Yogurt Cake

Published January 22, 2024

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

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.

Slice of yogurt cake shown close up with yogurt and berries on top.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.Whole yogurt cake sliced with cream and berries on top.

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.

Ingredients needed for yogurt cake.

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).

Steps of making yogurt cake batter.

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)

Yogurt cake baking in oven in springform pan.

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.

Completed baked yogurt cake sliced with powdered sugar garnished over.

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.

Five slices of yogurt cake shown on blue dessert plates.

More Easy Cake Recipes to Try

 

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

Slice of yogurt cake shown close up with yogurt and berries on top.
5 from 8 votes

Yogurt Cake

An irresistible cake made a bit healthier with Greek yogurt and olive oil, and it has a super moist crumb with 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.
Servings: 10
Prep20 minutes
Cook35 minutes
Ready in: 55 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 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.
  • In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  • In a separate mixing bowl whisk together sugar, yogurt, olive oil, eggs and vanilla extract until well blended.
  • Pour flour mixture into yogurt mixture then stir mixture until combined.
  • Pour batter into prepared springform pan and spread into an even layer. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, about 33 to 36 minutes.
  • Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Notes

  • *You can use 1 1/4 cups sugar for a sweeter cake, this is lightly sweet as is.
  • **Don't use extra virgin olive oil unless you want a more pronounced flavor. Regular or light olive oil are recommended. Another option is to use vegetable oil or canola oil.
  • If desired cake can be served with sweetened whipped cream or sweetened yogurt (using powdered sugar), and fresh berries.
Nutrition Facts
Yogurt Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 347 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Trans Fat 0.01g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 11g
Cholesterol 57mg19%
Sodium 178mg8%
Potassium 173mg5%
Carbohydrates 41g14%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 21g23%
Protein 7g14%
Vitamin A 83IU2%
Calcium 81mg8%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

Categorized:

Leave a Comment

Rate this recipe




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

30 Comments

  • Jaeda

    Hi, I am going to try to make this for a smash cake but want to use a way smaller pan. Maybe two 4 cup pyrex bowls and layer them? Or do you have another pan suggestion? Thanks!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I have done this before but not with this cake specifically. It should work as long as you don’t overfill the bowls.

  • Fay

    Just baked this today. Excellent! I used extra virgin olive oil because that’s what I had at home and it was fine, not overpowering at all, sweet enough as well with 1 cup of sugar, had it without any topping with my coffee – yummy!!!

  • Karen

    Love this cake! I added 1 teaspoon of lemon extract in addition to vanilla. It baked perfectly at 36 minutes.

  • Dave

    I made the cake as-is, and it turned out great. I did need to leave it in the oven a bit longer, but I just turned the oven off and let it finish. I sort of forgot about it, and the top and edges came out a little darker and “crustier” than I think it was supposed to, but I actually liked the little bit of crunch it added. A great spring/summer dessert!

  • Evelyn Lee

    Easy and delicious cake that I made gluten-free and reduced the sugar to 3/4 cups. I used a mixture of honey and granulated stevia sugar blend. I did use whole milk Greek yogurt, so the cake was very moist with good texture. I also sprinkled some toasted sesame seeds and oats on top of the cake for added texture.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Thanks for the tips, I’m glad you could adjust as needed Evelyn!

  • Cindy

    Hi Jackyn, I love your recipes. Would you mind telling me where you purchased the blue desserts plates in this recipe? They are so pretty.
    Cindy G.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Hi Cindy, I got those plates from Crate and Barrel. I’m so glad you love my recipes! :)

  • Shelby

    Hello! For anyone who reads comments like me, I wanted to leave a note here saying what I subbed in this recipe.
    First of all, i made 12 muffins. The cooking time was about the same.
    I used Cashewmilk yogurt instead of regular yogurt, coconut sugar, and also subbed in avocado oil instead of olive oil. Let me tell you — these muffins taste like waffles or something! They are so good as is! I think we will make up some whip cream to top them, but man. I was impressed at how tasty they turned out. They definitely came out moist. 5 stars!

  • bianca gibraltar

    Just took out of the oven and unfortunately it did not work for me at all, I was so excited for this not too sweet yogurt cake, but it never baked fully. I baked at 350, it was not rising or getting golden after 45mins, I knew it went bad. So I have to throw it out, it is raw.
    Dont know what went wrong.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you! What type of yogurt did you use? And did you use the scoop and level method or metric measurement for the flour?

      • bianca gibraltar

        I used 0% fat Costco Greek yogurt and I used a scoop. The dough seemed very thick. I tasted it even though it was not properly baked. I would like to try to make it again because it tasted very nice, not oversweet.

        • Jaclyn

          Jaclyn Bell

          I would recommend trying it with whole milk Greek yogurt not fat free, I tested both Chobani and Fage and each turned out well. And perhaps your oven cooks a little low and it just needs to bake a bit longer or you can increase oven temp 20 degrees.