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This lemon yoghurt cake is the perfect cake to make on a Sunday evening, so that you have something to have with your afternoon cup of tea throughout the week. A slice of this deliciously moist and lemony cake is just what you need for your afternoon pick-me-up.
To make this lemon yoghurt cake, all you need is a few staple ingredients! Sugar, eggs, butter, flour, lemon zest and the addition of thick Greek yoghurt makes the cake beautifully moist.
It is really quick and easy to make the batter; you will only need patience whilst it is in the oven and cooling.
Remember, the cake must be completely cool before you put on the icing, otherwise, it will melt and soak into the cake!
The original recipe can be found in Mary Berry´s Baking Bible (a classic, if you don’t already own a copy then it should definitely be something for your Christmas list!🎄).
I have, however, made a few changes to the method, as I thought “my way” was easier and also used fewer bowls, meaning less washing up to do! And that is always a win!
In my version of this lemon yoghurt cake recipe, I used 4 medium eggs. The original called for 3 large eggs, so if you only have large eggs available, use three of those.
TIP:
The main rise in the cake comes from the beaten egg whites. To ensure the egg whites can be whisked properly, I recommend using a (very clean!) glass bowl, as I find this gives the best results. Any grease will prevent the egg whites from stiffening.
To ensure good height to the cake, pay special attention when folding in the egg whites into the rest of the cake mixture so that you don´t knock out too much air!
I used a deep 20cm round cake tin to make the lemon yoghurt cake, however, you could also opt for a large loaf tin instead.
You can store the cake in the fridge and eat it throughout the week – if it even lasts that long! With all my university friends tucking in, it barely lasted two days 😋😅!
For more great baking recipes, why not also try this mouth-watering Lemon Drizzle Traybake? Or use up some very ripe bananas in this Swedish Banana Bread recipe!
If you would rather like to make something savoury, you could try making this Seeded Loaf or my really quick and easy Cheddar Cheese and Chive Soda Bread!
Lemon Yoghurt Cake
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE LEMON YOGHURT CAKE:
- 300g caster sugar
- 50g butter, softened
- 4 medium eggs, separated
- 225g Greek yoghurt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 175g self-raising flour, sifted
FOR THE ICING:
- 150g icing sugar
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan. Lightly grease a 20cm deep round baking tin and line the base with baking paper.
- Separate the eggs and place the egg whites into a clean glass bowl and the yolks into another.
- Add the caster sugar and butter to the bowl with the egg yolks.
- With an electric whisk, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
- Next, beat the egg yolks, caster sugar and butter with the electric whisk (no need to clean) until smooth. Then add the Greek yoghurt and lemon zest and continue to beat until well combined.
- Next, fold in the self-raising flour until it has been completely incorporated. Once all the flour has been mixed in, gently fold in the egg whites into the mixture, trying to knock out as little air as possible.
- Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking tin, and bake in the preheated oven for 60-75 minutes, until the lemon yoghurt cake is golden brown, firm to the touch and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, before removing it and leaving it to cool completely on a wire rack.
- To make the icing, stir the icing sugar together with a little lemon juice at a time, until the icing has a thick, glossy consistency. Spread over the top of the cake and leave to harden before cutting the cake.
