Lemon Yogurt Cake
Lemon Yogurt Cake is a recipe that even a child could make.
In fact, for many Italians, this is the first cake they make. I love this cake. It’s delicious and it reminds me of my family in Italy.

A few years ago I took my husband and children to Italy to meet my Italian family. It was an amazing three-week adventure of discovery. A discovery of wonderful family, food, and beautiful places important in our family history. A time that will never be forgotten and people who touched our hearts like never before. It was here that I also discovered this Italian yogurt cake.
About this Lemon Yogurt Cake.
In Turin, we had our first breakfast Italian style – sweet biscuits, croissants, and homemade yogurt cake. Quite unlike what we were accustomed to. But embrace it we did. It was a thrill discovering different sweet biscuits, cakes, and bake-at-home croissants.
My cousin Donatella treated us to her freshly baked lemon yogurt cake. Of course, I couldnโt leave my cousin without asking for the recipe for the wonderful cake.
This cake uses the 150-gram container the yogurt came in as a measure and because of this, it is often called a yogurt tub cake. The French also have a version of the yogurt tub cake and it is often the cake children make so itโs got to be fairly easy. To be more precise, I have updated the recipe using cup/weight measurements.
If you are curious the yogurt container measurements are:- 1 container of yogurt, 4 containers of flour, 2 containers of sugar, 1 container of oil plus 4 eggs, 1 grated lemon rind, and a sachet of Italian baking powder.
Lemon is a stand-out flavor in this easy cake recipe. If you love lemon as much as I do, be sure to try my Ricotta Pie or this Lemon Pasta Recipe both of which have such a wonderful citrus fragrance. And don’t miss out on my Lemon Curd Cookies! They’re amazing!
Ingredients
The beauty of this lemon yogurt cake recipe is that the ingredients are staple pantry items in most kitchens.
- yogurt – unflavored or Greek yogurt is what I use. Lately, I’ve been making yogurt using this recipe – instant pot yogurt. It’s very good!
- flour
- sugar
- eggs
- oil
- lemon
- baking powder and baking soda
You can use any yogurt even low fat. In my recipe testing, there was no noticeable difference between full fat or low-fat yogurt. Why not even try flavored varieties to add extra flavor?
Another favorite lemon recipe in my house is my delicious lemon macaron recipe that the whole family loves. Be sure to also try my tasty Italian macarons while you are there!
Oil used in this cake should be light in flavour such as sunflower or canola. My preferred oil for this cake is light olive oil which I also use in my Italian carrot cake.
The vanilla baking powder used in Italy comes in a small sachet (called “bustina”) weighing 16 grams (1/2 ounce). It is flavored with vanillin. However, to make it easier I have substituted baking powder, a little bit of bicarbonate of soda, and vanilla. If you can find and want to use the Italian baking powder, simply omit the baking powder, soda, and vanilla and instead add one sachet of Italian baking powder.
Tips for Success
Grease and flour the bundt pan very well even if it has a nonstick surface. I like to use this bundt pan to bake my Blueberry Pound Cake as well. It’s such a versatile pan.
This cake can easily be frozen. Wrap the cooled cake well in plastic wrap and then another layer of foil to prevent freezer burn. There is no such thing as over wrapping when preparing a cake for the freezer. You need to protect the cake from freezer burn which will dry out the cake.
Also, it is important to wrap the cake well to be sure it doesn’t absorb any odors – nothing worse than onion-flavored lemon yogurt cake! When you need your cake, allow it to thaw still wrapped this way you will avoid condensation.
You can also freeze leftover, individual slices of cake. Again, wrap well in plastic wrap and foil and then pack into an airtight plastic container or zip-lock bag. When you want to snack on a slice of cake, it will thaw quickly. I usually thaw slices of unwrapped cake in the microwave on the defrost setting.
Serving suggestions
This Italian Lemon Yogurt cake is not too sweet and is perfect served for breakfast simply dusted with icing sugar. Because it is a rather sturdy but tender cake, this yogurt cake is wonderful for dunking into tea or coffee.
While this Italian cake is ideal for breakfast, you can also serve this with an extra scoop of yogurt or a dollop of whipped cream and some fruit for a light dessert.
Made this recipe?
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Lemon Yogurt Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
- ยฝ cup (120 mls) Greek yogurt (full fat or low fat)
- ยฝ cup (120 mls) light flavored olive oil
- 1 lemon, finely grated rind only See Note 1
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 grams) all purpose plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ยผ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350ยฐF/180ยบC and grease and flour a large bundt cake pan.
- Using an electric mixer, beat together eggs and sugar for two minutes until light and fluffy.
- With the machine on medium low, slowly whisk in the olive oil followed by yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat until just combined.
- Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt into the egg mixture.
- Mix well to combine for two minutes, scraping the bowl after one minute.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted come out clean.
- Rest the cake for 5 minutes then remove from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy with a strong espresso or a milky coffee.
Notes
- Lemon extract or lemon oil can be used in place of grated lemon rind.
Nutritional Estimate Per Serving
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. For accurate results, it is recommended that the nutritional information be calculated based on the ingredients and brands you use.
This recipe has been updated and was first published on 22 September 2013
The best lemon yoghurt cake !!!
I’m glad that you loved it, Mary!
I like this cake because it is not too sweet, but my cake was pretty dry. I used half a cup of Greek yogurt and half a cup of olive oil, which I thought would make it moist. I don’t know what I did wrong. But, it has a nice flavor and I will bake it again.
Yes, it’s a lovely breakfast cake because it’s not too sweet. Regarding being dry, possibly a shorter baking time might help.
Perfect! Grazie ๐
You’re welcome, Janet!
Hi Marcellina
I only have vanilla flavoured Greek yogurt could I use that
Hi Anna, yes that will be fine. Enjoy!
Made this for a weekly staff morning tea. Easy to make with clear instructions.to increase the lemon intensity, I rubbed the lemon rind well into the sugar before adding the eggs.
Thakyou
Leilani, great idea to increase lemon intensity! Glad you enjoyed it!
Toutes vos recettes ont lโair succulentes.
Mais le poids des ingrรฉdients est indiquรฉ en tasse comment avoir lโรฉquivalence en grammes.
Merci du partage.
Je vous remercie pour votre aimable commentaire. J’ai ajoutรฉ des mesures de poids ร cette recette et je mets ร jour plus de recettes avec des mesures de poids.
Itโs very easy to make however there was not enough lemon. Also, the addition of the lemon zest has been omitted from the recipe instructions.
Lia, certainly you could add more lemon zest if that is more to your taste. I have now amended the recipe instructions to show were to add the lemon zest.
Yummy cake love yoghurt cake but never make with lemon thank you for sharing
You should try it – the addition of lemon is perfect!
So easy to make and delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I will pin right now!
Thanks for sharing, Flo!
this looks and sounds heavenly. i do love lemon in everything..
Sherry, it’s just so simple and plain but with a lovely lemon flavour. Everyone loves it when I make it.
Marcellina, I’m so in love with this cake! I love lemon, and the yogurt and olive oil must make it so wonderful! I’ve learned many a recipe measuring with odd things like cream cheese containers and egg shells. An old fashioned way of doing it, but they sure got it right!
Isn’t it an interesting way to measure ingredients!
Hi MARCELLINA, This cake looks very delicious and I hope to make it in a couple of days. Do you mean the grated rind of one lemon for tbhis recipe? Thanks for sharing and I like the story. Pauline
Hi Pauline, yes that’s what I mean…the finely grated rind of one lemon. I’ll try to make it more clear. My cousin made it in a large (about 25cm) round cake pan. I make it in a bundt pan because I found it hard to get the centre baked. I think you will like this cake!
This cake is just perfect! I love a good lemon yogurt cake and definitely trying this recipe tomorrow ๐
Lovely! Let me know how it goes! I think you’ll like it!
It absolutely proves that simple is the best. It looks like a Plumcake to me ๐ Thank you very much dear !
Yes, it’s just like plumcake. I found it strange that the Italians call a butter cake a plumcake but so it is!
Iโm British and, a bit like you with Italian plumcake, when I see a coffee cake recipe from the USA it seems strange. In the uk a coffee cake is a cake made with coffee!
That’s so true, Ann! It’s can be a bit of a disappointment if there are no plums in plumcake nor coffee in coffee cake!
What a wonderful time you had with your family in Torino. I too, don't usually eat cakes for breakfast, but I make an exception in Italy – and this yogurt cake looks delicious.
I absolutely love lemon cake, and this recipe looks fabulous – this is definitely going on my 'to cook' list!!