This easy lemon yogurt cake is perfect for breakfast or afternoon tea. it's tender, the crumb is perfect, and the flavor is bright. another thing this easy lemon yogurt cake recipe does -- it utilizes a yogurt cup as a measurement tool so you save dishes. i actually adapted this from a french parenting book - "bringing up bebe." haha!
Why this is the best easy lemon yogurt cake recipe
in the book "bringing up bebe," writer pamela druckerman shares how on saturdays in france, kids learn how to bake with their parents as a way of doing a constructive activity together that is skills-based and encourages togetherness.
what i also love about this lemon loaf is that it's not cloyingly sweet. it's sweet enough that you don't feel like it's trying to be "healthy," but not too sweet that you can't add strawberries and whipped cream and have that be overboard.
How to make a lemon yogurt cake, step by step
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Cut parchment paper and line loaf pan
- Combine wet ingredients -- yogurt, eggs, sugar, oil, lemon zest, and juice - in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to combine
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients -- flour, baking powder
- Add dry to wet in thirds, folding gently
- Here's where you could add other ingredients like frozen berries, chocolate chips, etc. I kept it citrusy and added just more lemon zest to the mix
- Bake for ~35 minutes, until sides of the cake are just pulling away from the pan and cake is springy but not mushy.
- Serve warm, or let it cool off and serve with a dollop of whipped cream!
What makes this lemon yogurt cake so easy to make?
I love that this lemon loaf uses a yogurt cup as a measurement tool because that to me epitomizes learning how to bake and cook in an applied manner rather than just mimicking a recipe.
Tips for making this easy lemon yogurt cake
I recommend using regular yogurt, not Greek yogurt, for this recipe. I specifically used the Trader Joe's French country yogurt.
📖 Recipe
Gateau au yaourt et citron (lemon yogurt cake)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces yogurt - not greek yogurt. I used two 6 oz cups of lemon flavored Trader Joe's organic "french country style" yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 6 oz sugar use the yogurt cup to measure
- 5 oz vegetable oil a little less than one yogurt cup
- 24 oz flour four yogurt cups
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 lemon zest and juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Cut parchment paper and line loaf pan
- Combine wet ingredients -- yogurt, eggs, sugar, oil, lemon zest and juice - in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to combine
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients -- flour, baking powder.
- Add dry to wet in thirds, folding gently
- Here's where you could add other ingredients like frozen berries, chocolate chips, etc. I kept it citrusy and added just more lemon zest to the mix
- Bake for ~35 minutes, until sides of the cake are just pulling away from the pan and cake is springy but not mushy.
- Serve warm, or let it cool off and serve with a dollop of whipped cream!
Nutrition
This article was updated in August 2019 with additional tips and tricks