Lemon-Raisin Yogurt Cake with Crunchy Almond Topping

Slice Yiaourtopita

Lemon-Raisin Yogurt Cake with Crunchy Almond Topping (Γιαουρτόπιτα με Σταφίδα Γλυκό του Κουταλιού)

Serves 10
Dotted with sweet tender raisins, Lemon-Raisin Yogurt Cake is moist, flavorful, not too sweet, and finished with a crunchy, lemon-glazed roasted almond topping. The cake must be glazed while hot, so make the glaze while the cake is baking. One cup Raisin Spoon Sweets may be substituted for Syruped Raisins.

Syruped Raisins:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
4” piece lemon peel
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup raisins, preferably golden

Cake:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup plain yogurt, preferably whole-milk
3 eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon peel
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup coarsely chopped unblanched almonds

Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon peel or 1/4 tsp. lemon extract

Make Syruped Raisins: Boil sugar and water with lemon peel until it reaches 235° – 240°F on candy thermometer, or until syrup forms soft ball when dropped into bowl of cold water. Stir in lemon juice and raisins and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from burner and let cool until ready to use (may be made ahead).

Make Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 10-inch springform pan.

Using electric mixer and whisk attachment, beat butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yogurt, and beat until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions; don’t forget to scrape down sides of bowl. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract and beat well.

Change to mixer’s flat paddle attachment and mix in syruped raisins. If mixer doesn’t have paddle attachment, mix raisins in with wooden spoon. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using either paddle attachment or wooden spoon, stir dry ingredients into batter just until they’re incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Sprinkle chopped almonds evenly over batter, and press them down lightly until they’re half-submerged in batter.

Bake cake for 35 – 40 minutes until top is golden brown, cake is set in center, and toothpick inserted into cake’s center comes out clean. Place cake on wire rack to cool, and immediately brush top of cake with lemon glaze, using all of glaze. Cool cake for 10 minutes, and remove sides of springform pan. Let cake cool for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Make Lemon Glaze: While cake is baking, make lemon glaze. To make in microwave, mix water and sugar together and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir. The glaze is done when it begins to thicken slightly. If it’s not done after 2 minutes, return to microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds. When glaze thickens slightly, stir in lemon juice and lemon zest (or extract), and set aside until cake is out of oven. To make on top of stove, boil sugar and water until mixture thickens slightly, stir in lemon juice and lemon zest, and set aside until cake is done.

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