Recipe: Yogurt Olive Oil Lemon Cake

5 Replies

[UPDATED 24 FEB 2018]

I wanted to make the olive oil ricotta cake from the smitten kitchen cookbook, but the supermarket had no ricotta. However, I remembered reading in Deb’s introduction to the cake that it was a variation on a yogurt cake. So I thought, why not just use yogurt? I did, and it worked! This isn’t too unhealthy as far as cakes go: yogurt and olive oil’s health benefits balance out the sugar and white flour, in my opinion, and this cake takes less than 10 minutes to whisk together and get in the oven.

fullsizeoutput_7f4b

This is a really nice cake with a light texture and subtle, lemony flavor. It stays moist from the yogurt. It’s good plain or doused with rhubarb compote. Just really really nice.

Yogurt Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients

  • Cake:
    • 1 cup plain yogurt (I’ve used low-fat Greek-style as well as full-fat natural yogurt – both kinds work)
    • 1/3 cup olive oil
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • zest of 1 lemon
    • 2 eggs
    • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1.5 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp baking soda
    • 1/4 tsp salt

Procedure

  • Preheat the oven to 350F (175C – no fan). Oil or butter a cake or loaf pan.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, sugar, and lemon zest. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add to the wet mixture and stir until just combined.
  • Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden and a knife inserted comes out clean.
  • When the cake is finished, let it cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and/or serving.

Enjoy!