Yogurt Cake Recipe – Cooking Classy

Easy Yogurt Cake! It’s an irresistible cake made a bit healthier with Greek yogurt and olive oil, and it has a moist crumb with a texture similar to muffins or pound cake. It’s delicious topped with whipped cream or sweetened yogurt and fresh berries, or keep it simple and dust with a light powdered sugar finish or drizzle with honey.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Homemade Cake

This humbly simple French style yogurt cake is perfectly fit for entertaining or a birthday celebration, yet it’s mildly sweet also making it ideal for a weekend breakfast.

It’s a tender cake thanks to its high yogurt content and the taste has a nice faint tang and depth of flavor.

And you wouldn’t believe how effortless it is to make. It’s a cake that doesn’t require a mixer at all, it’s a simple batter mixed by hand.

The other great thing about it is that you don’t need to wait for it to cool completely before slicing and serving. It can be served a bit warm which is great during cooler months, or when you simply don’t have the time to wait hours for a decadent homemade cake.

Yogurt Cake Recipe Ingredients

• All-purpose flour: I like to use unbleached all-purpose flour.
• Baking powder and baking soda: The combination of both leavening agents helps the cake rise a bit higher.
• Salt: Table salt or kosher salt can be used.
• Granulated sugar: This is a mildly sweet cake for a sweeter cake you can use 1 1/4 cups sugar.
• Eggs: Eggs help bind all the ingredients and help the cake rise, they are a key ingredient. Bringing them to room temp first helps cake rise a bit better.
• Whole plain Greek yogurt: Whole milk yogurt (instead of lowfat) will yield a richer cake. For a slightly fluffier cake use something like Chobani brand, for a denser cake use something like Fage.
• Olive oil: I recommend using olive oil or light olive oil, not extra virgin olive oil as it would impart quite a bit of flavor as it’s strongest of the three.
• Vanilla extract: This adds a delicious background flavor to the mild cake.

Possible Substitutes and Variations

• Oil: Vegetable oil or canola oil can be used in place of olive oil.
• Yogurt: Sweetened vanilla Greek yogurt would be a good alternative to plain yogurt, or light sour cream may work as well.
• Vanilla: Vanilla bean paste is another delicious option in place of vanilla extract (use an equal amount).
• Blueberries: For a blueberry yogurt cake simple fold in 1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries to the batter before baking.
• Lemon: If you want a lemon yogurt cake replace 2 Tbsp of the yogurt with 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, also add 2 Tbsp lemon zest. Increase sugar to 1 1/4 cups.

How to Make Yogurt Cake from Scratch

1. Heat oven, prepare pan: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick spray, line bottom with a round of parchment paper and spray parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Whisk dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Mix sweetener and wet ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, yogurt and vanilla extract until well blended.
4. Combined mixtures: Pour flour mixture into yogurt mixture then stir mixture until combined.
5. Pour batter into pan: Pour batter into prepared springform pan and spread into an even layer.
6. Bake until set: Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, about 33 to 36 minutes.
7. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving. Top as desired (see below).

Topping Ideas

I recommend serving yogurt cake with:

• Sweetened whipped cream
• Sweetened Greek yogurt (thick Fage works well sweetened with powdered sugar to taste)
• Fruit curd
• Honey
• Fresh fruit such as berries, mangoes, peaches, bananas
• Vanilla ice cream and caramel or chocolate sauce
• Pie filling (apple or berry)

Can I Use a Regular 9-inch Cake Pan?

• Instead of baking in a springform pan you can also use a 9-inch cake pan as long as it’s at least 2 1/2-inches tall or more (otherwise batter may overflow).
• You could also use a 9-inch square pan.

What About Converting into Cupcakes?

• This recipe should also work well baked in a cupcake pan.
• Reduce yogurt to 1 cup.
• Grease pan with cooking spray and fill cups 2/3 full.
• Bake 350 degrees, about 20 minutes.

How to Store Yogurt Cake

• Yogurt cake should be stored in an airtight container once cool.
• It will keep at room temperature for about 2 days, refrigerated for about 6 days.
• Cake can also be frozen for up to 3 months.

More Easy Cake Recipes to Try