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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!

Yogurt cake with 2 slices cut on a wire rack.


 

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!

Yogurt cake on a wire rack with 2 slices cut.

How to make Yogurt Cake

In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer on medium speed, lightly beat the eggs.

Eggs beaten in glass bowl.

Add the oil, sugar and yogurt and beat.

Yogurt and oil beaten into eggs.

Add flour and baking powder and beat until well combined.

Dry ingredients added to make a smooth batter.

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!

Batter in the prepared tube pan.

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.

Yogurt cake on wire rack.

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?

Yogurt cake with a slice on a plate.

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

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!

A slice of cake on a wire rack.
Yogurt cake on a wire rack with 2 slices cut.

Easy yogurt cake

Rosemary Molloy
Easy Yogurt Cake, a simple easy and delicious Snack or Dessert Cake Recipe made with your favourite flavor of Yogurt. 
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Breakfast, Desserts, Snack
Cuisine Italian
Servings 10 people
Calories 310 kcal

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
  • cups all purpose flour or cake flour
  • teaspoons baking powder

EXTRAS

  • 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar

BLUEBERRY SAUCE

  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 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

Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 32mg | Potassium: 208mg | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 105IU | Vitamin C: 1.8mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 1.2mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a comment below or pin it to your Pinterest account!

Updated from February 7, 2014.

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496 Comments

  1. I do know Italian dessert are not sweet, but I found this cake almost tasteless, I used vanilla Yogurt and served it with the blueberry sauce and whipped cream, this saved it. Maybe a different flavor would work better or adding a little flavored extract.
    I have enjoyed many of the recipes you post๐Ÿ˜‰

    1. Hi Connie, it’s actually supposed to be made with a flavoured yogurt but if you use plain then yes a flavouring should be added. Glad you enjoy the recipes. Take care.

  2. Hi Rosemary,
    I have made the scientific bundt cake twice now. Each time the chips sink and then the cake is difficult to remove from the pan. I followed the exact directions as written, so I’m not sure why it keeps sticking.
    The flavor is good but the cake is just a little dry.

    Thank you

    1. Hi Cindy, to keep the chips from sinking you should toss them with about 1 tablespoon of flour. Be sure to grease and flour the pan really well. Try baking it a little less that should help with the dryness. Let me know. Take care.

    1. Hi Becky it is referring to homemade cake flour. To make it for every cup of flour you need to remove 2 tablespoons of flour and replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Hope that helps.

    1. Hi Geena, yes you can but because greek yogurt is thicker, use 2/3 cup greek yogurt and 1/3 cup water. Hope that helps. Let me know how it goes. Take care.

  3. 5 stars
    Used plain yogurt. After the cake cooled a bit, I poked holes in the top using a bamboo skewer, and poured lemoncello atop to fill the holes. Served the cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Divine strawberry shortcake.

  4. I tried this recipe as I have a left over yogurt and I am so surprise of the outcome. I put some blue berries in it( as the kids requested๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š), it turns out moist and soft. The family loved it.Amazingly good.. thus recipe is for keep. And meant to share..
    Thank you for this recipe

  5. Hi Rosemary,

    I first made this cake with gluten free flour and it turned out well but then tried the recipe with regular flour and it deflated badly. I tried again and same issue happened. I wonder why….

  6. 5 stars
    I don’t use much sugar in the recipe at all (none if it’s a sweet yogurt), but we make this recipe sometimes to serve with fresh fruit and a soft, fresh cheese (like cottage cheese, ricotta, etc). It’s my absolute favorite way to use up leftover yogurt. I think it would be delicious with some nuts and maple syrup, so we’re having that for dessert tonight.

  7. 5 stars
    After reading some of the comments, I decided to use 1/2c sugar, add 1tsp vanilla and bake it in a Bundt tin. It turned out really well and Iโ€™ll definitely be making it again. Super easy to make and has an amazing flavour. I didnโ€™t make the sauce, just served it with plain yoghurt.

4.66 from 382 votes (281 ratings without comment)

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