This yogurt cake is incredibly light, fluffy and soft. It is just 3 ingredients and doesn’t require any flour, butter or oil. It’s a perfect dessert when you want to make a unique cake for family or friends.
a slice of yogurt cake on a white plate.

I’m excited with how this yogurt cake came out. The texture and appearance are very much like Japanese cotton cheesecake. However, the cake is made with yogurt instead of cream cheese. The cake is so soft and light.

Ingredients

  • Eggs
  • Whole Milk Plain Greek Yogurt
  • Sweetened Condensed Milk

Eggs: Eggs are the key to the structure and texture of this cake. Eggs are separated and the egg whites are whipped to stiff peaks and folded in. This is what allows the cake to be so light and fluffy.

Greek Yogurt: For this recipe you do need to use Greek-strained yogurt. Regular yogurt is too runny. Try to use a brand of Greek yogurt that is very thick. I’ve come across some that are very runny and almost the same as regular yogurt. I have only tested this with whole milk Greek yogurt. I don’t think it will work with low fat or fat free.

Condensed milk: Make sure to use full fat sweetened condensed milk.

Fluffy Yogurt Cake Texture

If you’ve ever had Japanese cheesecake, the texture of this cake is very similar to that. It’s a cross between a souffle and a sponge cake. It’s very light, airy, and soft. I actually have a 3 Ingredient Japanese cheesecake recipe as well.
a piece of cake on a plate.

How to Make Yogurt Cake

  • In a large bowl, combine egg yolks, condensed milk and yogurt. Whisk until you have a smooth mixture.
  • Then, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks. This can be done with a hand mixer or stand mixer, but I prefer stand mixer.
  • Gently fold the egg whites into the batter in three batches. The batter is then poured into your prepared cake pan.
  • The cake needs to be baked in a water bath. This simply means you need to put the cake pan in a bigger pan and fill the outer pan with water.

a slice being removed from the yogurt cake.

Tips

  • Make sure to use a regular one-piece round cake pan. Do not use a springform pan or a round cake pan with a removable bottom. This cake bakes in a waterbath and cake pans with removable bottoms can cause leaking and overcooking. Some people suggest simply wrapping the bottom of a springform pan in foil so that water from the waterbath doesn’t get inside, but even though water doesn’t leak in, the bottom layer of the cake still is affected by the boiling water and ends up cooking too much, creating a dense bottom layer.
  • To make it easier to remove the cake from the cake pan, you will want to make some parchment paper handles like the ones shown below. To do this, first grease the inside of your cake pan. Then place in two strips of parchment paper that run across the cake pan from one side to the other with some overhang. The two strips should cross and form an “X’ at the bottom of the pan. Then line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with parchment paper as you would normally do.a cake pan lined with strips of parchment paper.
  • Please refrigerate the cake after is done cooling. Just leaving it out for a few hours at room temperature is not enough. Letting the cake refrigerate will allow the flavors of the cake to develop. If you don’t refrigerate the cake, it tastes like a moist souffle that isn’t very sweet and doesn’t have much flavor. However, after you refrigerate it, the cake is much sweeter, you taste the tanginess from the yogurt and the overall texture of the cake is better also (it is very moist when it is first baked but some of that moisture evaporates when you refrigerate it).

More Unique Cake Recipes to Try

4.84 from 12 votes

3 Ingredient Fluffy Yogurt Cake

An incredibly light, fluffy and soft yogurt cake that is just 3 ingredients. This cake doesn't require flour, butter or oil!
Servings: 10 slices
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 4 large eggs, separated, straight from fridge
  • 1 cup (227 g) whole milk plain greek strained yogurt
  • 3/4 cup (177ml/238g) full fat sweetened condensed milk

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray the inside of an 7 inch round cake pan with a cooking oil spray. Line with parchment paper. You will want to create handles along with lining the bottom and sides so that you can remove the cake easily after it is done. See notes for how to line the cake pan properly.
  • Separate egg yolks and whites. Place eggs whites into fridge until ready to use.
  • Add egg yolks, yogurt and condensed milk to a large mixing bowl. When measuring out the yogurt, be careful to 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.
  • Remove egg whites from fridge. Place into a separate large mixing bowl. Beat at highest 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. Because this batter is very 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 remaining 1/3. Your batter should look very light and airy.
  • Pour batter into prepared baking pan. The cake will be baked in a water bath. To do this, place your cake pan into a larger baking pan that is at least 2 inches deep. I used a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Place your cake pan into the bigger pan. Pour just enough water (cold tap water) into the outer pan so that the water level reaches 1/2 inch. Make sure to add the water to the outer pan after you've put the cake in. If you add 1/2 inch of water before, the added weight of the cake pan and cake batter will push up your water level more than 1/2 inch which can cause the bottom of the cake to cook too fast, which will create a dense bottom. I recommend using a ruler to measure the water level.
  • Place cake with water bath into your oven. Bake for 40 minutes. Then reduce the baking temperature to 325°F (163°C) and bake for about 10 more minutes. The cake should have risen and the surface should be dark brown. Turn off the oven but do not open the oven door and leave the cake in the oven for 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 shrink down, but it shouldn't completely collapse. After one hour, you can remove the cake from the oven. Use the cake handles to lift the cake from the pan and transfer to a plate. Let the cake cool to room temperature. Then place cake in the fridge (uncovered) for several hours (ideally overnight).
  • Before serving, bring cake out of the refrigerator. If desired, you can dust top with powdered sugar. You can serve the cake cold or at room temperature.

Notes

  • This cake is best made at least one day ahead of time because it needs to refrigerate for several hours or ideally overnight, so please keep this in mind if you are making it for an event.
  • This cake is sweet but not super sweet. I was really inspired by Japanese cheesecake which is also not super sweet. If you prefer sweeter desserts, you can add a sweet topping to the cake or you can add an extra 1/4 cup of condensed milk to the batter. However, adding the extra condensed milk may cause the bottom of your cake to have a thicker layer.
  • This cake should be baked in regular one-piece 7 inch round cake pan. You do not want to bake in a round cake pan with removeable bottom like a springform pan. See post tips for more details as to why.
  • I use this Fat Daddio 7 inch round cake pan.*
  • *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
  • Before lining the cake pan, you want to create some handles so that you can easily lift your cake out of the pan. See tips section and photo in post for reference. Then, line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with parchment paper as usual.
  • I have only tested this with full fat plain greek yogurt and full fat sweetened condensed milk.
  • I used US standard large eggs.
  • Nutrition estimate does not include powdered sugar topping.
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 129kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 58mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 14g, NET CARBS: 13
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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