Anyone who knows me knows that the only thing I like about winter is the food. I love warm, comfort food. My idea of the perfect Sunday in winter is putting up a huge pot of slowly simmering stock and letting the aroma waft through the house for the entire day. Or filling my slow cooker with beef short ribs and a hearty red wine. It’s truly the only thing that makes the cold weather bearable. And sometimes, it actually makes the cold weather fun for me. (yes, I am the one who stays back at the ski lodge drinking hot chocolate while everyone else is falling off their skis, getting cold, wet, snow in their boots, with red, runny noses.....but I digress)
However, after several months of cooking these comforting, soul-satisfying dishes, I start to get a little yearning for the lighter foods of warmer temperatures. Something a little cheery, reminding me of warm sunshine. And when I think of warm sunshine, I think lemon. So I decided to make a limoncello cake. Limoncello is a liqueur from southern Italy, made with Sorrento lemons, sugar and alcohol. It’s very refreshing when served chilled, and can be quite potent. The alcohol burns off in the cake, but if you prefer to have the cake without alcohol, simply substitute more lemon juice for the lemoncello.

So if winter is getting you down - hang in there. A little bit of lemony sunshine is sure to brighten your day!

8 servings

cooking spray
1 cup plain yogurt (I use non fat)
2 eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1/2 of a juicy lemon)
2 tablespoons lemon zest (use a microplane)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup limoncello liqueur
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch salt (optional)
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon limoncello liqueur
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare an 8-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
Whisk together the yogurt, eggs, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and 4 tablespoons limoncello in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet. DO NOT OVER MIX or the cake will be tough. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
Stir the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoons of limoncello, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of water together in a small bowl until smooth. Poke small holes all over the top of the still-warm cake with a fork or toothpick. Spoon the glaze over the cake and spread with the back of a spoon. The glaze will seep into the cake and add moisture.


Amount Per Serving  Calories: 394 | Total Fat: 11.4g | Cholesterol: 55mg