Lemon Yogurt Cake
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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Lemon Yogurt Cake
Video
Ingredients
Cake
- 1½ 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)
Notes
- 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.
- You can use sour cream in place of the plain yogurt.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
- Originally shared Nov 2013.
- Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This was a delicious moist cake . I definitely will make it again.
I’m so thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the lemon yogurt cake! Its moist texture is definitely one of its best features. I’m glad you’ll be making it again. Thank you for taking the time to leave such a positive comment! 😊🍋🍰
Excellent recipe. Already eaten so can’t send photo, I always reduce sugar in recipe. Will be making it again.
Just made it. Easy and nice lemon flavor without being overwhelming. Wonder if I could use lactose free yogurt instead of regular yogurt?
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the lemon flavor in the cake. As for your question, yes, you can absolutely use lactose-free yogurt in place of regular yogurt. It should work just fine without affecting the texture or taste of the cake significantly. In fact, it’s a great way to make this cake more digestible for those with lactose intolerance.
I made it today with the metric measurements followed to the letter. The cake was delicious. Unfortunately, it rose we have but sank on cooling even though the prick test was clean. What went wrong?
m glad you enjoyed the taste of the cake! There could be a few reasons why your cake sank after baking. One possible cause is the oven temperature – if it’s too hot, the cake can rise rapidly and then collapse. Another possibility is overmixing the batter, which can incorporate too much air and cause a collapse during cooling. Remember, baking is both an art and a science, and sometimes it takes a little trial and error. Don’t get discouraged! Give it another try and feel free to ask if you have more questions.
There is one more possibility the cake rose then sank, particularly if you’re referring to the center. It’s something that happens when you use dark metal or glass bakeware and don’t make temp adjustments. Rule of thumb, for dark or glass you need to reduce oven temp by 25F of target (eg 350 target reduce to 325). It may require a little more baking time but it will ensure a more even bake. As long as your oven is heating as it should that will make all the difference.
Delicious cake and so easy to make. My husband really loves it. Thank you 😋
So happy to hear it. Glad you guys enjoyed it!
I made this delicious, come back for more cake. Will definitely be making it again.
Happy to hear you enjoyed it!
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!
Can I substitute the vegetable oil with unsalted butter?
Sure.
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?
For sure!
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!!
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
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.
Delicious cake and such an easy recipe to follow! Made several times and everyone who I make it for loves it 🙂 !!
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!
This recipe makes a yummy loaf! How do convert this recipe to make cupcakes?
Thanks!!
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!
I made them into cupcakes. DELICIOUS and soooo easy!
Excellent cake. I had some lemon curd yoghurt in the fridge, so used that for extra zing. Moist and tasty result.