Orange Yogurt Loaf

The first time I made this loaf was for Ayla to take to daycare to celebrate her birthday. I figured the daycare staff and the other parents might not appreciate me giving the kids a sugary treat, so I decided I’d go with something healthy and low in sugar. I still wanted it to be treat-like though, since it was a special occasion. It’s not every day my daughter turns two!

So I made this orange loaf (I called it a cake so the kids would be more likely to try it). It’s based on a Lemon Yogurt Loaf recipe from Yummy, Healthy, Easy. I used oranges instead of lemons so that I could reduce the amount of sugar needed to take away the tartness.

Here is the key to making this loaf so moist and delicious: you poke holes in the loaf when it’s still warm out of the oven, and you drizzle fresh orange juice over top. Then you add a light glaze to it after it cools, to seal in all that flavour (by the way, I get really tired of the auto-correct trying to change the way I spell flavour. I’m Canadian, get over it auto-correct!).

I happened to have orange flavoured (there it goes again, trying to correct me) Stevia, so I used that to cut down on the sugar even more. If you don’t have orange flavoured Stevia, regular Stevia would work fine. Or if you don’t have Stevia at all, just add another 1/4 cup or so of sugar, or honey, maple syrup, or sweetener of your choice.

I had quite a lot of critics for this loaf, having taken it to Ayla’s daycare. When I picked her up that day, the staff was raving about the cake and thanked me for bringing it. The kids loved it, and the grown-ups thought it was perfect with their tea and coffee. My family also went wild for this loaf. Just warning you – it’s probably a good idea to make a double batch, because it gets eaten up really fast! One loaf barely lasted a day in our house. Tony and I loved it just as much as the kids did.

I posted a photo of this loaf after making it a second time, and people were asking for the recipe, STAT! So here you have it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup All-Purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup low-fat Greek Yogurt
• 1 tsp liquid Stevia (preferably orange flavoured)
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 3 eggs
• Zest from one navel orange
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• Juice from 1 navel orange, divided.
• 1/2 cup icing sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease 1 loaf pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
3. In another bowl, combine yogurt, stevia, eggs, orange zest, vanilla, and canola oil.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and stir until combined.
5. Pour batter into greased loaf pan, and bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
6. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then poke holes all over the top of the loaf with a toothpick.
7. Drizzle juice from half of a navel orange over top of the loaf and let it soak in for several minutes. Then remove the loaf from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
8. To make your glaze, in a small bowl, add icing sugar and slowly stir in the juice from the other half of the navel orange, until you have a smooth, pourable consistency.
9. Brush the glaze over the loaf and let it dry. Repeat several times.

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