It was all because of the blood orange curd.

My parents gave us a jar of blood orange curd for Christmas (it was a very food-centric holiday all around). I’ve been trying to decide what to do with it – tarts, ice cream, biscuits? Finally I thought of my favorite yogurt cake, a simple dessert that lends itself well to fruit toppings of all sorts. Instead of my usual recipe, though, which is from the blog Chocolate and Zucchini, I thought I’d try Dorie Greenspan’s variation on the traditional cake. The main differences are that it has half as much yogurt, one extra egg, and vanilla instead of rum. She also suggests rubbing lemon zest into the sugar, but I decided not to since I was pairing the citrusy curd with the cake.

The result was marvelous. The cake was perhaps a bit less tangy, but the texture was fluffier and finer-grained: delicate enough to serve for a dinner party, but sturdy enough to eat out of hand over the kitchen sink. It went spectacularly with the tart-sweet curd. It will also go very well with fresh berries next summer, I feel sure. And whipped cream. Just a little.

Yogurt Cake with Blood Orange Curd

adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup plain yogurt
• 3 large eggs
• ¼ tsp vanilla
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 jar blood orange curd

Butter a 9-inch cake pan (I used a springform and lined the bottom with parchment). Preheat the oven to 350°.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, yogurt, eggs and vanilla and whisk smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and stir well, then use a spatula to fold in the oil. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake about 40 minutes, until golden on top.

Cool for 5-10 minutes, then invert the pan over a cooling rack, using a knife to loosen the sides if necessary. When the cake has reached room temperature, slice it in half lengthwise with a long serrated knife and spread the orange curd over the bottom layer. Put the top layer back on and serve.