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I can’t believe I completely forgot about these little guys! Aren’t they cute? They’re mini-lemon yogurt cakes that I made for
Phe*mom*enon’s [1] Little Wonders - Blogging for Babies. [2] I made them about three weeks ago when I first read about this event and in the whirly blur that is my life these days, I forgot to write my post. Don’t judge me. I’ve got a lot on my mind! So, since the deadline for this event is in less than two hours, you lucky readers are going to get the
Reader’s Digest [3]condensed version of what I was going to write, instead of the long-winded, droning on and on version. Consider yourselves lucky.
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The purpose of this event is to raise funds and awareness for the
March of Dimes [4],
March for Babies. [5] Most of you are already familiar with the March of Dimes, but for those who aren’t, they are the leading non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to pregnancy and baby health. Their mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality, through research, community services, education and advocacy.
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I am so incredibly lucky to have a healthy and thriving child, but she wasn’t always that way. I’ve shared with you before the story of my
struggle with infertility [6]and my
difficult pregnancy [7]. What I didn’t share was the fact that my daughter spent her first two weeks of life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at our local hospital. Less than 24 hours after she was born, she developed a beta strep infection which developed into pneumonia. At almost eight and a half pounds, she looked like a giant among all of the preemies, but that didn’t diminish the heartache we felt at seeing her hooked up to ventilators, IVs and a host of other scary things.
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During the time that Mini-SGCC was in the NICU, we got to know the families of some of the other babies there, mostly preemies. My heart bled for them. Here I was, with a full term, hefty baby, albeit a sick one, and they were dealing with babies that were four, three and even two pounds! After the first few days, I could hold my baby in my arms. Most of them could not. The courage and determination of those parents was an inspiration! The March of Dimes was and is an invaluable resource for them.
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For my entry in this event, I decided to make
Ina Garten’s [8]Lemon Yogurt Cake. I’d considered making it for the A Taste of Yellow
[9]event, so I already had all of the ingredients, including some beautiful Meyer lemons. I had a cakelet plaque of mini flower molds and I thought that it would be really cute to use it for this event. I took half of the cake batter and added candied ginger to it. The rest of the batter got treated to some fresh blueberries. Since the cakelets were so small, I only baked them for about a third of the recommended time. I decided to dust a little powdered sugar on them instead of using the glaze in the recipe. This was because I was afraid that the glaze would obscure the details of the little flowers. It didn’t matter. They were moist and delicious anyway.
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If you want to know more about Little Wonders March for Babies Team? Fantastic!! Here is the Team Page [10]. Any amount that you can sponsor is extremely appreciated. Please, please help spread the word and sponsor Little Wonders if you can! Thank you!
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Direct Link: http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?w=81000739&u=hhanks [10]
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Lemon Yogurt Cakelets
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home
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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 extra large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup candied ginger bits (optional)
1 cup fresh blueberries (optional)
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a cake plaque or mini muffin pan.
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Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Equally divide the batter into 2 bowls. Mix the ginger bits into one, and the blueberries into the other. Pour the batters into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
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Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
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When the cakelets are done, allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cakelets are still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over them and allow it to soak in. Cool.
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Enjoy!