For My Momma

I made this cake for my mom for Valentine's Day. She is a huge orange and chocolate fan. Borderline obsessive, if you ask me. I took Ina's recipe for Lemon Yogurt Cake and substituted navel oranges and tangerines for the lemons. You can also use her recipe for Orange Pound Cake, but I wanted to use yogurt, so I chose to adapt her oh, so famous version.

Rather than topping this yogurt cake with a typical white sugar glaze, I chose to top it with a semi-sweet chocolate glaze. I adapted Martha's white chocolate glaze for this. It tasted just like one of these. The flavors meld together over time and taste best the next day and the day after that, if there's any left.

Orange & Tangerine Yogurt Cake adapted from Ina Garten

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated orange and tangerine zest (1 orange and 1 tangerine)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange tangerine juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, orange and tangerine zest, and vanilla.

Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup orange and tangerine juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the orange-tangerine sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool completely then top with glaze (recipe below).

NOTE: DON'T be tempted to skip the parchment paper step. I know you think you can grease and flour the pan really well and it'll come out, right? WRONG! Since you don't allow the cake to cool completely before turning it out, you NEED the parchment paper lining. It helps the cake release from the hot pan without breaking. I've skipped this step before and paid for it with a broken cake :-(

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Glaze adapted from from Martha Stewart

• 3/4 cup confectioners sugar, sifted plus more if needed
• 2 tbsp milk, plus more if needed
• 2-1/2 ounces best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk. The mixture should have the consistency of thin sour cream. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until glaze is smooth. If it is too thin, add more sugar, 1 tbsp at a time; if too thick, add more milk, 1 tsp at a time. Use immediately.

NOTE: Makes enough glaze to cover a 9x5x3-inch loaf. White or milk chocolate can be substituted. Start with a minimum amount of milk. I added too much and had to add more sugar, so it wasn't as chocolaty as I had intended. Though it was still good. This would be awesome on homemade doughnuts!