French Yogurt Cake

A French Yogurt Cake is quite possibly the most bright and sunny, tender, and just-sweet-enough cake in the entire world. This cake is topped with a thin lemon glaze that firms up and shatters into sugary crust when you bite into it and was brought to world by generation upon generation of French grandmothers and the children who love them!

Lemon French Yogurt Cake is almost embarrassingly easy to make, but that has never once stopped me from making it and foisting the recipe on anyone who likes it. It will become your go-to snack cake the first time you make it.

This lemon yogurt cake -also known as Gâteaux de Mamie (or Grandma Cake) never goes out of style. Those who grew up on it crave it, and those who try it for the first time understand that after their first bite.

I texted a photo of the finished cake to my wonderful daughter-in-law who happens to be French. She recognized the lemon yogurt cake immediately and asked why I was torturing her because she wanted some desperately.

I promised my son would make her a cake. That young man can cook. I think that’s part of why my daughter-in-law loves me.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Obviously, yogurt plays a big part in this cake. Many French gra-meres and mémés (that’s granny to you!) measure the ingredients for their yogurt cakes in the most charming way.

They measure one jar of yogurt, one jar of oil, two jars of sugar, three jars of flour, three eggs, and salt plus baking powder. This simple formula makes yogurt cake a great project to make with kids or grand-kids.

I, on the other hand, buy large containers of yogurt as a rule, so as I’m not yet a gra-mere, I’ve made today’s lemon yogurt cake with standard measurements. Handily, most small jars of yogurt are about 1/2 cup in volume, so that makes this an easy conversion.

Yogurt Cake Recipe

Let’s knock out our ingredient and equipment lists so you know what you need to have on hand. Both lists are quite manageable and despite the moderate ingredient list, nothing is exotic, expensive, or difficult to find!

Ingredients

1. Non-stick cooking spray
2. All Purpose Flour
3. Baking Powder
4. Kosher Salt
5. Plain Greek Yogurt
6. Granulated Sugar
7. Large Eggs
8. Whole Lemon
9. Pure Olive Oil or another Neutral Oil
10. Confectioner’s sugar

When it comes to the type of yogurt you choose for your lemon yogurt cake, you have myriad options. My preference is for plain whole milk Greek yogurt because it yields a tender, slightly richer cake.

If you prefer a lower fat Greek yogurt, it will still yield a delicious if ever-so-negligibly less tender yogurt cake.

I have successfully tested the yogurt cake recipe with plain low-fat Greek yogurt, plain regular yogurt in whole milk and low fat varieties, lemon Greek yogurt, and lemon plain yogurt. All of the cakes have been delicious.

I have not, however, tried dairy alternative yogurts but I imagine they’d work fine! If you try this with a plant-based yogurt, please let me know how it turns out for you.

You have some choices when it comes to the oil you use in the yogurt cake as well. I prefer pure olive oil for the richness it imparts.

I have also made yogurt cakes with canola, grapeseed, sunflower, and vegetable oils and they’ve been great. Any neutral, liquid oil should work well here.

In keeping with the simple perfection of this cake, there are no extracts added to lend flavour. All of the lemon oomph -of which there is a great deal- comes from the zest and juice of just one lemon.

The tangy yogurt boosts the sunny lemon presence to infuse the entire cake. You can smell the lemon in and on this cake when you walk into the room!

The zest is baked into the cake, while the lemon juice is part of the 2-ingredient glaze. The glaze is brushed onto the cake while still warm and melts into it before firming up and forming a sweet crust on the outside of the cake.

Can you imagine anything lovelier than sitting down to a slice of this with a cup of coffee or tea? Whether it’s eaten while reading alone or while conversing with your grandma, it’s a piece of divine, sunshiny happiness.

What pan do I need for this cake?

For our lemon yogurt cake, you can use a standard loaf pan, a bundt pan, an 8-inch round cake pan, or an 8-inch square cake pan. This is, as my sister Christina says, a very forgiving cake.

Whichever pan you choose, you’ll prepare the same way. Spray generously with non-stick cooking spray.

If you’re using a loaf pan or either a round or square cake pan, it’s not a bad idea to line it with parchment to ensure easy removal after baking. If you’re using a bundt pan, just be sure to spray it or brush with cake release thoroughly.

I love USA Pan bakeware because it’s sturdy, cooks evenly, and releases food easily. This is not sponsored, I just love their loaf pans, cake pans, and bundt pans.

Yogurt Cake

So how do you serve this yogurt cake recipe? You have options, my friends!

You can serve a slice of this bright and happy French yogurt cake all by itself. It doesn’t really need anything else.

It is very traditional, though, to dust a little powdered sugar over it. Since the cake isn’t over sweet, it is a nice touch.

And should you decide to take it a little further into the realm of the divine, serve it with a dollop of Greek yogurt, crème fraîche, or whipped cream and a handful of berries.

French Yogurt Cake

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray a loaf or cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment. Alternately, spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set the pan aside. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.

Add the yogurt, sugar, eggs, and zest of the lemon to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and even in colour. Switch to a spatula and stir in the flour until moistened. 

Add the oil and stir until the mixture comes back together and is even. Scrape into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted near the center comes out clean.

Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the cake gently out onto a cooling rack set over a sheet pan. 

Whisk together the lemon juice and confectioner’s sugar and brush the glaze all over the top and sides of the cake. Repeat this process until all of the glaze has been used. 

Allow the yogurt cake to cool completely. The glaze will firm up as it cools. Serve in slices alone, dusted with confectioner’s sugar, or served with additional yogurt, crème fraîche, and berries.

Want more cake recipes?

Try out this Brown Sugar Peach French Yogurt Cake, Snickerdoodle Mug Cake {single serve cinnamon vanilla butter cake}, Maple Apple Upside Down Cake, Orange Olive Oil Cake with Candied Oranges, and Berry Skillet Cake.