HEALTHY YOGURT CAKE (one-bowl)

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Who doesn’t love a simple and delicious yogurt cake that’s so easy to prepare and involves hardly any cleaning up? All you have to do is mix a few cheap ingredients, all in one bowl, and bake.

The result? A moist and mouth-watering cake loaded with yogurt and with hints of lemon and fruit jam.

This cake is a must, not only is it good, low sugar, and packed with nutrients, but it’s also inexpensive and super easy to mak

Friends, this is a foolproof recipe to keep in your back pocket and perfect for any occasion. I baked it thousands of times and it always turns out lovely.

Watch how to make it

What ingredients you need

• Yogurt
• Eggs
• All-purpose flour or spelt flour
• Baking powder
• Unrefined cane or regular sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Lemon zest
• Pinch of salt
• Vanilla essence
• Apricot or orange jam (optional)

HOW TO MAKE A YOGURT CAKE

• Mix eggs and sugar in one bowl
• Stir in vegetable oil, yogurt, lemon zest, and vanilla essence
• Whisk flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt and add to the bowl
• Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients until just combined

• Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes.
• Brush with warm apricot or orange jam. 
• Enjoy!

WHY CLEVER?

It’s one of the simplest healthy cake you can bake for the whole family, in no time and inexpensive: less than $ 4 (8 servings)!

Added bonus? 

It’s low sugar. I usually choose unrefined cane sugar, less processed than white sugar, but you can use any sugar you have on hand. However, the healthiest tip is reducing the amount of added sugar, whatever it is.

When it comes to cakes, expeller-pressed canola oil (or cold-pressed olive oil) is my choice. This oil is naturally produced by mechanically squeezing (pressing) the canola seeds and it doesn’t go through an insane amount of processing with chemical solvents.

RECIPE TIPS & FREQUENT ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT KIND OF YOGURT CAN I USE?

Plain, low-fat, or flavored yogurt with a “pourable” consistency works well in this recipe. However, I find the real Greek yogurt is too thick and gives a denser texture.

CAN I USE GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR INSTEAD OR REGULAR FLOUR?

Yes, I tested the recipe using only rice flour and it turned out well. See notes on the recipe card.

Eggs: possibly use eggs at room temperature and make sure the yogurt is not too cold. The ingredients should be more or less at the same temperature, this is a way to avoid a curdling batter.  But if that happens, don’t worry too much and bake it anyway.

Do not overmix the batter because working flour too much can produce gluten, which creates a dense and rubbery cake.

Flavor

I love the zesty lemons, they are always in my fridge alongside my yogurt, hence if I run out of creativity or ingredients, lemon yogurt cake is what I happily end up with. But this yogurt cake is actually a blank canvas for many other delicious ingredients. You can add to this recipe dark chocolate chips, spices, orange zest or whatever you like most.

Glaze

It’s totally optional, but it’s so simple to make and I love it.
I put some apricot or orange jam into a small saucepan. I heat gently over low heat until the jam has melted, and if it looks too thick I adjust the consistency with a tiny bit of warm water. When the glaze is the consistency of runny honey, I brush the yogurt cake straight away. Easy peasy.

Leftovers

It keeps well for up 3-4 days at room temperature, in an airtight container. But do not refrigerate: refrigeration dries this cake out! It’s also freezable: wrap the cake, or slices of cake, in plastic wrap (clingfilm), store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month.

MORE EASY HEALTHY CAKES?

• Chocolate & beetroot cake
• Strawberry bread
• Blender healthy carrot cake
• 20 healthy cake recipes

If you make this delicious and easy yogurt cake, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!

Print Recipe

4.87 from 46 votes

HEALTHY YOGURT CAKE

Mix a few cheap ingredients in one bowl and bake the easiest yogurt cake ever, so delicious, moist, with hints of lemon and fruity jam. Plus, it's low sugar and packed with yogurt.

*The recipe has been updated for more deliciousness!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword: yogurt cake

Servings: 8

Calories: 287kcal

Author: Katia

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250gr) plain yogurt
• 2 leveled cups (250gr) all-purpose flour or light spelt flour (I mixed both)
• 1/2 cup (100gr) white or unrefined cane sugar
• 1/2 scant cup (approx 80gr) vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla essence
• 1-2 Lemon, zest*
• 1 pinch salt

JAM GLAZE

• 3 Tbsp apricot or orange jam

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F°/180C° and place the rack in the middle position.
• Grease a 9x5x2.5 inch loaf pan with butter, cooking spray, or simply line the pan with parchment paper (in this case there's no need to grease the pan).
• Mix eggs and sugar, then add oil, lemon zest, vanilla essence and mix again. Add yogurt (not very cold) and mix it into a smooth consistency. All in one bowl.
• Whisk flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt together and add to the wet batter until just combined. 
• Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. 
• Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. 
• You can serve it plain or brushed with some quick and easy jam glaze which adds a lovely shine and flavor.

  I glazed this cake brushing some warm orange jam on top (see notes)*. 

Video

Notes

• Flour:  you can use white whole wheat, spelt, rice flour or all-purpose flour. Personally, I prefer mixing light spelt flour and all-purpose flour.
• Gluten-free flour: I tested the recipe using rice flour and it turned out well. I stirred the four into the batter and mixed well until smooth, then I baked it 5 minutes longer. It had a good rise and lovely flavor. However, it might be a bit less moist than its regular version, but perfectly enjoyable and not dry.
• Lemon flavor: add the zest of 2 large lemons if you prefer to boost the lemon flavor. 
• Fruit glaze: put 3 tablespoons of apricot or orange jam into a small saucepan. Heat gently over low heat until the jam has melted and If it looks too thick adjust the consistency with a tiny bit of warm water. When the glaze is the consistency of runny honey, brush the yogurt cake straight away.
• Baking the cake in a round pan rather than a loaf pan reduces the baking time (approx 30-35 minutes).
• Keeps well for 4 days at room temperature, in an airtight container.
• Do not refrigerate (refrigeration dries this cake out!)
• Freezable.

NOTE: nutritional values are calculated without the jam glaze and are estimates only.

Nutrition

Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 158mg | Potassium: 97mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 2mg