Lemon Greek Yogurt Loaf Cake
- April 27, 2020
- 49 Comments
This is seriously the BEST lemon cake that you’ll ever taste! This Lemon Greek Yogurt Loaf Cake contains the perfect combination of sweet and tart flavors!
How’s everyone holding up?? I’ll admit it…spending most of my days at home with my rambunctious, LOUD little boys can get a little frustrating at times, but I’ve learned to channel some of that frustration and brush up on my baking skills!
If you liked this recipe, you’ll LOVE these:
- Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake
- Light & Fluffy Matcha Lemon Muffins
- Lemon Berry Greek Yogurt Parfait
I’ve been baking everything that I can possibly think of which doesn’t make my husband very happy lol. He loves my cooking, but hates the “little sticky bowls” that I leave in the kitchen sink! He always makes such a fuss…but when I made this Lemon Greek Yogurt Loaf Cake, he didn’t have much to say. That’s because his mouth was filled with cake lol!
I got the idea for this recipe after experimenting with a batch of lemon muffins. The muffins were delicious, but the texture was a little too soft so I decided to tweak the recipe a little bit and came up with the perfect lemon loaf cake recipe!
If you liked this recipe, you’ll LOVE these:
- Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake
- Light & Fluffy Matcha Lemon Muffins
- Lemon Berry Greek Yogurt Parfait
Lemon Greek Yogurt Loaf Cake
This recipe is extremely easy to make and it doesn’t even require a mixer! Simply, start by whisking together the sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla Greek yogurt, lemon zest and extract. I like to use Greek yogurt whenever I bake a cake because it gives it such a rich, moist texture. It also adds an additional amount of protein! ?
Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and pour the batter into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan. Bake until the top is set and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
If you liked this recipe, you’ll LOVE these:
- Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake
- Light & Fluffy Matcha Lemon Muffins
- Lemon Berry Greek Yogurt Parfait
Let the lemon loaf cake cool for about 20-30 minutes before drizzling it with the glaze! And if you’re feeling a little sassy, add a few lemon slices on top for a beautiful presentation!
This Lemon Greek Yogurt Loaf Cake is absolutely perfect by itself, but the lemon glaze brings out that amazing the lemon flavor even more! When making this cake, I definitely recommend making more than one because IT’S JUST THAT GOOD!
If you liked this recipe, you’ll LOVE these:
- Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake
- Light & Fluffy Matcha Lemon Muffins
- Lemon Berry Greek Yogurt Parfait
Lemon Greek Yogurt Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 and ½ tablespoons lemon extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 and ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Lemon Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice or more if needed for the perfect consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, vanilla Greek yogurt, lemon zest, lemon extract, and oil until smooth and combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and stir until just combined; be sure not overmix. Overmixing can result in a tough cake. Some lumps will be present in the batter, but don’t try to stir them smooth.
- Pour the batter the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the top is set and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter. To help prevent excessive browning, loosely drape a piece of foil over the cake in the last 10 minutes of baking.
- Allow loaf cake on a wire rack for at least 20-30 minutes before drizzling it with the lemon glaze.
- To Make the Lemon Glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and combined. If needed more lemon juice or powdered sugar until the desired consistency is reached. Evenly drizzle glaze over bread before slicing and serving.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Did you make this?
I’d love to know! Please let me know by leaving a review below. Or snap a photo and share it on Instagram; be sure to tag me @beautifuleatsandthings
Delicious! And I am not a fan of lemon desserts, but this cake and glaze is amazing! Also, if you do not have lemon extract, vanilla extract is an excellent substitute.
Thanks so much!
I’ve made this cake several times and it is always delicious. Only had plain greek yogurt so I added a splash of vanilla-still delicious. Easy and reliable and always enjoyed by everyone. Has become one of my go-to recipes!
Thanks! I’m so glad that you enjoy it!!
Can you substitute regular yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt?
Yes you can and it should turn out just fine!
Thank you!
My suggestion would be lemon juice from the zested lemon instead of lemon extract.
From trial and error, the lemon juice did not provide a strong lemon flavor, so I prefer using the lemon extract in this recipe.
Does this have to be a loaf cake? Would the recipe work well in a bundt pan?
I have not tried it in a bundt pan before, but you may have to adjust the cooking time a little bit.
What about in a muffin form? Does that work?
I haven’t tried to make them in muffin form, but they should turn out just as tasty!
Delecious Cake
Is lemon extract the same as lemon juice?
I wouldn’t recommend using lemon juice instead of lemon extract because the juice wouldn’t provide a strong lemon flavor.
You can use 2x the amount of lemon juice :). In my experience for every 1tbsp of lemon extract, you need 2tbsp of lemon juice. You may need to put in a tiny bit extra flour though.
My 13 year old daughter and I baked this recipe today, using a nine-mini-loaf pan (batter filled eight of them), baked at 325 for 25 minutes. Delicious!! We wanted a small treat to give to neighbors and this recipe was easy and very lemony. So good!
Alyson
I’m so glad that you guys enjoyed it!!
I plan to make this next weekend. Because I don’t have lemon extract and don’t think I’ll be able to pick up before I bake, I plan to use lemon flavored yogurt. My husband loves Noosa lemon yogurt–it’s very lemony, and we always have some on hand! Looking for to making it.
Thanks! I hope that you enjoy it!
This cake looks delicious. Would it be possible to bake in muffin tins? Thank you
Hi! You can definitely try baking them in muffins tins! I haven’t tried that yet, so be sure to let me know how they turn out!
Hi, how much is 1 cup to gram?
Hi! It should be 128 grams.
Thaaaaank you! I found your recipe cos I had waaaaaayyyy too many lemons and I needed a dessert to accompany an Arab chicken stew. Didn’t have lemon extract so I swapped it with 1 tbsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp rose water, Baked and glazed as you did with an additional sprinkling of dried crushed French roses. My husband finished the whole cake! And it was a beautiful ending to a great dinner!
I’m so glad that you’re enjoying this recipe! 🙂
Hi Andy!
I have made this Lemon Loaf at least a dozen times…it’s a huge hit!! Do you think it would be OK to add coconut? If so, at what point do you recommend doing that?
Thank you!
Sylvia Hasbach
I’m so glad that you’re enjoying this recipe! I would suggest adding it to the batter, or if you want to add it on top, do it during the last few minutes of the cooking process.
This is such a great recipe! I used vanilla extract to make the plain Greek yogurt I had “not so plain” and it worked wonderfully! I used lemon juice instead of lemon extract because I didn’t have any sadly. It was delicious! What I did to make sure there was a strong lemon flavor was added a ton of zest to the batter as well as the glaze! I baked in mini loaf pans and did 375 for about 20 minutes and it was perfect! Thank you for this recipe it will be a staple in our household!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it!
Hi thanks for the recipe – for the cooling stage do you remove the load from the pan and put it on a wire rack or do you put the loaf in the pan on the wire rack?
Hi! You can leave it in the pan and place it on the wire rack.
Loved this, so yum! I used fresh lemon juice instead of lemon extract and put in extra zest! wish i was able to post my pics but don’t see that option!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it!!
This is a wonderful recipe. I made it yesterday and I’m making another batch today. I didn’t have any lemon extract so I just used the juice of one and a half lemons. With the added glaze on top it was was lemony enough! ?
Thanks
Thanks so much!
Made the recipe exactly as printed….Delicious. Wouldn’t change a thing!
This looks delish! Do you think it would come out ok if I added fresh blueberries?
I’m sure that would be delicious!
Can I use melted butter instead of the oil. I am making this for someone who loves and is able to eat all the butter she wants without getting fat.
Yees, that should be fine!
Hi
I am from the UK but have lived in Cyprus in the Mediterranean for over 21 years. I came across this Lemon Greek Yoghurt cake which I have been hoping to find. However your ingredient weights are not what I am used to and don’t know what they are in pounds and ozs. Can you help to convert so I can make this delicious sounding cake please?
Regards
Lyn in Cyprus
Lyn, Use measuring jug and measure everything using that. 1 cup is 8 fluid oz or
250 ml depending what your measuring jug has on it,
Hi, can I substitute olive oil for the veg oil or would that change the flavor too much?
You could, but it definitely will change the flavor.
Can I use a sugar substitute? My dad is diabetic
You should be able to, but the measurement will be different