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Sicilian Whole Orange Cake with Hung Yogurt Frosting

A simple-to-make moist and wonderfully citrussy sweet cake with just that right touch of orange peel bitters and a tart hung yogurt frosting. See a similar unfrosted version by from Christina's Cucina here.
5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients
  

For the Hung Yogurt (prepare 6-8 hours ahead):

  • 2 cups fresh, full-fat yogurt
  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar (or regular sugar powdered in a blender)
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence

For the cake

  • 1 large orange, with the rind but cut and the seeds removed
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups whole wheat or all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup butter, softened (about 100g)
  • 1/3 cup yogurt

Instructions
 

For the hung yogurt:

  • You'll want to prep your yogurt about 6-8 hours before you're ready to make your cake -- the night before, or the morning of the dinner party.
    Place the yogurt in a strainer lined with cheesecloth; set this over a bowl in your refrigerator to hang ideally overnight, or about 6-8 hours. Yogurt should be thick and approximately 1/3 its original volume when ready.  
    You could use Greek yogurt as a substitute, in which case you can skip this step. 

For the Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
    Grease and flour an 9″ pan lined with parchment paper. 
    Puree the pieces of the whole orange just for a couple of pulses, until you have a coarse mixture. Don't over-puree!
    Then beat eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy.
    Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add this to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter. Mix just until blended, and then stir in the yogurt--followed by the whole orange puree. 
    Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. The top of the cake should be a nice golden color. 
    Run a knife around the sides to loosen from the cake pan. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then invert onto a cake rack and peel off the parchment and allow to cool completely.

For the Frosting:

  • Beat the thickened hung yogurt together with the confectioner's sugar, tasting for your desired sweetness. 
    Frost the cake when it's completely cooled. Surprisingly, hung yogurt stays just-so for a few days after frosting, and doesn't seem to get too much tarter with time. 
    You'll want to consume your cake within 2-3 days, though, assuming it lasts that long...