We love plain yogurt just as it is, but sometimes our taste buds are looking for a little something special. Having an abundance of Karoun plain yogurt in my refrigerator prompted me to do some recipe experimentation. Recently I added yogurt to brownie mix, which worked extremely well, then my friend Bonnie made a delicious frosting using labne rather than cream cheese to top her cupcakes. I searched through my recipe file and rediscovered a recipe for spice cake that I hadn’t made in a very long time. 

Spicy Yogurt Cake

This is what I made:

Spicy Yogurt Cake
Yield: 2 (8-inch) round cakes
Ingredients:
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground cloves

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. salt
1 cup plain yogurt (not Greek-style)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Shake out excess flour.
2. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine the yogurt, softened butter, brown sugar, and vanilla at high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Using a low speed, add the flour mixture- a little at a time – into the yogurt mixture, beating until mixture is smooth. Fold in chopped nuts, if using.
5. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

To serve: dust with confectioner’s sugar, if desired.