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4.5 from 182 votes

Lemon Yogurt Cake

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By: Joanna Cismaru •11/28/21 110 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This Lemon Yogurt Cake is slightly tangy, flavorful, moist and totally delicious. Simple to make and lots of lemon flavor. If you love lemons and lemony desserts, then you’ll love this incredible cake.

Lemon Yogurt Cake slices on a white platter
Table of Contents Open
  • The Best Lemon Yogurt Cake Recipe
  • How to Make Lemon Yogurt Cake
  • What Size Pan Can I Use
  • How to Store Lemon Yogurt Cake
  • Looking for More Lemon Recipes? Try These:
  • Lemon Yogurt Cake
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Video
    • Notes
    • Nutrition Information
  • Did You Make This?

The Best Lemon Yogurt Cake Recipe

I’m a sucker when it comes to lemony desserts. I can honestly say that they are right there at the top with my favorite desserts. Especially in the winter. 

This is a cake that I’ve been making a lot over the years. There’s just something so comforting about a good slice of lemon cake early in the morning with my cup of coffee. I love waking up to that!

There’s a reason this is one of my favorite cakes. It’s light, it’s lemony, and it’s versatile. You can serve it with fruits, whipped cream, a lemon glaze, chocolate syrup, whatever you can think of. I decided to serve mine with berries and give it a light sprinkle of powdered sugar. What a delicious little cake.

Lemon Yogurt Cake process shots

How to Make Lemon Yogurt Cake

This lemon cake is super easy to make. Simply combine all the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then whisk the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and mix well using a mixer.

Butter a loaf pan well or spray it with cooking spray. Bake for close to an hour at 350 F degrees or until you insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and it comes out clean.

While the cake is baking you can make the lemon glaze. Simply add the lemon juice and sugar to a saucepan and cook until the sugar dissolves. I would say this lemon glaze is a must because it truly does make the loaf moist and adds that much extra lemony flavor.

Lemon Yogurt Cake slices

What Size Pan Can I Use

I have made this cake using many different pans. I have used a 9 inch loaf pan as seen in the pictures, but I have also used a bundt pan. This cake will come out looking really nice if using a fancy bundt cake pan.

a slice of lemon yogurt cake broken in half on a white plate with berries

How to Store Lemon Yogurt Cake

What I usually do is cut the whole cake into slices and then I wrap each slice individually in plastic wrap then store them in the refrigerator. This way whenever I feel like having a slice, I just take a piece from the fridge, unwrap it and eat it. This is also the perfect way to have a treat when you’re on the go.

I’ve also frozen these and this way they will last a lot longer in the freezer, for up to 2 months. I wrap them the same way, in plastic wrap in individual slices, then place the slices in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer until ready to eat. You can thaw them out in the fridge overnight, or pop them in the microwave oven for about a minute.

two slices of lemon yogurt cake

Looking for More Lemon Recipes? Try These:

  • Lemon Orange Cake with Lemon Honey Glaze
  • Old Fashioned Lemon Bread
  • Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
  • Limoncello Cake
  • Lemon Chiffon Cake
  • Lemon Magic Cake

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

side view shot of lemon yogurt cake sliced
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4.54 from 182 votes

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 55 minutes
Total 1 hour 10 minutes
Rate Recipe
This Lemon Yogurt Cake is slightly tangy, flavorful, moist and totally delicious. Simple to make and lots of lemon flavor. If you love lemons and lemony desserts, then you’ll love this incredible cake.
12

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup yogurt (plain, I used greek yogurt)
  • 1 cups sugar (granulated)
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 teaspoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup vegetable oil

Lemon Glaze

  • ⅓ cup sugar (granulated)
  • ⅓ cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed )

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan with butter or cooking spray.
  • Make cake batter: In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, the sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated using a mixer.
  • Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
  • Make lemon glaze: Cook the ⅓ cup lemon juice and ⅓ cup sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
  • When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer the loaf to a rack that’s placed over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon glaze over the cake and allow it to soak in.
  • Let the cake cool before serving. Sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top or serve with berries. (optional)

Video

Notes

  1. Let the cake cool completely. Store leftovers in a tin or wrapped up in foil or plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
  2. You can use sour cream in place of the plain yogurt.
  3. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
  4. Originally shared Nov 2013.
  5. Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 252kcal (13%)Carbohydrates: 36g (12%)Protein: 3g (6%)Fat: 10g (15%)Saturated Fat: 8g (50%)Cholesterol: 43mg (14%)Sodium: 123mg (5%)Potassium: 154mg (4%)Sugar: 23g (26%)Vitamin A: 80IU (2%)Vitamin C: 3.1mg (4%)Calcium: 69mg (7%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

side view shot of lemon yogurt cake sliced

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Home Recipes
Joanna Cismaru

Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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110 Comments
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Tina Van
Tina Van
Posted: 2 months ago

I made this for a neighbor because she is just a lovely lady. She shared with family & friends and now she wants the recipe. It’s so tasty. I used lemon yogert instead of vanilla. Thanks!

0
Reply
Sumi Costello
Sumi Costello
Posted: 6 months ago

Can I substitute the vegetable oil with unsalted butter?

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Sumi Costello
Posted: 6 months ago

Sure.

0
Reply
Jess H
Jess H
Posted: 9 months ago

Would it work to make this cake with the glaze from the lemon blueberry yogurt loaf recipe instead of the simpler one from this recipe?

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Jess H
Posted: 9 months ago

For sure!

0
Reply
Roxana
Roxana
Posted: 10 months ago

5 stars
This lemon loaf is the best! Everyone who tries the one I make (using this recipe, using half the sugar) LOVES it and asks for the recipe. Thank you!!

1
Reply
Roxana
Roxana
Posted: 10 months ago

5 stars
I just made this recipe and the loaf looks and smells incredible. Can’t wait to taste it. Question for next time: when I put the syrup on top of the cake, it runs over the cake and does not seem to be soaking in very much. Is there something I should be doing different? Thank you

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Roxana
Posted: 10 months ago

If you want the syrup to penetrate the cake, simply poke some holes with a toothpick or a skewer then pour the syrup over the cake.

1
Reply
Kate Mallinder
Kate Mallinder
Posted: 1 year ago

5 stars
Delicious cake and such an easy recipe to follow! Made several times and everyone who I make it for loves it 🙂 !!

1
Reply
Linda Carothers
Linda Carothers
Posted: 1 year ago

Thank you for this recipe, it is delicious .
The lemon syrup really makes this cake!
I am getting ready to make again and freeze for our family trip to the beach!

1
Reply
Squoot
Squoot
Posted: 2 years ago

This recipe makes a yummy loaf! How do convert this recipe to make cupcakes?

Thanks!!

0
Reply
Jo Cooks Team
Jo Cooks Team
Reply to  Squoot
Posted: 2 years ago

You can just put the batter in a muffin tin! The baking time may be about 20 minutes less so just keep an eye on them!

1
Reply
Bob Smith
Bob Smith
Reply to  Jo Cooks Team
Posted: 2 years ago

I made them into cupcakes. DELICIOUS and soooo easy!

0
Reply
Mandz
Mandz
Posted: 2 years ago

Excellent cake. I had some lemon curd yoghurt in the fridge, so used that for extra zing. Moist and tasty result.

1
Reply
Lexi
Lexi
Posted: 2 years ago

Hi Jo, I didn’t have an electric mixer so i used a wooden spoon to fold in the flour then mixed it till it was just about lump-free. The cake rose up nicely in the oven and after taking it out, I drizzled the syrup over. However, the cake deflated almost immediately and when cut open, it’s quite gummy in the centre. Do you know why this would be?

0
Reply
Jo Cooks Team
Jo Cooks Team
Reply to  Lexi
Posted: 2 years ago

It sounds like it might have been a little overmixed or not baked all the way through! Baking is so finicky, every oven is different!

0
Reply
Tom Arn
Tom Arn
Posted: 2 years ago

Great taste! Although mine cooked at 175C for 50 minutes and came out a little on the brown side (with few crispy bits). I’m not too sure why, but otherwise great!

0
Reply
Jo Cooks Team
Jo Cooks Team
Reply to  Tom Arn
Posted: 2 years ago

Every oven is different! You can adjust the time to see what works best. So glad it was a success 🙂

0
Reply
Cyan
Cyan
Posted: 2 years ago

This recipe came out beautifully so fluffy light and moist. I used the same Ingredients except i used half Greek yogurt half natural yogurt.

0
Reply
E.Gardner
E.Gardner
Posted: 2 years ago

Can I add fruit to this cake? Such as blueberries? It looks really nice and I look forward to baking it.

0
Reply
Jo Cooks Team
Jo Cooks Team
Reply to  E.Gardner
Posted: 2 years ago

For sure! Toss them with a bit of flour before folding into the batter.

1
Reply
E Gardner
E Gardner
Reply to  Jo Cooks Team
Posted: 2 years ago

Thanks! 🙂

0
Reply
Channel Rochelle Hudson
Channel Rochelle Hudson
Posted: 2 years ago

5 stars
This will be so much fun to make

0
Reply
Shanese
Shanese
Posted: 2 years ago

5 stars
This is my third time making this!
This time I didn’t have Plain Greek Yogurt so subbed in Blueberry GY and it tastes sooo good! I also cut down the sugar to 3/4 cup

2
Reply

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