Perfect Orange Loaf Cake w/ Pink Icing

I love baking and I do it 3 times per week.   I guess you could say we eat a lot of cake in this house.

Since I am not a fan of winter, January & February are miserable for me.
Boring dark evenings, and bad photo light.

I soothe myself with baking and eating cakes (I did a dry January, but did not lose any weight, wonder why)......

I need sun (as we all do) and sunny foods.   Mind you, I love soups and stews, but fresh produce is my jam, and I am stuck here in the Northeast with potatoes and citrus, so I just make the best of it and BAKE.

Here is a sunny winter cake, it's a combination of a few yogurt cakes I have on my blog, and it's a winner.

If you have 2 oranges and some yogurt (any kind, I won't be strict), then you're in business.

The icing is made pretty, courtesy of blood oranges......when I make salads using them, I make sure I squeeze any leftover juices from the ends of the oranges into a container and freeze it, so I can make pretty cakes like this.

For this cake, I used the zest of 2 mandarins, but use any oranges you like.

You mix the sugar and zest together, making a fragrant wet sand.  It's very satisfying.

Of course you can make this cake without the pink icing.....you can just make a regular icing, or leave it naked.

Try this cake, it will brighten your mood.

Orange Loaf Cake w/ Pink Icing:

~ 3 eggs

~ 1/2 vegetable oil

~ 1 cup whole milk yogurt

~ 1 tsp vanilla

Whisk the first 4 ingredients in a large measuring cup with a fork and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix:

~ 1 cup sugar 

~ zest of 2 oranges (mandarins or clementines work well too)

Use a spatula and mix until you get a fragrant bowl of wet sand.

To the bowl of orange sugar, pour in the egg/oil/yogurt mixture.  Mix well.

Next ingredients to add in:

~ 1 cup flour

~ 1/2 cup almond flour (if you don't have almond flour, just use 1.5 cups of AP flour)

~ pinch salt

~ 2 tsp baking powder

Mix everything to make a nice batter.

Pour into a prepared 9" standard size loaf pan that has been lined with parchment paper.

Bake the cake for about 45 minutes at 350F, until the top is cracked.

Pink Icing:

~ 1.5 cups of confectioners sugar

~ 1 tsp heavy cream

~ 1 tbsp of blood orange juice (you may need more)

Whisk the icing sugar with the wet ingredients and keep on mixing until the desired consistency.   If you need more sugar (too thin), then add it in.   

If it is too dry, add in more blood orange juice.   You can also use regular orange juice, it just won't be pink!  (duh).

Let the cake cool, then transfer to a cooling rack on a baking sheet (to catch the drips from the glaze).

Pour the icing over the entire cake.   While the icing is still wet, you add chopped pistachios or chocolate chips.........

Let the icing harden fully before devouring.

This cake is delicious!!!