Lemon, Yogurt and Pistachio Bundt Cake

I work a lot less in the summer, and some folks don’t work in the summer. That made it hard for me to figure out when to bake the monthly birthday cakes! Plus, no one had a birthday in August, so I am out of practice. In the library there are two September birthdays, so I needed to get my act together and make a cake. I decided to make this Bundt cake with lemon and pistachios, because Bundt cakes are always winners.

I’ve made quite a few Bundt/pound cakes, but this is the first one that I have made with oil rather than butter. That gave the cake a nice, light texture. I thought about adding some chopped pistachios to the batter, but I just kept them for the top of the cake. The cake baked beautifully, came out of the pan cleanly, and just looked great. This didn’t have a lot of glaze which keeps it light, but I could have used some more glaze! The salted pistachios on the top gave a nice crunch and this cake was enjoyed by everyone at work!

Lemon, Yogurt and Pistachio Bundt Cake

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

5 eggs

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup pistachios, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust with flour.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and powder; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the oil, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for one minute after each addition.  Stir in the lemon zest and juice, vanilla and yogurt.

With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture 1/3 increments. Stir just until combined, the batter may still be slightly lumpy. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 60 minutes, until a thin knife inserted deep in the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the cake is cool, make the glaze: in a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. Add additional lemon juice (or milk) if the glaze is too thick. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from Wandering Spice