Yogurt Cake

4.84 from 12 votes
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Yogurt Cake with a light and airy sponge, amazing flavor, and just the right amount of sweetness. You only need a few basic ingredients for this easy yogurt cake!

Also, Check out the yogurt cake video below!

Yogurt cake in a bundt baking pan.

This is my kind of cake! It is one of the best cakes that doesn’t need frosting because it is self-sufficient just like my plain cake. Say hello to my Yogurt Cake 2.0!

A yogurt cake should taste like yogurt, shouldn’t it? This wonderful cake has a rich yogurt flavor, and you’ll love the fluffy texture of the cake as well. It’s an everyday cake to make and have for breakfast because why not?

Yogurt cake on cutting board, a slice cut out.

Yogurt Cake Recipe

The best thing about this incredible cake? This simple cake goes great with all sorts of beverages. I suggest trying a slice of cake with some tea or coffee.

It is also the easiest cake to make for potlucks, parties, or just for snacking! It is similar to Turkish yogurt cake and gâteau au yaourt, which is French yogurt cake.

If you’re new to baking, this is the perfect recipe to make as your first cake. It is one of the easy cakes with simple ingredients that anyone can successfully make.

The ingredient list won’t overwhelm you and you don’t need to have any advanced skills. You don’t even need to make whipped egg white separately, as the whole eggs mix right into the batter. Yet, even with simple methods, the end result is still a delicious, fluffy cake that you’ll be proud of.

Ingredients for cake on a chopping board.

Yogurt Cake Ingredients

You need the following ingredients for yogurt cake:

1. Yogurt. Use regular yogurt (whole milk yogurt) or plain Greek yogurt (whole milk Greek yogurt). You could also use flavored yogurt, but since flavored yogurt has added sugar, reduce the amount of sugar you add to your cake if you choose to use flavored yogurt.

For best results, make sure the yogurt is at room temperature. And for the best flavor, use yogurt with live and active cultures. Check the label on the yogurt container to ensure that it contains live and active cultures, since different brands vary.

2. Oil. Adding oil to the cake batter gives the yogurt cake a nicely moist texture. Use a neutral oil, like vegetable oil or canola oil. You can use olive oil in a pinch, but it will make the cake much heavier.

3. Sugar. Just good old granulated white sugar.

4. Flour. All-purpose flour, also known as plain flour, works here.

5. Baking Powder This is needed to help the cake rise and become fluffy.

6. Salt. Salt helps balance the sweetness in yogurt cake.

7. Flavor. For a little bit of extra flavor, use a combination of vanilla extract and freshly grated nutmeg, or use the zest (rind) of one fresh lemon or lime. I especially love a lemon yogurt cake with both lemon juice and lemon zest! You can also use orange zest.

Yogurt cake can also be made without flavor, and it will still taste great!

See the recipe card below with a detailed list of ingredients and instructions.

Before you begin, preheat your oven and make sure to have your prepared cake pan ready.

How To Make Yogurt Cake

1. In a large bowl, whisk together wet ingredients, minus the eggs (yogurt, oil, and vanilla extract), then add the sugar.

2. Add remaining dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and optional nutmeg) to the yogurt mixture and beat to combine.

3. Add eggs one at a time to the mixing bowl and mix to form a batter.

4. Pour batter into a greased pan and bake for the suggested bake time. The center of the cake will be springy yet moist, and the top of the cake will be golden brown. If you feel it needs slightly longer than the suggested baking time, keep an eye on it and check on it after a few minutes to prevent overbaking.

Freshly baked yogurt cake in baking pan.

This lovely yogurt cake has a nice crumb. It is moist on the inside and simply dreamy.

Have you heard the saying, “it sold like hot cake”? Once upon a time, I used to wonder what that meant. But now that I am older and wiser, I totally understand. Hot cake aka freshly baked and still warm cake is so good!

Also, check out this Vanilla Pound Cake and Southern Lemon Pound Cake Recipe.

Substitutions and Variations

  • Glaze: You can make a powdered sugar glaze for on top of this cake! I suggest making a lemon glaze for a bright, lemony flavor. Mix powdered sugar in a medium bowl and slowly add milk until it reaches a thick consistency that you can drizzle. Add a splash of lemon juice or extract to flavor it.
  • Mix-Ins: Have fun by mixing in delicious ingredients such as chocolate chips or fresh fruit. Although you can use frozen fruit, the juices might bleed and discolor the cake, so fresh berries are best.
  • Low Sugar: If you have a medically restrictive diet and need to watch your daily values, you can use a granulated sugar replacement, such as monk fruit sweetener, as long as it is a cup-for-cup (1:1 ratio) product. Keep in mind that it won’t taste exactly the same, though.

Expert Tips

  • You can make this cake in different pans, such as loaf pans, round cake pans, bundt, or even a springform pan if that is all you have. However, the pan preparation varies. For instance, you can put parchment paper (in addition to cooking spray) in the other baking tins. However, a bundt pan with grooves only needs some grease to become a sufficiently prepared pan.
  • Different baking pans will require different cooking times. Whichever pan you use, make sure to only fill it halfway to 2/3 of the way full so it doesn’t spill over. There is a chart here which you can check out if you plan on using a different pan!
  • Once you unmold the baked cake, you can transfer it to a wire rack to finish cooling. Then, if you have any leftovers, make sure to cover them with plastic wrap or store them in an airtight container so they stay nice and moist.
  • For a nice presentation, consider serving this cake with ice cream or whipped cream!
Yogurt cake slices on chopping board.

My family is obsessed with this yogurt cake, and I really hope you try it. It is one of my favorite cakes ever!

Tools For Making Yogurt Cake

Watch How To Make Yogurt Cake

Watch me making Yogurt Cake in the video below. Also, SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel so you do not miss any of my videos!

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Recipe Frequently Asked Questions

What does yogurt do in a cake?

Yogurt makes the cake exceptionally moist while also adding flavor depth! Once you experience a yogurt cake like this, you will definitely want to make it over and over.

What is the best yogurt for cake?

Regular yogurt or Greek yogurt works wonderfully. Although you can use flavored, I suggest using plain. I also suggest using a full-fat yogurt instead of, say, low-fat or fat-free. The fat is much needed for flavor and textural purposes.

What does yogurt replace in baking?

In general, yogurt can be a replacement for different baking ingredients (sour cream, buttermilk, oil, or even mayo), however, we aren’t necessarily using it as a replacement here.

More Easy Cake Recipes You Will Love!

If you love this Yogurt Cake you’ll also love these easy cake recipes:

P.S. I have updated this yogurt cake recipe after posting it years ago because I made a mistake while typing the former recipe card. So, the recipe that lived here before would give you a dense cake. I am sorry if you tried it and your cake turned out dense. That’s not the way it should be! Thankfully, I decided to try out the recipe again and noticed there was a mistake. I had to go back to recipe testing. After testing and tweaking, I think I finally have the best yogurt cake recipe for you!

If you make this recipe please leave a star rating below. Your rating helps others find the recipe plus I love hearing from you! Thank you!

Yogurt cake in a bundt baking dish

Yogurt Cake

4.84 from 12 votes
This yogurt cake is moist with a lovely crumb on the outside. Simply the best yogurt cake!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
Servings: 10 people

Ingredients  

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
  • 1 cup plain yogurt (250 grams) or plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup oil (125 ml) any neutral tasting oil. I used canola.
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups flour (180 grams)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg See Notes
  • 3 large eggs

Instructions 

  • Grease a 9-inch cake pan or loaf pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup of plain yogurt, 1/2 cup of oil, 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. You could use a handheld whisk or an electric beater.
  • Add in one and a half cups of flour, one and a half teaspoons of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Beat together until just combined.
  • Add 3 eggs one at a time, whisking every time you add an egg to incorporate it into the batter.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  • Let the cake cool then remove from pan, slice and serve.

Notes

1. I love adding freshly grated nutmeg to baked goods because it adds amazing flavor! I have whole nutmegs in my kitchen and I highly recommend you get some because the flavor is more intense than pre-ground nutmeg.
That said, if you don’t have nutmeg, you could flavor this cake with the zest (rind) of one lemon, one lime or one orange. OR you could totally leave out the additional flavor and your cake will still taste great!
2. For the best yogurt cake make sure the yogurt and eggs are at room temperature. 
3. You could use flavored/sweetened yogurt in this recipe. If you do that just make sure you reduce the sugar content so the yogurt cake isn’t too sweet.

Nutrition

Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 148mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 72IU | Vitamin C: 0.001mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 1mg

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: International
Calories: 255
Tried this recipe?Mention @preciouscore or tag #PreciousCore!

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If you make this recipe, please tag me in a photo on Instagram @preciouscore. I’ll love to see!!!


About Precious

Welcome to my core! I am Precious Nkeih, the recipe developer and writer right here on my blog, Precious Core. My goal is to show you insanely delicious recipes you can replicate in your kitchen. And I love to tell stories too. Hope you find recipes here that will make cooking easier for you! Check me out on YouTube at YouTube.com/PreciousKitchen.


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52 Comments

    1. Hi Shannon, I think almond flour would yield something different. You could try it and see how it goes.