I have been meaning to try a yogurt cake for a long time. Clotilde at Chocolate & Zucchini says that gâteau au yaourt is a simple classic, a cake that is often the first thing that French children learn to bake. It doesn't need a mixer or more than one bowl — or more than 10 minutes, for that matter. And its tangy, fluffy texture is just a perfect pair for summer berries.
Here's the recipe I've been using lately, now that this wonderful cake has entered my repertoire. I'm well on my way to memorizing it, and it's becoming my go-to cake for company. I served it last week with heaps of fresh strawberries and dollops of whipped cream; it makes a wonderful strawberry shortcake.
This particular recipe comes with thanks from both Clotilde and Deb at Smitten Kitchen. I adapted the recipe a bit, and also expanded it to make a bit more. It should be baked in a springform pan, and it will serve at least 8, with leftovers for breakfast. It's barely sweet, so yes, it's perfectly respectable as a breakfast treat!

serves 8 or more
1 1/2 cups full-fat yogurt
2/3 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly ground nutmeg
Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan lightly with baking spray or oil, and line the bottom with parchment.
Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and nutmeg right into the liquids and stir just until no lumps remain.
Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, covering with foil at the end if the top is browning. When a tester comes out clean, transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Serve the cake warm or at room temperature. When well-wrapped, this keeps very well for several days.
Other Yogurt Cake Recipes
• Gâteau au Yaourt at Chocolate & Zucchini
• Lime Yogurt Cake with Blackberry Sauce at Smitten Kitchen
Related: Recipe: Fresh Coconut Mousse Cake
(Originally published June 1, 2010.)
(Images: Faith Durand)
Kart Serving Tray b...

Comments (49)
Ooohhh...this looks too good and too easy. A couple of questions: what kind of yogurt-regular or the thicker, Greek variety? And, do I want to use an extra virgin olive oil-one that I normally use to finish my dishes with or a more neutral tasting olive oil, one that I am more prone to cook with.
Thanks in advance!
I've made it lots and it is a pretty flexible cake. I've used regular, greek, and flavored yogurts, and both kinds on olive oil, sometimes strong olive oil with some lemon zest is nice, and neutral oil when I don't want the flavor to carry through. I also have never used a spring form pan, so don't let lack of one stop you.
That looks amazing!
I love Orangette's French-Style Yogurt Cake and it's totally been one of my go-to cakes ever since she posted it (that is was 2004 still amazes me...doesn't seem that long ago).
@rosebud -- I've made Orangette's cake with every kind of yogurt that has ever come into my house - Greek, plain whole-milk, flavored, labneh, even sour cream or creme fraiche works - and it's a no-fail delight every single time. I've also changed up the oil using canola, olive oil, hazelnut, roasted walnut. Every variation is good in different ways.
Omigoodness... I'm going to have to try this as cupcakes.
Thanks for the note about not needing a springform pan, barefootinthecourtroom - I was sad that I wouldn't be able to make this!
Just to clarify: this particular recipe would probably overflow a regular round 9-inch cake tin. I wanted a cake recipe that made a bit more than the standard one-layer yogurt cake, which I find is a bit scant for a party of 8.
You could cut the amounts down by about 1/3, or you could bake it in two 9-inch regular pans. You can also bake this in a 9x5 regular loaf pan.
I just made this. My spring form is a bit bigger than the standard 9", so it worked out great. I happened to have some fresh strawberries in the fridge, so we served it with those.
It was the quickest cake I have ever made, and came out just great. Very yummy. Everyone loved it. It was fast and easy enough we are thinking of doing it at our next camping event.
Here's a picture over on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/heresyoftruth/4661357139/
I have some pistachio oil that I would LOVE in this, too! Do you think you could sub in some whole grain flours? Rye, whole wheat, oat, or barley?
This is essentially sour cream pound cake with yogurt instead of sour cream. I've made this several times and prefer to use butter instead of oil. I add half the butter called for to make a lighter product. Yogurt is the perfect antidote for cakes.
As Faith points out, this can be made in a loaf pan. That's what I do and it comes out great every time.
If you substitute butter for oil, how much butter do you need?
do you think it would be okay to put berries in the cake?
I've made The Pioneer Woman's yogurt marmalade cake in a loaf pan and substituted in white whole wheat flour and butter. They both worked fabulously.
I second the whole grain flour question! Would it work just to lighten the total flour?
I am going to make this today with some of the homemade yogurt I made last week and I think I might add a pinch of cardamom.
I've made Orangette's version many times, including her lemon and almond variations. The almond one calls for ground almonds instead of some of the flour, and I've added the chocolate glaze from Julia Child's Queen of Sheba cake.
I usually make these with either all or part spelt flour, and they hold up very well.
They also hold up nicely to being mailed.
I have made Clothilde's cake too many times to count. I have used many types of yogurt, although vanilla and plain are my favorite in this. As far as oil, use whatever flavor you wish, it will work just fine. You can throw in berries, nuts, cocoa, etc. If frozen, make sure to toss in at last minute and barely fold in or your cake will be blue/pink/whatever from the juices. Not that I care, still tastes delish. Cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg are lovely with orange shavings or juice.
How do you think it would be for cupcakes? Also, do you think cutting down the sugar a little would hurt it? I have diabetic parents-in-laws? I want to make it for them when I'm visiting next week.
This might be a silly question, but would we call this a comparatively "healthy" cake? I've drastically reduced my sweets intake (you know, so I'm not mistaken for a whale or a sea lion on the beach in July) but I'm dying without cake.
@kelynn I tried this with blueberries in the cake, working from the C&Z recipe, and it didn't work well for me. Too moist and a very extended baking time, but I would like to explore this more.
I just had to try this recipe yesterday and made it in a silicon bundt pan. This is a definite keeper. I've been on a yoghurt making binge lately and had a little bit too much on hand, so the recipe was very timely. I had also been wanting to make an olive oil cake for some time and was pleasantly surprised at its wonderful texture and great taste.
I think it would be even better with the zest of a lemon in it. Not that there was anything wrong with this recipe, but it just seemed like lemon would enhance it.
@lem - With only 1 1/4c sugar and using olive oil, yes, this is a -comparatively- healthy cake. But, as with all sweets, mind your portion control and if you can stand to try with wholer wheats, try to avoid the all-purpose white refined flours. Look for a partial-wheat cake flour or something similar :) Also, choose naturally-sugared yogurt - watch out for the high-fructose corn syrup that's in most commercial yogurts these days.
Scrumptious, mama!
Not too sweet or intense but still a compelling cake.
However, the olive oil is the real star, not the yogurt girl. As bakingstone noted, a bit of lemon would add a brightness that would highlight the yogurt's tang and equalling out the olive oil and yoghurt tastes. Try it, honeybear!
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Saltine
Made it last night. NOT a fan, definite thumbs-down. Though I followed the recipe exactly, I found it to be too moist, not fluffy, and kinda rubbery. Fortunately the strawberries masked the texture and taste. If I make this again, I'll be playing with the ratio of wet ingredients, perhaps less oil and yogurt.
I agree RLB. I made it today and was disappointed. I think it would be much better with butter. This will not become part of my repertoire.
I went through with my threats to try the yogurt cake as cupcakes, and it came out brilliantly, even with serious substitutions -- fluffy, sweet, and amenable to freezing/microwaving.
http://emuisemo.com/?p=177
Hi. I just made this cake last night. Absolutely DELICIOUS! I made this cake in a propane oven which was originally intended for natural gas (not my house luckily! lol)...meaning the oven's temperature is over 400 degrees when I set the darn thing at 325!!
Long story short my cake baked in 26 minutes and burned in the first 10. Despite the blackened top this experiment made my taste buds very happy! I tweaked the recipe by adding extra nutmeg and freshly ground cardamom (about 10 seed pods' worth...maybe more? I can't remember but you can't go wrong with cardamom...)
Next time I will set the temp below 300 on my mutant oven, and try orange rind extra cardamom. Yum. I suggest trying all sorts of cool spices, maybe curry powder and cloves too! okay...getting a little carried away, but this recipe is a wonderful one to try out different things!
I used extra virgin olive oil and after baking the cake, I couldn't really smell/taste it - but I use so much olive oil in everything maybe my taste buds are a little used to the flavor.
I made this cake the other day. It's SO easy and tasty.
After learning about this recipe through the Kitchn last year, it's the ONLY cake I made. I just love it soo much, I could never make another kind.
I've made many variations of it too and have served it with many different things as well.
Love it!
Clotilde's yogurt cake recipe from her Chocolate & Zucchini book is really the best yogurt cake I've ever made. It's in regular rotation at my house for a basic and simple everyday cake and endlessly adaptable.
I tried this last time I saw this post and it was fabulous!
It is a great recipe for kids - my son was just 3 the first time we made this, and he was so into dumping the ingredients into the bowl and mixing. Simple and fun!
Discovered this recipe last summer and it is GREAT. Glad to hear that other readers have tried other kinds of yogurt with good results. Plan to do a little experimenting myself.
I enjoyed this cake a lot - I had just read Lunch in Paris and this recipe was in there. Made if for my mum's birthday and she enjoyed it immensely.
I've made a very similar sour cream cake as mentioned and I love it with Apple Butter. You can toast the cake and serve it with warm apple butter- here is a easy recipe I've used yummy
http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/apple-butter-2977
this is also a go-to recipe for me from the first time i saw it on chocolate and zucchini - i've made it plain, or with apples, pears, cinnamon, cardamom, nuts (not all at the same time) mixed in. it can be an everyday cake, or has been 'dressed up' as a birthday cake.
oh, and i've substituted whole grain flours, or lowfat yogurt. in terms of the sugar someone mentioned in yogurt - i use plain yogurt, which doesnt have any added sugar.
SIGH........I've still never made this... (so many recipes, so little time...)
I made this Friday night for Saturday brunch dessert. Served with strawberries and whipped cream, it was a hit. I'm going to try dowsing slices with Berentzen's apple liqueur, then serve with whipped cream on the side with a an apple slice garnish.
This is an interesting cake. To borrow a wine phrase, it has a long finish--a lingering richness. It's not bitter or oily at all, I thought it would be with all that olive oil. Instead the slight acidity of the olive oil combined well with the yogurt. I added a touch of almond flavoring to the vanilla called for in the recipe. The cake tasted familiar but I couldn't remember from where. It was a pleasant experience.
Eilonwi, YOU'RE A GENIUS!!! YES!! CUPCAKES!!!
This cake sounds wonderful! I calculated the nutritional info per slice (assuming the cake serves 8) so here it is:
Calories 471
Carbs 39
Fat (g) 22
Protein (g) 9
I made this cake twice this weekend. The first time I made it, I followed the recipe exactly (using greek yogurt). The second time, I used butter instead of olive oil, used light brown sugar instead of regular sugar, and added some cognac to complement the nutmeg. Both were delicious, but the second one was better.
I personally blame faith and her awesome recipe for these extra kilos I got.....;)
I added about one and a halfcupfuls of raisins (black), if that's what they're called,along with about two tbsp of light rum One timeand about acupfulof slivered almonds along with a cupful of raisins as above along with two tbsp of brandy, and just adjusted the sugar to match the intended guest level, and it works.....it works like magic....added two more eggs and used half a cup more of flour with half a tbsp of baking powder extra with wine in place of the spirit, whole almonds in place of the raisin etc, and orange flower water in place of the nutmeg and made biscotti out of the remnant and it is a charm...thank you faith, thank you.....
Ever since this recipe was featured some years ago on The Kitchn, it's the only cake I ever make. Something about that subtle flavor that it's addicting. It's also naturally super moist. I just loooove yogurt cakes!
I LOVE yogurt cake! I usually use Orangette's recipe. Last spring I made one and brushed the top with homemade meyer lemon marmalade while it was still warm and it was AMAZING! I have to make one again soon.
I base my yogurt cake recipe off Smitten Kitchen's, but usually use a bit more yogurt than she calls for, 1 less egg and just a smidgen less oil. I also like to add orange zest and a tablespoon of orange juice, plus chocolate chips! ALSO, I have learned from, ahem, personal experience that this is cake is really hard to ruin---I've left it an embarrassingly long time in the oven (forgot to set the timer!) and although the outside was a bit crispy, the inside was still amazingly moist.
I've been thinking next time I might try lime zest (or lime yogurt?) and add some cocoa ... but I can't decide if that would be great or weird.
I made this this weekend and it is so delicious. The moistest cake I've ever made. I used non-fat Greek yogurt and about a tablespoon less oil, and it turned out fine and probably saved some calories and fat. Mine already tasted lemony but I agree that some zest of a citrus fruit would be a delightful addition.
I decided to make this recipe in a loaf pan after reading in earlier comments that it would work that way. Unfortunately, the batter overflowed in the oven and I ended up with a huge mess. I'm not sure what wen't wrong, as I used a standard-sized bread/loaf pan.
I just made this in order to use up a bunch of vanilla yogurt (which I froze and then thawed - it worked fine!). Because it wasn't full fat, I strained it for 20 mins - worked fine - and because the yogurt had sugar and vanilla, I used 1/2 the sugar and only a splash of vanilla. Unfortunately I also used extra virgin olive oil which, if you knew it was there, was definitely identifiable (though one person really liked it and couldn't taste it at all!).
I think this would be better with a lighter-tasting oil (just canola or something) or turned into a savoury recipe with the evoo and a little rosemary and sea salt - Yum!!
PS. Thanks for the recipe - I'll definitely do it again (SO EASY!)!
I've been looking forward to the yellow-cake equivalent of a 6-min chocolate cake. Although not as easy, it's easy enough, delicious, and elegant. I used orange-infused olive oil, and the zest of one orange.