Easy Yogurt Cake
Easy Yogurt Cake, a simple easy and delicious Snack or Dessert Cake Recipe made with your favourite flavor of Yogurt. You can use either Greek or Regular. Change your Yogurt Flavor, change your Cake!
I happened on this Easy Yogurt Cake Recipe almost 20 years ago, from a woman I encountered in the local supermarket, buying yogurt no less.
My Italian was far from perfect at the time (still isn’t perfect I might add), but a cake recipe I understood. In Italy, yogurt usually comes in single servings of 125 grams.
Recipe Ingredients
- Yogurt – either regular or greek yogurt will work – yogurt makes the cake moist
- Eggs – large room temperature
- Vegetable oil – I use sunflower or corn oil
- Sugar
- Flour – all purpose or cake flour
- Baking powder
- Powdered sugar – also known as icing or confectioners sugar – for dusting the finished cake
You can use plain yogurt although you may want to add a flavoring such as vanilla, orange, lemon or even almond to the batter.
So the recipe was as follows …
2 containers of yogurt (containers are 125 grams each), 1 container of oil, 2 containers of sugar and 3 containers of flour, 3 eggs and 1 package of baking powder, now how easy is that? And it makes the perfect snack, breakfast cake or even some Yummy Strawberry Cupcakes.
I make this cake quite often and I recently made the cake with low fat regular yogurt, zest of 1 lemon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. It was gone in a day!
How to make Yogurt Cake
In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer on medium speed, lightly beat the eggs.
Add the oil, sugar and yogurt and beat.
Add flour and baking powder and beat until well combined.
Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake until done, test with a toothpick, when it comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached it’s ready!
Let cool completely then dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Why bake with room temperature ingredients?
With cakes and other baking, it’s always better to use room temperature ingredients. So, take any cold ingredients out of the refrigerator an hour ahead of time or sooner if it’s cool in your kitchen. Room temperature ingredients blend easier, creating a silky batter, which will help to create a light tender baked good.
What makes a cake fall?
- There are a lot a reasons a cake may fall, but the most common ones are, your oven temperature is off, you can always check it with an oven thermometer to check this.
- You open the oven door too early. Never open the oven door before 25-30 minutes of baking.
- Once the batter is mixed it should be baked, letting a cake batter sit too long can cause it to fall. The baking powder or baking soda usually start acting immediately and will only last for a very short period of time, therefore if the cake batter is left to stand before baking then there is always a risk that the baking powder or soda will have expired by the time that the cake goes into the oven.
- Your baking powder or soda has expired and is no long active.
- Use room temperature ingredients.
- The pan size might not be the correct size, sometimes using a bundt pan will help.
How to serve the cake
I think it depends on when you are serving the cake, if you serve it for breakfast then a little dusting of powdered sugar is perfect. If you want to serve it as a dessert then why not serve it with a delicious Blueberry Sauce, a dollop of whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream or even dress it up as a Strawberry Shortcake?
What’s the best yogurt to use?
And it can also be made with any flavour of yogurt, I find that greek yogurt, 0 fat (yes 0 fat!) or regular yogurt both work well. If you use greek yogurt then it is a good idea to use 3/4 cup of yogurt and 1/4 cup of milk, that’s because greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt. Each makes this Easy Yogurt Cake super moist and delicious.
More Delicious Italian Cakes
- Mascarpone Cake with Raspberry Cream
- Tablespoon Italian Lemon Cake
- Classic Italian Tiramisu Layer Cake
- Chocolate Yogurt Cake
So choose your favourite fruit greek yogurt or regular fruit yogurt and turn on the oven. This cake is also a perfect Easy Summer Dessert Recipe. Enjoy!
Easy yogurt cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup any flavour yogurt** (I find flavoured regular natural yogurt to be the best / room temperature )
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1½ cups all purpose flour or cake flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
EXTRAS
- 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
BLUEBERRY SAUCE
- 1 cup blueberries
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F degrees (180 cm). Grease an 8 inch (20cm) cake pan or a 9½-10 inch (24 cm) bundt pan.
- In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer on medium speed, lightly beat the eggs approximately 30 seconds, add oil, sugar and yogurt, beat for 1 minute until smooth, add flour and baking powder and beat until well combined approximately another minute.
- Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until tested done (when a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out dry or with a few crumbs attached). Let cool 15-20 in the pan then move to a wire rack to cool completely. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
BLUEBERRY SAUCE
- In a medium pot mix together berries, sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice, bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer until desired thickness. Pour into a bowl, let cool completely and or refrigerate.
Notes
Tips
For room temperature ingredients be sure to remove the ingredients from the fridge about 45-60 minutes before using. I find flavoured regular yogurt to be the best, in the video I used Strawberry. It can also be made with any flavour of yogurt, I find that greek yogurt, 0 fat (yes 0 fat!) or regular yogurt both work well. If you use greek yogurt then it is a good idea to use 3/4 cup of yogurt and 1/4 cup of milk or water, that’s because greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt. I make this cake quite often and I recently made the cake with low fat regular yogurt, zest of 1 lemon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. It was gone in a day.How to make homemade cake / pastry flour
For every cup of all purpose flour, remove two tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons of corn starch. Be sure to sift the flour and cornstarch together a couple of times, this way it is sure to be properly combined and lump free.How to store the yogurt cake
The cake can be stored well covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also store it in the refrigerator, make sure it is covered well so no air gets to it, which can dry it out. Bring it to room temperature before serving. It will keep for up to 5-6 days in the fridge. Once the cake is completely cooled, double wrap it with either foil or plastic wrap and then place in a freezer safe bag. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let the cake thaw overnight on the counter before serving, or overnight in the fridge fully wrapped.Nutrition
Updated from February 7, 2014.
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I think this would be good with pumpkin spice mixed in. Do you agree? What quantity would you recommend?
Hi JT, yes I think that would work. I would say 1-2 teaspoons depending on how strong you want it. Let me know how it goes. Take care!
Thank you for the speedy reply.
Hi JT, you’re welcome. Take care!
Does this cake hold up well to decorating or is it too light? If so, how would you recommend making it a little denser?
Hi Eve, I think it is dense enough to decorate. I make a strawberry shortcake with it and it holds up well. Take care!
This is a perfect and delicious snack cake. I only had plain, fat-free Greek yogurt, so I added 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp rum. I sprinkled the top with powdered sugar, but I am eager to try it with the blueberry topping as well. Thank you.
Hi Joanne, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. Take care!
Can you help me with biscotti recipes
Hi Guillermo, I have quite a few biscotti/cantucci recipes if you search for biscotti or cantucci or both you will find quite a few. Hope that helps. Take care!
Absolutely delightful, light as a feather cake that can be modified with so many different flavors. I used plain yogurt with a little real maple syrup and vanilla bean paste. Fabulous!!! Super easy, affordable and doesn’t destroy the kitchen with a zillion ingredients or tools. I love it so much. Thank you!!!🩷
Hi robyn, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. Take care!
salt, you need salt always, other than that pretty good
Hi Sarah, this was one of my first posts over 10 years ago and at the time probably still now, Italians don’t usually add salt to the cake/cookie recipes. Although I do agree, salt does help. Take care!
This cake was a huge hit, so much so that we devoured it and had to bake another one. Perfect flavor, crumb, moisture. It will be on the top of my list of favorite cakes.
Hi Kate, thanks so much, so glad everyone enjoyed it. Take care and have a great week!
The recipe is great. This is a very light cake. I used non fat Fage 0% plain so I added almond extract for flavor. Thank you.
Hi Charo, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. Take care!
Can I use coconut or Olive oil instead of vegetable oil?
Hi Monica, yes you can. I hope you enjoy it!
I’ve just tried it with all coconut oil, including greasing the cake pan.
Tastes amazing.
I used strawberry Activia yogurt and added about a 1/2 tbsp of vanilla to give it some flavour.
Reduced the sugar by about 1/8th of a cup since the yogurt has sugar, and I wanted less sugar anyway.
Came out nicely – thanks for the recipe!
Hi, thanks so much glad you enjoyed it. Take care.
I followed the directions completely. I used a bundt pan. It barely rose, but knife came put clean. When I cut into it after cooling it was very wet, heavy, but done. Does that make sense?
Hi Diane, it should not be wet and heavy, I think your oven temperature might be off. Let me know. Take care!
my cake rose but unbaked inside. rubber. I used cake flour and baking powder. Full fat Greek yogurt, room temperature. avacado oil. nicely browned. I have been baking for 55 years. I have recently been disappointed in the Italian ricotta cake also. Tried several times. may give up baking. I have to try this one again unfortunately.
Hi Erose, I don’t think it’s you, I think your oven temperature is off. Because if a cake doesn’t bake inside that is usually the problem. It is probably under heating. 🙂
you have two different flour on your recipe. in the uk all purpose flour is plain and cake flour is self raising flour.
Hi Nicola, cake flour is not considered self rising flour not even in the UK, self rising is completely different. All purpose is known as plain and cake flour is cake flour used for cakes and pastry. It has a lower protein count and can be made at home with plain flour and cornstarch. Hope that helps. Take care!
Hi can I add more sugar instead of 3/4 I use 1 cup instead my kids prefer sweeter would that still suit?
Hi Marisa, yes that should work. 🙂
Thank you for your comment on the pan you bought in Italy. I noticed a lot of your cakes use that tube pan with the large hole in the center like you used for the ricotta chip and the yogurt cake. Is it possible for you to measure the diameter of the pan for me? I see a lot of these pans on Amazon and would like to buy one like you have so I can make your cakes. But I want to get one that is a similar diameter to yours because so many of your recipes use this pan and I want my cakes to come out the same size as yours. Would you mind doing that for me? I would really appreciate it.
Hi Teresa, sorry for the late reply, I was away for a few days but now I am home. So the pan measures 24cm or 9.4 inches. Hope that helps. Take care!
I love the pan you used with the large hole in the center. I’ve never seen one like this. Where do I find it?
Hi Teresa, I purchased that pan in Italy. 🙂
I got something similar on Amazon by Nordic Ware tube cake pan.
Perfect.
Made cake and cup cakes from the same mixture.
Thanx for sharing 😊
Hi Maud, thanks so much and you’re welcome. Great idea making cupcakes. Take care!
Can this be made without sugar or with maple syrup instead of sugar?
Hi Kaelyn, unfortunately, I don’t know how you would adjust for the maple syrup liquid because you can do it, but you need to remove 3 tablespoons of liquid from the recipe, but there is not liquid, it’s all fat content. Unless you use maple syrup sugar. For every cup of granulated you use 3/4 cup maple syrup. Hope that helps. Take care.
Can I add frozen berries to this cake and then freeze the cake.
Hi Judy, yes you can, don’t thaw the berries before adding them. Take care!