last night and blogged it and posted a pic since you didn't post a pic when you did posted the recipe for me :)
-jb

burkie said...

aarrgghh! why can't i edit my comment?!?! okay, i meant "butter," not "better." also, i think i was typing something else in the last sentence, then backspaced to change it, but didn't backspace enough to take out the word "did." sorry 'bout that!

Anonymous said...

i liked the flavor, but as far as the texture goes, i probably would have liked it more if it were a bit softer.

mira said...

OHHHHHHHHHHH EVO stands for extra virgin olive oil?

Interesting. I was wondering what it was yesterday. Continued to wonder what it was today. And NOW I get the answer. Sorry, I can be quite slow at times.

In any case, I really liked the cake, but then again, given my pickiness (of not liking too much chocolate or coconut or nutty things or ::sigh::), I gotta enjoy the few recipes that don't include any of the above. :D but I liked the lime taste and the texture of the cake.