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Lemon and Yogurt Cake

This light lemon and yogurt cake is a delightful springtime treat. It's not only light and airy but has the subtle flavors of fresh lemons and a dusting of powdered sugar on top of each slice.

Greek yogurt is inside this cake and it helps create a deliciously moist cake with a tangy flavor. This lemon cake with yogurt is very easy to make and only uses one bowl! Great as a dessert or as a snack.

A lemon and yogurt cake with a slice cut out of it and placed in the background.

RELATED: Lemon Poke Cake

Ingredients in Lemon and Yogurt Cake

  • granulated sugar
  • eggs
  • salt
  • lemon juice
  • vegetable oil
  • lemon zest
  • Greek yogurt
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
A slice of lemon and yogurt cake on a blue ceramic plate with a black fork.

How to Make Lemon Yogurt Cake in a 9 inch pan

Preheat the oven - Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease and dust the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan or cake pan with flour.

Zest and juice the lemons - Zest 2 large lemons and extract the juice from them. Measure out the zest and juice and place them in a large bowl.

TIP: A lemon zester and lemon juicer are helpful tools for getting the most out of your lemons.

Add in the wet ingredients - Mix in the granulated sugar, eggs, and oil and stir until well combined.

Mix in the dry ingredients - In the same bowl, mix in the baking powder, salt, and lastly the Greek Yogurt. Stir until all ingredients are moistened.

Transfer batter to pan - Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared cake pan or springform pan. The cake batter will be very thick.

Bake - Bake for 50-55 minutes in the preheated oven. Check the center of the cake with a toothpick to make sure the toothpick comes out clean before removing it from the oven.

Cool - Allow the cake to cool for about 20 minutes before removing the cake from the pan.

Dust with powdered sugar - Cool completely before dusting the cake with powdered sugar.

Birdseye view of lemon and yogurt cake dusted with powdered sugar with a serving on a blue plate.

RECOMMENDED: Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes

Can I Substitute Plain Yogurt for Greek Yogurt in Baking?

Not always. Greek yogurt is much thicker than plain yogurt and when adding it to batters and doughs it can make them wetter than it should be. It could alter the overall result of the baked good and probably will not come out as great as it should.

A black cake server pulling a slice of powdered sugar topped lemon and yogurt cake.

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What You'll Need to Make This Lemon Cake

Mixing Bowl - This is a one-bowl cake so everything gets mixed into the same bowl which makes clean-up a lot easier.

Measuring cups and spoons - Both measuring cups and spoons are used to make this cake. When measuring the flour spoon it into the measuring cup and use the back of a knife to take off the excess flour from the top.

Springform pan - A springform pan makes it easy to remove the cake from the pan but a regular 9-inch cake pan will work as well.

A large spoon - No hand mixer is needed for this easy cake. A simple spoon will do the trick.

Lemon zester and juicer - a zester is used to remove the zest from the lemon easily. Just make sure not to cut down into the white part of the lemon. That part is bitter. A lemon juicer squeezes every drop of lemon juice from the lemon so none goes to waste.

A lemon and yogurt cake in a 9 inch cake pan dusted with powdered sugar.

📖 Recipe

Yield: 12 slices

Lemon and Yogurt Cake

A black cake server pulling a slice of powdered sugar topped lemon and yogurt cake.

This light lemon and yogurt cake is a delightful springtime treat. It's not only light and airy but has the subtle flavors of fresh lemons and a dusting of powdered sugar on top of each slice.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ¼ cup lemon zest (approximately the zest of 2 large lemons)
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease and dust the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan or cake pan with flour.
    2. Zest 2 large lemons and extract the juice from them. Measure out the zest and juice and place them in a large bowl.
    3. Mix in the granulated sugar, eggs, and oil and stir until well combined.
    4. In the same bowl, mix in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and lastly the Greek Yogurt.
    5. Stir until all ingredients are moistened.
    6. Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared cake pan or springform pan. The cake batter will be very thick.
    7. Bake for 50-55 minutes in the preheated oven. Check the center of the cake with a toothpick to make sure the toothpick comes out clean before removing it from the oven.
    8. Allow the cake to cool for about 20 minutes before removing the cake from the pan.
    9. Cool completely before dusting the cake with powdered sugar.

Notes

A lemon juicer and lemon zester will help get the most out of your lemons.

Greasing and flouring the sides and bottom of the pan will help when releasing the cake.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1 slice

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 343Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 230mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 1gSugar: 32gProtein: 5g

Nutrition calculation is a rough estimate and can vary depending on the cooking technique and the exact ingredients used. For informational purposes only.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Facebook

Marilyn Lambert

Tuesday 9th of May 2023

Absolutely amazing recipe!

Love it!

My Family loved it!

Ann

Friday 31st of March 2023

This cake looks so delicious! I love lemon flavored desserts, so this sounds like a great recipe to try!

Mara B-V

Saturday 25th of March 2023

It looks like you left out the flour in mix. I'm sure you didn't mean to flour the pan with two cups of flour! Or did I miss it?

Dana

Saturday 25th of March 2023

You are correct 😆 I have fixed the instructions. Lightly dusting the pan is pan is all you need to do.

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