“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade….”

Things aren’t going pretty good. And I am trying to cope hard with that, I try to boost up my can-do attitude towards all the adversity and misfortune and take all bad things positively. And in this pursuit, I sometimes stand strong and sometimes give up. But that is how life is.

“Life handed him a lemon, As Life sometimes will do.
His friends looked on in pity, Assuming he was through.
They came upon him later, Reclining in the shade
In calm contentment, drinking A glass of lemonade.”

~ Clarence Edwin

I had some lemons in my fridge. Timing was perfect, right when I needed a big slice of homemade cake to cheer up my mood. I made this pretty and delicious lemon yogurt cake and crowned it with sour and slightly bitter candied lemon slices. It came out to be a really moist sweet and buttery lemon cake with a sour and acidic lemon slices and syrup, which cut through the sweetness of cake and balanced out the flavors so well.

I am ecstatic as I am going on a trip to mountains in north for next five days, all away from the current madness and I hope to soak up as much of calmness as I could. So see you until then!

Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients

For Cake

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup whole milk plain yogurt
1/2 cup melted butter
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
zest of 2 lemons

For Candied Lemon Slices

3/4 cup caster(superfine) sugar
1/3 cup water
2 lemons, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree C and grease a 12 cup bundt cake pan.
2. Use a whisk to mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 1/2 cups sugar, yogurt, oil, eggs, lemon juice, and zest until smooth.
4. Mix about one-third of the dry ingredients into the yogurt mixture, then stir the rest in, in two batches, just until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated. Do not overmix.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes in pan and then invert onto wire rack.
7. While the cake is cooling, to make the candied lemon slices, place the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar.
8. Add the lemon and bring to the boil. Cook for 12–15 minutes or until the syrup has thickened and the lemons are translucent.
9. Pour the syrup over the cake and top with the lemon.