This Lemon Yogurt Cake without butter has a perfect moist texture and an amazing lemon flavor. Lemon Pound cake from Starbucks inspired me to try out this easy and delicious recipe from Ina Garten. Hope you will like it 🙂
If you're a chocolate lover, you should also try Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake without Butter. It is just as delicious.
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What is Lemon Yogurt Cake
Lemon yogurt cake is a pillowy, light cake made easily at home with simple ingredients and steps. It offers a refreshing lemony flavor from fresh, natural lemons, while the plain yogurt adds moisture.
Often enjoyed during tea time, it's a perfect treat to pair with tea or coffee. Additionally, it makes a great dessert after any meal and is ideal for special occasions.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It has a pillowy texture.
- It offers the perfect balance of lemoniness and sweetness.
- You can easily make this dish at home with simple, readily available ingredients and straightforward steps.
That's why it’s one of Mom’s favorite recipes to serve to the kids, family, and guests. If you want to impress, try our Tres Leches Cake recipe for a special treat!
Recipe Ingredients
- Fresh Lemons: Used for zest and lemon juice, giving the cake its fresh lemony flavor.
- Plain Whole Milk Yogurt: Adds the pillowy texture to the cake. You can substitute this with a non-dairy yogurt, but ensure it has a similar water content.
- Vegetable Oil: Replaces butter and adds moisture to the cake. For a different take on an oil-based cake, try this Chocolate Mug Cake for a quick, delicious treat.
- All-Purpose Flour: You can replace this with gluten-free flour for a gluten-free option.
- Sugar: You have control over the sweetness, balancing it to your preference.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cake rise and achieve the desired texture.
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients together and help with the cake’s structure.
Variations to try
If you're a blueberry fan, you can add blueberries to the cake batter before pouring it into the baking pan. And if you love fruit in cakes, be sure to check out our Orange Pound Cake recipe!
How To Make Lemon Yogurt Cake (Step-by-Step Guide)
- Preheat the oven to 350F or 180C. Grease an 8 ½ x 4 ¼ x 2 ½-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. You can also use a 8-inch round pan.
- To prepare the lemon yogurt cake - Sift together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Make sure that lemon zest is cut into small pieces. A large egg equals 3-½ tablespoons of beaten egg. An extra large egg equals 4 tablespoons. In this recipe, it calls for 3 extra large eggs. I used 3 large eggs plus 1-½ tablespoons of beaten egg.
- Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for around 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- While the cakes are baked, prepare the lemon syrup. Cook granulated sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. ** Never miss this step. It adds a lot to the flavor. Also, adjust the sugar in the syrup based on your taste.Check out our detailed recipe for making Lemon Syrup.
- When the cake is done, let them cool for 10 minutes. Poke holes in the cake and spoon the lemon syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely.
- To prepare the glaze (optional), combine sugar and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth.
- Pour over the top of the cakes and allow the glaze to dry. Enjoy 🙂
Tips And Tricks
- Ensure the pan is the correct size; an overflow may occur if the pan is too small.
- Use sturdy, single-wall aluminum pans, ideally 8x1½-inch or 9x1½-inch round pans. A loaf pan of 8 ½ x 4 ¼ x 2 ½ inches is recommended for this recipe. This same pan size is also used in our Carrot and Dates Cake recipe.
- Grease, line, or flour the pan to prevent the cake from sticking. Parchment paper works best.
- A pastry brush is ideal for greasing the pan, but you can also use a paper towel to spread shortening.
- To avoid a dry lemon yogurt cake, follow the recipe’s ingredient instructions and avoid overbaking.
- Check if the cake is done by inserting a wooden toothpick in the center; it should come out clean.
- Once cooled, run a knife or spatula around the edges to loosen the cake, then invert the pan onto a wire rack to remove the cake easily.
- A large egg equals 3-½ tablespoons of beaten egg. An extra large egg equals 4 tablespoons. In this recipe, it calls for 3 extra large eggs. If you don’t have extra large eggs, use 3 large eggs plus 1-½ tablespoons of beaten egg.
- If you don't have a sweet tooth and don’t want the cake too sweet, you can skip the glaze.
Serving Suggestions
The Lemon Yogurt Cake pairs perfectly with Indian Chai, Tea, or Coffee. It also tastes great with crushed nuts like walnuts, pistachios, or cashews. It is also well paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Storage Instructions
Keep the cake in a neat, airtight container. At room temperature, it will stay fresh for around 2 days. In the refrigerator, it will stay fresh for up to 5 days. When frozen, it can stay good for up to 2 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whenever it is about baking, every step is very crucial to the final look of the cake. A missed calculation on the ingredients can significantly affect the baking process, and the same goes for the baking equipment used. Use the pan as per what the recipe says. If you don’t have the exact pan, choose a pan of another shape with the same volume. The reason why the cake batter overflowed on the sides of the pan is that the tin is small. Keep in mind that you need to choose your baking equipment wisely.
The cake pan or cake tin that are best to use for any cakes would be the sturdy one which is also single-wall aluminum pans, with or without nonstick coating. And of course, check the sizes as well as the shapes. The standard size and shape would be around 8x1½-inch or 9x1½-inch round pans. Recommended pan in this recipe is 8 ½ x 4 ¼ x 2 ½-inch loaf pan. You can refer https://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html for different substitutions.
Greasing, lining or flouring the pan is essential so that the cake won’t stick to the pan. Lining with parchment paper is the best option. But in your case, it would be bit difficult to remove the cake so it can potentially ruin the shape or the overall structure of your cake. You will need a little magic with frosting the cake to add a lovely look 🙂
Yes, a pastry brush is the best tool you can use when you’re going to grease or flour the cake tin. But you can also try using the paper towel to evenly spread the shortening or butter all over the inside of the cake tin.
Use ingredients as instructed. Make sure that you check the cake’s doneness and avoid overbaking it.
Simply by using a wooden toothpick. Insert it at the center of the cake, and when it comes out clean, then the cake is done.
Once the cake is completely cooled, use a knife or spatula to run around the edges. It will loosen the cake so you can easily remove it from the pan. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert the pan and the rack together to release the cake over to the rack.
More Cake Recipes To Try
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you tried this! Please leave a ⭐️ rating and a comment below. Don’t forget to share your photos on Instagram and tag @a_little_bit_of_spice
Lemon Yogurt Cake (Without Butter)
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Plain Whole Milk Yogurt
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 Extra Large Egg
- 2 tsps lemon zest (grated)
- ½ teaspoon Pure Vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
Lemon Syrup
- ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup Confectioner's Sugar
- ⅓ cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F or 180C. Grease a 8 ½ x 4 ¼ x 2 ½-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. You can also use a 8 inch round pan.
- To prepare cake - Sift together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder and salt into one bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Make sure that lemon zest is cut into small pieces. Refer the notes for the measurement of eggs.
- Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for around 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- While the cakes bake, prepare the lemon syrup. Cook granulated sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. ** Never miss this step. It adds a lot on to the flavor. Also, adjust the sugar in the syrup based on your taste.
- When the cake is done, let them cool for 10 minutes. Poke holes in the cake and spoon the lemon syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely.
- To prepare the glaze (optional) - combine sugar and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth.
- Pour over the top of cakes and allow the glaze to dry. Enjoy 🙂
Notes
- A large egg equals 3-½ tablespoons of beaten egg. An extra large egg equals 4 tablespoons. In this recipe, it calls for 3 extra large eggs. I used 3 large eggs plus 1-½ tablespoon beaten egg.
- If you do not have a sweet tooth and do not wanna make the cake too sweet, avoid the glaze.
Nutrition
hello Jane, Can I use coconut oil as opposed to vegetable oil? what do you think?
I haven't tried. But I think you cannot.
Hello all! Was your lemon loaf airy & light?
Made this today. Yummy! Texture is just like Starbuck's Lemon loaf. Taste is AMAZING! Thank you for sharing. I did have a bit left over Lemon Zest and I put in in the glazing.
Thanks for trying it out! Great to hear that you loved it :)
Can i use greek yogurt in place of whole milk?
Cheri, I haven't tried with greek yogurt. But I think it will work but may not give exactly same texture as Whole milk yogurt.
The best lemon cake recipe! I was worried because of it not having butter but the yogurt keeps it beautifully moist. I just found your recipe last week and have made this twice so far. It's amazingly refreshing. My family (and neighbors, because they came over for dinner and dessert yesterday) raved about it! I didn't substitute anything, I followed all instructions and it's been perfect both times. The only thing I did the second time was to cut back on the lemon juice for the icing. I made the icing a little thicker but still pourable. Thanks so much for this!
Thanks a lot Danielle! I'm really happy to hear that your family loved it.Thanks for trying out my recipe.
Great recipe !. Baking my second cake now with a few tweaks as using a larger round tin and found the first one a bit flat. Finger crossed that I get it right. Found I didn’t have enough syrup the first time round and as this gives the cake a delicious kick I will definitely make more this time.
Can I double this recipe and use a bundt cake pan instead of the loaf pan? What other adjustments are needed? What about baking time?
I have tried the same measurements with loaf pan and 8 inch round pan. Haven’t tried with double quantity.
But usually if the batter takes just 2/3 rd of any pan, cake comes out fine for me. That’s the only rule I follow. And can’t comment on exact baking time. I would definitely check at 50 minutes in this case and then based on how much the cake is done at that time, I would bake for extra time.