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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Delicious and simple! I used my nonstick Bundt pan and baked for exactly 35 min. and it came out perfectly baked. I used jarred full fat European style vanilla yogurt that I purchased in the markdown area and needed to use before it expired! Since the yogurt was a very lightly flavored vanilla I did add 1 tsp of vanilla extract. This recipe is so versatile in texture and flavor and a keeper! I know what you mean when trying to convert old recipes, I have my grandmothers community recipe book and many of the recipes call for things like a 1, 3, or 5 cent package of an ingredient so it can be challenging! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Janet, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. And yes a different yogurt a different cake. Take care.
beautiful great recipe with any type of fruit sauce blueberry strawberry jams…its great and soft and airy
Thanks so much Vittoria and yes great idea with the fruit sauce. Take care.
I made this recipe today , but I used S.R. Flour , I used a flavoured yogurt and added dessicated coconut , and made into cupcakes, and a very small cake .
The mixture made 12 cupcakes and 1 small cake,
Couldn’t wait till they cooled, so tasted it whilst still warm . Gorgeous !😋
I wanted to show you a photo but unable to do it online x
Hi Joan, great idea and so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Take care.
hi I’ve just popped one in the oven! I had no all purpose flour so used self raising but omitted the baking powder, fingers crossed its edible!
Hi Mrs JA I hope it worked out let me know.
Not sure when I read recipe if unflavored, home made yogurt is acceptable to use. If favored yogurt is necessary can jam or fresh fruit be added? If it is store bought flavored yogurt, does fruit at the bottom work? Thanks
Hi Liz, sure you can use unflavoured yogurt if you want, any yogurt will work in this cake. Adding jam or fresh fruit would be a good idea also. I have never place fruit at the bottom so I can’t really say. You might want to add some vanilla (or different) flavouring if you use unflavoured yogurt. Let me know how it goes. Happy New Year.
I’m not sure what I did wrong but my cake came out very dense and rubbery? I used gluten free self raising flour, could this be why?
Hi Deb, I have never baked with gluten free flour, but yes gluten free flour is much different, sometimes you have to beat longer, add an extra egg or even add some xanthan gum, although I cannot advise you on the amounts.
Can I make this cake in a bundt pan?
Hi Prakruti, yes you can, I think a 9 1/2-10 inch bundt pan would work. Let me know how it goes. Happy New Year.
I baked in 10 inches cake mold and it’s not as thick but the edge was hard. It’s still delicious! Thank you!
How long would you say that it needs in the oven if bake in Wilton® Baker’s Best 12-Cup Muffin Pan?
Hi Michelle, thanks for cupcakes I would go 15-20 minutes. Happy New Year.
My cake sank before i took it out of the oven, I also went quite dark on top.
Hi Susan, a reason that the cake sank could be your oven temperature is off or your baking powder was no longer active.
I appreciate your accurate ingredient measurements and your inputs. These recipes are very similar to Revani, a Turkish cake and, also the Yogurt Cake. very common in Turkey!
Best,
Dilmeran akgoze. Ithaca,NY
Hi Jenny!
Just wondering if there is anyway I could use coconut , almond or millet flour as a substitute?
Hi Ali, I don’t think that would work, since there is no gluten in these flours. Sorry.
Hi! I’ve made this recipe about 4x now but your pics make it look really fluffy and sponge like whereas everytime, mine has looked like it’s rising but as soon as its out of the oven, it starts sinking. It still tastes fine but shouldn’t it stay risen?? I follow the recipe to a T! It’s frustrating! Others seem to be able to make it work?
Hi Jenny, sorry that keeps happening it could be your baking powder is old and is no longer active, or your oven temperature is off, you may be beating the mixture too much, make sure you are baking your cake in the middle of a pre-heated oven. Let me know.
Can I use a springform cake pan like 9 or 10 inches pan or regular cake pan? Instead of oil how about using butter and how much to use? Thank you
Hi Aileen, you can use a bigger pan, but the cake will be flatter. And yes you can substitute with butter use 2/3 cup of butter, melt it and let it cool. Let me know how it goes.
Unsure if its been asked before, but would subbing the AP flour for Cake flour be okay?
Hi Kay, yes you can substitute with AP flour. I hope you enjoy it.
First attempt at yogurt cake. Made the recipie into cup cakes and added a qtr teaspoon of jam to middle of each cake. They were gorgeous thanks for sharing
Thanks Chris, glad you enjoyed it. Have a great week.