Soft and tender Lemon Yogurt Cake with a crunchy crumb and a zesty lemon glaze. This easy cake comes together in minutes – no mixer needed.
My, my, my.
This gorgeous Lemon Yogurt Cake is the cake of my dreams. It’s light and fluffy in the middle, with a crunchy crumb baked into the top, all finished with a zesty two ingredient glaze.
It’s a quick and easy one layer cake that’ll become one of your go-to bakes.
If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen the many tears that went into perfecting this cake recipe. Even though I have so many cake recipes to learn from, it still took 8 tries to get this cake just right.
But it’s ok, because it was worth it. I’ve now had my fair share of average lemon cakes to know THIS IS THE ONE.
It’s deliciously soft, bursting with lemon flavour and easy to make. Win, win, win.
Recipe testing
When I started recipe testing, I knew exactly what I wanted. This Lemon Yogurt Cake had to be soft and tender (no dry cake here please), it had to be undeniably lemony, and yogurt had to be a core ingredient. I also wanted to elevate my cake with a buttery lemon crumb. Yes please!
I started with an oil based cake, similar to my popular Cinnamon Apple Cake and my Pistachio Cake. It also uses yogurt to produce a moist crumb, just like my Passionfruit Cake.
The first few attempts were lovely but the cake kept sinking in the middle. The cake was too light and soft to hold my crumb – and I realised that the baking soda was reacting with the lemon juice too early.
I halved the crumb, while also playing with the amounts of baking soda and baking powder. By attempt five, my cake had gotten progressively worse.
So I went back closer to the original recipe, but used only baking powder and reduced the amount of yogurt. I went heavy on the lemon zest. And finally, I stumbled on the perfect Lemon Yogurt Cake. We’ve been eating it every day since.
you will love it because
- It’s super easy to throw together (no mixer needed)
- It’s light and lemony
- The crumb and glaze make it look extra special
- It’s ready in under an hour
How to make a lemon yogurt cake
- We start by making that delicious lemon crumb 💛 Simply mix together melted butter, caster sugar, plain flour and lemon zest. Done!
- To make the lemon cake, start by adding plain flour, baking powder, caster sugar, lemon zest and salt to a large bowl. Give it a little whisk.
- In a separate bowl, add oil, eggs, vanilla and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Give it a whisk with a fork just to break up the egg yolks.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the yogurt, and gently mix until combined. Cake batter will be nice and thick.
- Pour cake batter into baking pan and then sprinkle over lemon crumbs. Bake until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Once cake is completely cooled, drizzle with a two ingredient glaze for an extra pop of lemon. Cut into thick slices and enjoy!
commonly asked questions
I tested this recipe using vegetable oil. But other mild, flavourless oils should also work.
I recommend using a full fat Greek or natural style yogurt.
Yes. Jokes, you don’t have to but I highly recommend it! It adds a lovely texture and more lemon flavour. If you’re anything like me, you’ll just want to eat all the crumbs off the cake.
Yes. Yum.
More lemony bakes to try
- Lemon Bundt Cake (so buttery)
- Lemon Cupcakes (perfect for parties)
- Lemon Ricotta Cake (magical)
- Lemon Cookies (soft and chewy)
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
Lemon Yogurt Cake
Soft and tender Lemon Yogurt Cake with a crunchy lemon crumb.
Ingredients
Lemon crumb
- 20 grams butter, melted
- 35 grams (1/4 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 35 grams (2 tablespoons) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- Zest of one large lemon
Lemon yogurt cake
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour, sifted
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- Zest of one large lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) full fat Greek yogurt
Lemon glaze
- 30 grams (1/4 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 1–2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with baking or parchment paper.
- First, make the lemon crumb. In a small bowl, combine melted butter, flour, sugar and lemon zest until soft crumble forms. It will look like wet sand. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, sugar, lemon zest and salt. Stir briefly to combine.
- In a separate bowl, add oil, eggs, vanilla and lemon juice. Whisk briefly just to break up the egg yolks.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, as well as the yogurt, and gently mix using a spatula until combined – but be careful not to over mix. Batter will be fairly thick. Spoon batter into prepared tin.
- Sprinkle the lemon crumbs evenly over the top of the cake. Bake cake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, mix together sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Stir until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add an extra tablespoon of lemon juice. Drizzle glaze all over the cooled cake.
Notes
This cake is best eaten fresh on the day it is made. It is even better when it is still a little warm from the oven.
Julia says
I’m sure it’s listed, and I’m overlooking it but what is the calorie count/ nutritional value?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Julia, just click on nutrition information and it should be there for you.
Daphne Fivaz says
Love your bakes… A feast for the eyes and the mouth!!
Daphne Fivaz says
Hi Jessica
Can I change the flour to gluten free flour in your oil brownie recipe. Myy daughter has to eat gluten free and I don’t want to miss out on your lovely bakes. Is, that posdible
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Daphne, I haven’t tested my Olive Oil Brownie recipe with gluten free flour but it could be worth a shot. Otherwise, I have a great Gluten Free Brownie recipe you could try or a Flourless Brownie recipe that’s gf too!
Mehdeep says
Love, love, love this cake! So easy to make and everyone loved it. Love your recipes Jessica!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear!
Fiona says
A delicious and easy cake to make. The crumb is the hero in my opinion. Love how the lemon flavour is in every bite. Will definitely be making again.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Fiona! And I agree with you, the crumb is everything!
Phyl says
Brilliant recipe, this cake is a new favourite in my house, second week running. Thank you for sharing it with us. We enjoy the apple and cinnamon recipe too. 😃😃🥰
Best wishes Phyl
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Phyl! Thank you for the lovely review.
Raewyn says
Hi I made the cake today and I must say it was totally amazing so I will be doing your pancakes next.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love that! And I hope you love the pancakes too!
Raewyn says
Hi I have just read your recipe it’s amazing I have looking for a great lemon cake recipe for a long time as I have a shop in Opotiki nz and I do all my baking so I am thrilled and can’t wait to cook your cake look forward to more recipes from you .thank you so much
Regards Raewyn
Jessica Holmes says
Awesome! I hope you love it Raewyn!
Kimberly says
Delicious. My crumb topping wasn’t crumbly. It looked like the wet sand, but didn’t crumble and soaked into the cake. Tell me what I did. Thanks.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kimberly, it sounds like there was a bit too much butter. Maybe try adding a touch less butter so the crumb is drier next time.
Claudia Farr says
Planing to make for Easter. I don’t know much about grams measurements. Checked internet but not sure. Would the 20 grams of butter for the crumble workout to be 1tbsp plus 1 tsp?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Claudia, if you are in the US then yes that’s the right conversion!
Tessa Gray says
Great success. So easy and delicious
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Tessa!
maryl says
I know you worked on making a yogurt cake but is there any chance sour cream would work? I never have yogurt in the house
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, I haven’t tried it but I think it would work just as well! Let me know if you do try it.
maryl says
I hate it when people change recipes and here I was one of them asking about sour cream. I ended up using buttermilk instead of greek yogurt and it was delicious! Thanks for such a great recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad it worked well for you!
ANIRUDDHA ali says
Really its an excellent experience. Unbelievable texture and juicy cake .most of part its healthy and delicious
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Suzie says
This looks delicious!!
I wonder if you could add the crumb to the apple cinnamon cake and turn it into an apple crumble cake!!
Jessica Holmes says
Yes Suzie! Do it!
Amanda says
Do I need to use full fat yogurt ?
Jessica Holmes says
If you can! The fattier the better 😉
Josh says
These are amazing!
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that!