Chef notes
What's more fun than a muffin? A slice of cake! And this breakfast-ready version has it all: sweet, refreshing orange flavor, peppy poppy seeds, crunchy almonds, and a heaping helping of protein-rich yogurt to keep it on the virtuous side. Glaze the cake and serve it up with a side of fruit salad for a weekend brunch, or toast the unglazed slices for a weekday treat.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (7 3/8 ounces; 210 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces; 340 grams) plain Greek yogurt (any fat percentage)
- 1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces; 106 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 1-2 oranges)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds (optional)
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces; 43 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 orange, zested
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon sliced almonds (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon poppy seeds
Preparation
Make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spritz 1 standard loaf pan or 1 9-inch square or round baking pan with nonstick baking spray.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.
Stir the yogurt, sugar, orange juice, and eggs together in a large bowl. Gently fold the flour, almonds, and poppy seeds into the bowl with a spatula, stirring just until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for about 45 minutes (for square or round pans) and up to 1 hour (for loaf pans) until the cake is deeply browned and starting to crack on top, and a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, remove the cake from the pan and cool completely.
Slice into 8 thick pieces and serve at room temperature, or toast the slices if preferred. (Leave the cake unglazed if toasting, since the glaze will burn if heated.)
Make the glaze:
Whisk the powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl just until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the orange zest and granulated sugar—the granulated sugar won’t dissolve completely but will remain crunchy.
Place a piece of waxed paper underneath the cooled cake on the rack.
Pour half the glaze over the cake, then sprinkle the almonds and poppy seeds over the cake.
Let rest for 5 minutes so the cake will partially absorb the glaze, then cover the cake with the remaining half of the glaze.
Let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours, until the glaze hardens.
Slice and serve.
