I was craving a tea-time treat 2 days back and I ended up baking this incredibly easy, simple, one-bowl and no-mixer yogurt cake flavoured with a little lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. They go sooo well with the Earl Grey tea I was having that I went for a second slice, with an additional scoop of ice cream on top (no photos of that as I was busy pigging away haha).
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Yogurt – I used plain and full-fat Greek yogurt for this recipe. They can be easily substituted with any kind of yogurt you like – flavoured, plain, non-Greek… in a pinch, sour cream can also be used also.
Oil – I used a mix of extra-virgin olive oil and canola oil as I ran out of extra-virgin olive oil. You can use hazelnut oil, almond oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil and in a pinch, even melted butter.
Sugar – I used only caster sugar this time round, but I may substitute some with brown or golden sugar the next time for a change.
Add-Ons – I used vanilla paste (love seeing the specks of vanilla in the cake), lemon zest and lemon juice to give the cake a refreshing flavour. You can use orange or lime zest / juice instead and I’m thinking of experimenting with a chocolate version soon.
The cake is so easy to make (took me only about 5 minutes to put them together and send the batter into the oven) and though it takes a pretty long time to bake in the oven, the texture is still soft and tender. It has a pretty tight crumb so it doesn’t crumble easily when cut. It’s denser than a regular sponge / chiffon cake but much lighter than a butter cake. I love how it has just the right amount sweetness and I can’t wait to experiment more on this basic recipe – baking them into cupcakes, changing the flavours etc. And really, I don’t think you will need any step-by-step photos, but here are them just in case!
Step-By-Step Photos
Measure sugar, yogurt, oil, egg, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large bowl and whisk together.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir in gently until everything is incorporated.
Transfer the batter into a baking tin and bake away!
When the cake is cooled, turn it out, dust with icing sugar and serve with a cup of tea or coffee!
- 75 grams caster sugar (1/3 cup)
- 125 grams yogurt (1/2 cup), at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 100 grams all-purpose flour (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Grease a 5-inch cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment. Set aside.
- Measure sugar, yogurt, oil, egg, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest directly into a large mixing bowl and whisk together until incorporated.
- Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk in gently until just incorporated. Use a spatula and scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure all the flour mixture is incorporated.
- Scrape the batter into the cake tin and smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top is browning too fast, tent it with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Place the cake tin on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely. Run a spatula along the sides of the cake tin and turn out the cake. Peel off the baking parchment and turn the cake right side up and transfer to a serving dish. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
- For the yogurt, you can use Greek or non-Greek, plain or flavoured, full-fat or low-fat - it's entirely up to you. I used plain full-fat Greek yogurt for this attempt.
- For the oil, you can use extra-virgin olive oil, canola oil, vegetable oil or any nut oil. I used a mix of extra-virgin olive oil and canola oil for this attempt.
- Adapted from The Kitchn
The texture was not what I was after, but interesting. It didn’t really taste like lemon.
I would like to use rice malt syrup instead of sugar – but I do not know how the extra liquid would affect the cake and there doesn’t seem to be any wiggle room to leave another liquid out. What can you suggest?
Hi Jan, sorry I won’t be able to help because I’ve never baked with rice malt syrup. Do let us know how your attempt worked out!
This recipe is a dream! I baked it in a muffin tin and I made probably some of the best cupcakes of my life. The texture was amazing and the rise was beautiful. Thank you very much 🙂
I’m the most terrible baker on the planet. Everyone gives me their ‘fail-safe’ recipes and I still manage to ruin them. But this WORKED!!! Thank you a hundred thousand million times 🙂
Very impressive simple cake. Love the texture. Doubled quantities and used 2lb loaf tin with a paper liner. Made it for my mother, who is accomplished home cook. She asked me to write your recipe into her cookbook.
Any advice oon how long you think it would keep/ whether it would freeze well? Looking for something simple for a work bake.
Hi Ailie!
The cake will last about 5 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
I haven’t froze the cake before, but I believe it can be frozen. Wrap the cake in clingfilm and aluminum foil and it can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
thank you so much, and thank you for such a prompt reply! You are a gem of the internet.
would love to try this as cupcakes (mini-cakes!) has anyone done that? seems like i should try 20-25 mins baking time, same temp?
thanks!
Hi Soo! I haven’t made them into mini cakes but I’m sure they will look adorable! Similar to what you said, I will bake them for about 20min (checking them after 15min) at the same temperature. Happy baking! 🙂
Hi! This was the first Cake I ever made! I made it yesterday for my boyfriend’s birthday and it was delicious. However, I only have a 10 inch round baking tray and I scaled up the ingredients and it didn’t rise… Do you have any advice on the quantities for this size tin plus a recommended baking time? I would really appreciate it! Total cake novice here. 🙂 thank you!
Hi Rebecca, thank you for trying the cake and I’m so glad you like it!
To scale the recipe up from a 5-inch cake tin to a 10-inch cake tin, you will need to multiply the quantities by 4 (which will make a huge cake!). If the cake still didn’t rise even after multiplying the quantities by 4, then it may be because your baking powder and baking soda are old (they are not as reactive), and you should buy new baking powder and baking soda.
If the above still didn’t work, let me know and we can try figure it out again!
And in the future when you want to scale cake recipes based on your cake tin, you can use this conversion calculator: https://www.foodiebaker.com/recipes/cake-pan-conversions/
Have a great weekend and happy birthday to your boyfriend! Happy baking!
Thank you so much!!!!! I can’t wait to try it again. So just to check it should bake for 4 times the amount stated as well? Thank you!!!
You are welcome Rebecca! The baking time should remain the same about 40 to 45 minutes. But always do the skewer test to make sure! If the skewer still comes out moist, just continue baking, checking every 10 to 15 minutes. And if the top is getting too browned, you can tent it with an aluminum foil 🙂
You’re fantastic, thank you for taking the time!!
You are welcome, it’s my pleasure!
I replaced lemon with orange instead and baked this in my air fryer. Cake turned out moist but doesn’t seem as fluffy as yours. Do I need to whisk sugar,yogurt and egg mixture for long or just mix together? This is a keeper recipe for people without mixers like me!
Hi LY, I’m glad you like the recipe! By right there is no need to whisk the mixture for long as the leavening is done by the baking powder and the reaction between the baking soda and acid (yogurt and lemon juice). Have you tried baking this in a normal oven? I’m not sure if the air fryer affects the texture. Do note that this cake is not a super fluffy kind, so if you reattempt the cake in a normal oven and it’s still not the fluffiness you want, this may not be the right recipe for you. 🙂
Made this into a 7 inch cake with my 3 year old. The recipe was easy to do with a toddler and tasted lovely. I used groundnut oil with the lemon. It could have had an extra 5 min in the oven as it was the slightest bit under done (so 50 min overall).
I stumbled upon this recipe (and your blog) trying to find a recipe to use up my batch of almost expiring yogurt. This looks wonderful but I was wondering if I could bake this as muffins? Have you tried experimenting yet? I’m also adding poppy seeds… will report back on the results!!
Hi Jee! I haven’t made them into muffins but I think it’s perfectly possible! I think they will be done baking in about 20 minutes, can’t wait to hear your poppy seed version, sounds so yummy!
if i am to bake a 7-inch cake instead of the 5-inch cake in the recipe, do i need to adjust the oven temperature ? Or can i stick to 175 degrees? And can you also advise on the baking time required? Still 40 -45 mins or is there a change?
Hi May, are you going to scale the recipe to make a 7-inch cake or just replacing the 5-inch tin with a 7-inch tin? If you are scaling the recipe, there’s no need to adjust the oven temperature and the baking time should still be similar. However, do keep an eye on the cake after 30 minutes of baking to make sure the top of the cake is not browning too fast. If it’s browning too fast, cover the cake tin loosely with aluminum foil and continue baking until the cake is done. If you are replacing the cake tin, the oven temperature can be kept the same, but the baking time will be reduced. I’m not sure how long it will take to bake, so just keep an eye on the cake every 10 minutes.
Hi I am planning to make a 7-inch cake. Will take note of your advice. Thanks very much! I have not tried the recipe yet but am sure it will taste splendid!
Hi May, good luck baking! Let me know how it goes!
This sounds wonderful, Jasline! Just the kind of simple cake I love and I love lemon 🙂
Thank you so much Susan, glad I found another lemon lover!
Jasline, the cake looks so moist and lemon flavour is definitely my top favourite.
Thank you for the compliments Angie! I’m glad you like the cake!
I love small cakes and the tenderness of yogurt cakes like this one. So fresh and simple, a joy to have with a cup of tea! It’s lovely.
Glad you like mini cakes like me Monica! Let me grab you a cup of tea too! 😉
Wow so easy but it looks so good! Sounds like a great dessert for when guests come to visit.
Thank you Mary! Yes it’s a light dessert that’s perfect after a heavy meal.
This cake is a tea time beauty Jasline! Moist and delicious! The only hard part is waiting for it to bake…
Thanks Bobbi! Haha yea I guess the toughest is the waiting part!
Looks so good!! Definitely looks like the kind of cake that would be good with tea!
Thanks Stephanie! Would you like a cup of tea then? 😉
This is just the sort of cake I love! Sliced plain with tea, just like you had it, now I’m going to have to bake this. I love that you used a 5″ pan, it makes a nice high rising pretty cake! xx
Thank you so much Barbara! Tiny cakes always look more adorable, don’t they? 😉
This cake is beautiful, Jasline! It looks super fluffy and light! I love any cake with vanilla and lemon in, so I know I would love this!
Thank you Jess! Can’t wait to see your bake on this!
This recipe is definitely a keeper! I could hug you forever for this one, Jasline!
Awwwww returning the forever hugs back to you Sharon! 🙂
Hi Jasline,
Ooh ! It’s so quick & easy to bake this yummy cake ! Ok, I need to get a tub of yogurt … thanks for sharing !
Hi Karen! Yes it’s really easy… I always have yogurt about to expire at home because I always forget to eat them!
Looks DeLisH!
Thank you Emily!
I love easy mix cakes and I love lemon so I am sold 🙂 This looks so moist and full of flavour.
Thank you! A touch of lemon really does wonder to food, isn’t it? 😉
I already bookmarked this recipe! thanks for sharing this awesome one bowl recipe…. 🙂
Awww hope you bake this cake soon! And you’re welcome! 🙂
Well it couldn’t be easier, I love recipes that are so simple and come out so well without all the mixers and stuff we are so accustomed to using. Beautiful cake.
Thank you Suzanne! I’m really amazed by how simple yet delicious this cake turned out to be. Hope you give this a try!
看似非常不错的蛋糕， 食谱我牵走了!
希望很快就能请你吃蛋糕， 但愿不会收至天长地久吧！ 哈哈哈。。。
不管收多久我都会等的！ 😉