Easy Cakes for Baking Week

There's nothing like a delicious piece of cake with a cuppa for an afternoon pick me up.  I love cakes that I can share with friends and family that look impressive and taste delicious but are really easy to make.

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

I recently attended an event for Chobani Yoghurt which is a delicious and creamy fat free Greek style yoghurt.  I used some to make this cake for an afternoon tea with friends.

2 lemons

250ml oil 

2 free range eggs

350g caster sugar

250ml yoghurt, I used Chobani

250g self-raising flour

Preheat the your oven to 180 C and grease an 8-cup ring tin.  To check the capacity of your tin, fill it with cups of water before you begin baking. 

Finely grate the zest from the lemons and squeeze out the juice.  Put the lemon zest into a large bowl. Add the oil, eggs and sugar before beating with an electric beater or mixer until the mixture is thick and well combined.

2.Add the yoghurt and 3 Tblsp of lemon juice.  Beat the mixture briefly to ensure everything is completely combimed.

Fold in the flour, using a metal spoon, and pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown, the cake is shrinking away from the sides of the tin, and the centre springs back when pressed gently.

Put the cake, in its tin, onto a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before trying to turn it out.  Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Quick and Easy Afternoon Tea Cake

3/4 cup caster sugar

50g butter, softened
1 free range egg, beaten
1½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
180ml milk

Cinnamon and Sugar Topping

1 Tblsp butter, softened
2 Tblsp caster sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon

Mix the sugar and butter together in a bowl with a wooden spoon. There's not enough to cream with a mixer so exrecise those muscles and cream it as best you can.

Beat in the egg, ensuring everything is well combined.  Fold in the flour and baking powder, alternating with the milk, mix gently until a smooth batter forms.

Spoon the mixture into a well-greased and lined 20cm springform cake tin.

Bake at 180°C for 40 minutes or until the cake is golden, shrunk away from the side of the tin, and a skewer comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Whilst the cake is hot, spread the softened butter over the top and sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon mixture.

While the cake is still hot spread the top of the cake with the extra butter and sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon.