Conquering the Cake

Cake has been the bane of my existence in the kitchen since arriving in Turkey. Ankara is at a higher altitude and without proper cups or measuring tools, it's been a crap shoot. Getting cupcakes to work was my first step and once I got that I figured I could do a cake (a zucchini loaf to be exact... which went terribly array and the only thing I can think of to explain it is that the zucchinis were really young and watery...). Anyway, tonight, I conquered the cake!! I decided to try again as I sometimes attend the Marine House Happy Hour that the US Marines put on at their house/bar on the US Embassy. They are a bunch of great guys who are loads of fun and the last time I was there they sent me home with an AMAZING salsa dip in a container.
Now, I don't know how your mothers raised you, but mine said to never show up at someone's house empty handed and NEVER return a container, that came to you full, empty. So even though I won't be attending this week's happy hour, I wanted to get their container back to them and thought I could make some cupcakes (see this entry for recipe and substitute apples and cinnamon for extra dark chocolate chips or chunks) or a cake. I decided to do both and, in the words of Monica on Friends: I WON! I WON! I WON!!!

Here's the recipe I used (I found it online when searching yogurt pumpkin bread):

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup pumpkin puree (I finely grated fresh pumpkin and it was AWESOME)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I didn't have any so I grated up a few cloves to bring that spicy aroma in)

First cream the butter and sugar together, add in the eggs, vanilla and yogurt. Then fold in the dry ingredients until well mixed and at last put in the pumpkin and fold it in. Bake at 350 until the knife comes out clean. The result? Have a look at that:








It is moist, not too pumpkiny and just right. I love this recipe and I LOVE this cake... hope the guys like the cake and cupcakes... if not... meh? *shrugs* whatcha gonna do? ;)

Happy Eating friends!