This lemon yogurt cake is so light and fluffy. It is just four ingredients and doesn’t require any flour, butter or oil. The texture is so light it is almost like eating a cloud. The cake is great to serve for events or gatherings.
I love how light, soft and fluffy this cake is. It has a texture similar to Japanese cheesecake but it is more moist and is made with yogurt instead.
Ingredients
- Lemons
- Eggs
- Yogurt
- Condensed Milk
Lemons: This cake is flavored with fresh lemon juice and zest. The zest adds a lot of lemon flavor and fragrance to the cake.
Eggs: Eggs create the structure for this cake and are what makes the cake so incredibly light and fluffy.
Yogurt: This cake is made with plain whole milk Greek yogurt. Make sure to use Greek yogurt and not regular yogurt because regular yogurt is too runny.
Condensed milk: This cake is sweetened with full fat sweetened condensed milk.
How to Make Fluffy Lemon Yogurt Cake
The yogurt, condensed milk and egg yolks are first whisked together. Then the lemon juice and zest. Egg whites are then beaten until stiff peaks and folded into the batter. The cake is baked in a water bath. This helps the cake rise and creates its light texture.
More Yogurt Cake Recipes
- 4 Ingredient Creamy Lemon Yogurt Cake
- 3 Ingredient Fluffy Chocolate Yogurt Cake
- 3 Ingredient Fluffy Yogurt Cake
4 Ingredient Fluffy Lemon Yogurt Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (161 g) whole milk plain Greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup (177ml/238 g) sweetened condensed milk
- 4 large eggs, separated straight from fridge
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice + 1 tbsp lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Grease the inside of a 7 inch round cake pan with a cooking oil spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Do not line the sides but make sure they are greased. Use a solid one-piece cake pan (no removable bottom).
- Add yogurt, condensed milk and egg yolks to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until ingredients are fully incorporated and you have a smooth batter.
- Whisk in lemon juice and zest.
- Add egg whites to a large mixing bowl. Beat at highest speed until stiff peaks form. Add one third of the egg white mixture to the egg yolk batter. Fold it in gently with a spatula until no egg white lumps remain. 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.
- Pour batter into the 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. I used a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Make sure to use a pan that is only slightly larger than the pan the cake is baking in so that there is not too much water added. Place your cake pan into the bigger pan. Pour just enough cold tap water into the outer pan so that the water level reaches 5/16 inch. Use a ruler to measure the water to ensure you only have up to 5/16 inch. If your water level is too high, the bottom of your cake will cook too much, causing a dense bottom layer.
- Place cake with water bath into your oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until top of cake is browned and looks done. (Check on the cake through the oven window and don't open the oven door. You just want the top of the cake to look cooked.) 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. Let the cake cool to room temperature. Place cake uncovered into fridge for several more hours or overnight. This helps the cake develop a better flavor and will remove some of the excess moisture. If desired, dust top with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
- When measuring the water level for the water bath, make sure the cake is already in the pan before adding the water because the weight of the cake will affect the water level.
- When measuring the yogurt, remove any excess liquid that often pools up in the yogurt container.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Can you make this with non dairy condensed milk?
We haven’t tried it so not sure – let us know if you do and how it works.
I made this today and it was really good! I didn’t have a cake pan, so I used a round casserole dish and it worked well. I also used 2% fat greek yogurt. I plan to make this again. Thanks for sharing ?
That’s great!
So, for serving purposes, I’m assuming you cannot transfer this to a plate since it is not in a springform pan?!…….do you just cut while in the pan after appropriate cooling and resting.?
Thank you.
You can transfer to a plate. The cake should slide out pretty easily. I loosen the sides with a spatula and then gently led it slide out onto a plate upside down and then flip the cake over onto another plate so it’s rightside up.
What’s up with the cold eggs?
You never whip cold egg whites. Always room temperature for eggs.
It’s heavy cream that you whip while very cold.
That’s not true. Egg whites are kept cold and whipped for many Asian style cakes. As I mentioned, this recipe is based on Japanese cheesecake and Japanese cheesecake is made using cold egg whites.
I told my self ” must try”. Tq for the recipe & tips.
We hope you enjoy it!
What ruler do you have tat measures in thirds of an inch?
It’s approximately between 1/4″ and 1/2″ (mark five and six).
Can I use a different size round cake pan?
Sorry, but we’ve only used a 7″ pan.
I’m trying to find out what I did wrong. I followed everything to the letter except I didn’t have a 7″ pan so I used an 8″ instead. But even with the larger pan I had SO much more batter that could possibly fit so I put the rest in a 5″ pan. I baked as instructed, never opening the oven door, and still the cake fell. It tasted good but didn’t look like yours.
I’m not sure what happened. You shouldn’t have so much batter that it couldn’t even fill an 8 inch pan unless of course this is a very short 8 inch pan. How tall is your pan? If you had that much batter it sounds like you made an error with the ingredients because you shouldnt have that much batter. And that is likely why your cake fell. If the ratio of ingredients is off it will definitely affect whether the cake rises or falls. Also having to divide the batter into different pans would affect baking time.
Is there a way to make this diabetic friendly without the condensed milk?
sorry I don’t have a substitute for condensed milk at this time
I would love to have these recipes mailed to me.
Please sign up for our Recipe Newsletter!
I will definitely try this at home
We hope you love it!
Mi name Asalia im cook the cake 4 ingredient delicious thanks
Let us know what you think after you try it!
Could you use fat free greek yogurt instead?
Sorry, but we haven’t tried it.
I look forward to making these recipes soon.
Looks good
Thanks!
Eager to try these recipes
We hope you try them soon!
I have a dairy allergy, do you think the almond milk Greek yogurt would work in this?
Sorry but we have only tested it with whole milk Greek yogurt.
I have a dairy allergy. I used sweetened condensed coconut milk and coconut milk yogurt and it turned out great!
That’s great! Thank you for letting us know.
Would this work in a springform or loaf pan?
Sorry, but we haven’t tried those.
I did mine in a loaf tin and it work out good. Only reason for 4 stars instead of 5, is because, how long it takes before we can eat it?
Thanks for letting us know it worked in a loaf pan.
As I was making this I kept thinking its going to end with no success. I kept it in a little longer. More like 55mins. Then 1h 20 in the oven as I went out of the house. It was good on the day, but the next day it was AMAZING! Really light and very tasty!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad it worked out for you
So easy n delicious
I’m glad you liked it
Can i use another flavor thats not lemon like banana extract vanilla extract in this recipe. This sounds amazing just would be nice with other flavors. Or maybe instead of lemon juice replace with a tablespoon of rum or bourbon love some feedback!!
Those all sound like great ideas, but without testing them it’s hard to say how the cake might turn out. Let us know if you try it!
Can this be made with aquafelba , the fluid from a can of chickpeas and JusEgg product ?
Sorry we haven’t tested it with any egg substitutes
Wonderful! Served it for granddaughter’s high school graduation party. It was a hit. Lemon calorie and gluted free. I want to try I wth oranges too.
Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad it worked out for your granddaughter’s graduation party
This is not a cake. A cake by definition contains flour of some sort. This is a custard which, by definition, is comprised primarily of eggs and other dairy products. If you’re going to run a baking site, you should at least learn what to call things.
There are many desserts called cake that don’t contain flour. Ever heard of cheesecake or flourless chocolate cake? And this is not a custard. Just because it contains eggs and sugar doesn’t make it a custard. Eggs and sugar are the base for many desserts. This cake is a version of Japanese Cheesecake but made with yogurt instead of cream cheese.
Can I use condensed coconut milk?
I have not tested with coconut condensed milk. I don’t think it will work out based on my experience working with coconut condensed milk.
What is a best swop fir the condense milk to make it sugar free friendly
Sorry, but we don’t have a swap. We have a Keto Lemon Cake you might like instead.
This is brilliant! Can’t wait to try it out ?
We hope you enjoy it!
Just found you! Can’t wait for what’s to come!!
Thanks! Be sure to sign up for our Email Notifications so you don’t miss any new recipes!
Yum
Has anyone made this in the Instant Pot? Timing?
It’s a very nice and healthy cake
We’re glad you enjoyed it!
Tq for sharing. Hope to try bake it.
I love your no flour yogurt cakes as i’m a GF person. Thankyou dear. I will let you knaw how they all turn out for me.
We hope you enjoy them!
Wiil try I am nit a baker but looks simple for beginners
We hope you love it!
I cannot wait to try these recipes. I love Greek Yogurt.
Hi can I substitute condensed milk with honey? Thanks
No honey will not work as a substitute
This was extremely delicious!!
I’m so glad you liked it!
Can’t wait to make this !
Let us know what you think!
Can I substitute the condensed milk with anything?
Sorry, but we don’t have a substitute.
I love that
Do you have bread recipes as well?
Yes, we have lots of Bread Recipes!
The best cake. Thank you. Svitlana.
I’m so glad you liked it!
I didn’t mean a question mark, rather an explanation point! So GOOD!
thank you!
Oh my goodness thank you so much for the detailed instructions
Getting family off of refined sugar, processed foods and white starch
This is so satisfying ?