This lemon yogurt cheesecake is so light and fluffy. The cake needs just 3 ingredients and doesn’t require any flour, butter or oil. The cake can also be made ahead of time.

This lemon yogurt cheesecake is very fluffy and has a texture similar to Japanese-style cheesecake, but it is lighter than traditional Japanese cheesecake.

Ingredients

  • Lemon Skyr Icelandic Yogurt
  • Eggs
  • Condensed milk

Lemon Skyr Yogurt: This cake is made with lemon flavored Icelandic Skyr yogurt. Skyr is a fresh cheese that is often sold as a yogurt product, making it a great lighter yogurt and cheese substitute for cream cheese. It has a very creamy and thick texture.

Eggs: Eggs are used to create the structure for this cake. The egg yolks and whites are separated and the egg whites are beaten to peaks and folded gently into the batter, which helps the cake turn out very fluffy.

Condensed milk: Sweetened condensed milk is used to sweeten the cake and also helps with the structure of the cake.

How to Make Fluffy Lemon Yogurt Cheesecake

  • The yogurt, egg yolks and condensed milk are whisked together in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
  • Add the egg whites to a mixing bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium high speed until stiff peaks forms.
  • Fold in 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk batter with a spatula. Repeat with the next 1/3 and then the final 1/3. You want fold just until the egg white mixture is incorporated and be careful not to deflate the egg white mixture too much. The batter should look very light and airy and some small lumps of egg whites are okay.
  • Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan. Place the cake pan into a slightly larger baking pan (like a 9 inch sqaure pan) and fill the outer pan with 1/2 inch of water.
  • Bake the cake for about 50 minutes. The cake should be puffed and browned on top and the center should look set. Turn off the oven but do not remove the cake or open the oven door. Allow the cake to continue cooking with the oven off for about 45 minutes to one hour. Then remove the cake from the oven and allow the cake to finish cooling.
  • Once cooled, carefully release the cake from the pan. I recommend chilling the cake overnight before serving. This helps the cake flavors develop better. You can also dust the cake with powdered sugar or decorate with fresh fruit before serving.

Expert Tips

  • This cake is similar to Japanese-style souffle cheesecake, so the texture is very light and airy. This cake is lighter than Japanese cheesecake because it is made without cream cheese or flour. Instead, it uses Skyr, which is a fresh cheese that is often sold as yogurt.
  • This cake must be baked in a water bath to achieve its fluffy texture. It’s also important that the water level is not too high because that causes the bottom of the cheesecake to overcook.
  • Allowing the cake to continue to cook with the oven off helps the cake from deflating too fast and collapsing. It will still shrink as it cools, but the shrinking will be more gradual.
  • This cake may taste slightly eggy to some people if you eat it soon after it has cooled. It is best to refrigerate the cake for several hours or overnight, which allows the tangy and sweet flavors to develop more.

More Lemon Yogurt Cheesecake Recipes

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3 Ingredient Fluffy Lemon Yogurt Cheesecake

This fluffy and light lemon yogurt cheesecake has a texture similar to Japanese-style cheesecake. The cake only needs 3 ingredients and doesn't requrie any flour, butter or oil.
Servings: 8 slices
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 4 large eggs, yolks and whites separated, brought to room temperature
  • 1 cup (226g) lemon Icelandic skyr yogurt, brought to room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (177ml/225g) full fat sweetened condensed milk, brought to room temperature

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Spray the inside of an 7 inch round cake pan with a cooking oil spray. Line the bottom with a parchment round and line the sides with strips of parchment paper. Make sure to use a one-piece round cake pan and not a springform pan.
  • Add egg yolks, yogurt and condensed milk to a large mixing bowl. When measuring out the yogurt, remove any excess liquid (yogurt often has some liquid/water in the container, you don't want any of that in your mixture). Whisk until ingredients are fully incorporated and you have a smooth batter.
  • Place egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the wire whisk attachment, beat at medium high speed until stiff peaks form. I prefer to use a stand mixer but you can also use a hand mixer.
  • Add one third of the egg white mixture to your egg yolk batter. Fold it in gently with a spatula until no egg white lumps remain. You want to fold gently so you don't deflate the egg whites too much. Because this batter is very thin and liquidy, make sure you scoop up batter from the very bottom of the bowl each time you fold to make sure all of the batter gets incorporated with the egg whites. Repeat with the next 1/3 and then the remaining 1/3. For the last batch of egg whites, it is okay to leave some small egg white lumps. You just want to mix until the egg whites are mostly incorporated and the liquid part of the batter is uniform in color (the liquid batter should not look darker yellow in parts and lighter yellow in parts). The batter should look light and airy. See photo in post for reference.
  • Pour batter into your prepared baking pan. The cake will be baked in a water bath. To do this, place your cake pan into a slightly larger baking pan that is at least 2 inches deep. I used a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. After placing your cake pan into the bigger pan, pour just enough water (cold tap water) into the outer pan so that the water level reaches between 1/2- 3/4 inch. You do not want more than 3/4 inch of water because otherwise the bottom of the cake will cook too fast, creating a dense bottom layer. Make sure to add the water to the outer pan after you've put the cake in. If you add the water before, the added weight of the cake pan and cake batter will push up your water level more than 3/4 inch. I recommend using a ruler to measure the water level.
  • Place cake with water bath into your oven. Bake for about 50 minutes or until the cake is puffed and browned on the surface. Turn off the oven but do not open the oven door and leave the cake in the oven for 45 minutes to one hour. It is important to leave the cake in the oven (unopened) because this allows the cake to finish cooking and the gradual drop in temperature prevents the cake from suddenly collapsing. The cake will deflate as it cools, but it shouldn't completely collapse. After 45 minutes to one hour, you can remove the cake from the oven. Let the cake cool completely to room temperature. To remove cake from the pan, gently loosen the sides with a thin spatula. Then carefully flip the cake pan upside down onto a plate and the cake should slide out. Then flip the cake onto another plate to make it right side up again. Then place cake in the fridge for several hours or overnight. This helps the flavors develop better.
  • If desired, you can dust the cake with powdered sugar or garnish with fresh fruit. Cut the cake with a large sharp knife. Store any uneaten cake in the fridge in an airtight container.

Notes

  • Yogurt note: This recipe works best with Icelandic skyr yogurt because of its very thick consistency. There are two popular brands of skry in the US that can be found at most grocery stores alongside other yogurts: Siggi and Icelandic Provisions. I used Icelandic Provisions lemon skyr yogurt.*
  • I used La Lechera condensed milk*
  • *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 159kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 74mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 18g, NET CARBS: 17
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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