Lemon-Yogurt Tea Cakes (Or Muffins)

 

When I was growing up, my mom had a brown binder that held recipes that she had collected out of magazines over the years. These lemon-yogurt tea cakes were one of the recipes crammed into the book. They were one of the very first recipes I made by myself, and I loved the flavor of them, even back then when I was just a tween. I have never really been a fan of lemon flavored things, but this is the exception. You can tell that they are lemon, but they aren't burst of lemon in your mouth. They have a subtle lemon flavor and are sweet and moist from the yogurt. They would be fabulous with a raspberry glaze if you like that sort of raspberry lemonade thing. Just try these tea cakes once, and you'll see why I love them so much! Besides, how fun is it to say tea cakes?

 

You can also make these into muffins. I have no idea what size my moms mini loaf pan is, I just know that it makes six, and I have to add about 5-10 minutes to the cooking time. The recipe below indicates what size loaf pan you need, or how long to cook the muffins. I also use my kitchen-aid to mix the ingredients. It calls for a pastry blender. Enjoy!

 

Lemon-Yogurt Tea Cakes (or Muffins)

 

2 medium sized Lemons
2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
1 cup Sugar
3/4 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
1 8oz Container Plain Yogurt

3 egg whites

1 tsp Lemon extract

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray ten 4 x 2 1/4 loaf pans or muffin pan cups with nonstick spray. From the lemons, grate peel and squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice.

 

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder,baing soda and salt. With pastry blender (or mixer) cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in yogurt, eggs, lemon extract, lemon peel, and lemon juice until flour is just moistened.Spoon batter into loaf pans or muffin tins.

 

Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly. Immediately remove from pan if desired, serve warm. You can also cool them on a wire rack.

 

To store, wrap in plastic wrap and leave at room temp. When you unwrap them, they will be moist and delicious!