This French-style yogurt cake is tender, soft and moist. It only needs 4 ingredients and doesn’t require any eggs. The batter comes together in one bowl and no mixer is needed. The cake can be enjoyed for brunch, afternoon tea or dessert.
French yogurt cake is one of my favorite yogurt cakes to eat. I’ve been wanting to share an eggless version of French yogurt cake for a long time and am excited to finally be able to share this with you. This version has a crumb that is just as soft and moist as classic French yogurt cake but you don’t need any eggs for this recipe.
Classic French yogurt cake is a very popular French cake. Many French children are taught to make it when they are kids and they don’t even need any measuring cups– they only need to use the yogurt container for measuring the ingredients. This version does use measuring tools but it is still easy to make.
Ingredients
- Self-rising flour
- Vanilla yogurt
- Sugar
- Oil
Self-rising flour: Self-rising flour is all purpose flour that already has baking powder and salt added to it. If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can also make your own by combining all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
Vanilla yogurt: This recipe works best with French-style yogurt. French yogurt is sold in supermarkets in little glass pots. French yogurt is an unstrained yogurt that is made directly in the individual glass pots. French yogurt is thick, creamy and not as tangy as regular American yogurt. As a result, you won’t really taste the yogurt flavor in this cake at all but the cake is so soft and tender because of the use of yogurt. You can substitute French yogurt with other thick yogurt varieties, but the cake will come out more tangy if you use another style of yogurt. We do not recommend Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is strained yogurt and it changes the texture of the cake, making it more dense and bread-like.
Sugar: The cake is sweetened with regular granulated white sugar.
Oil: Canola oil is used for this cake. We recommend canola oil because of its neutral flavor. If you use a stronger flavored oil like olive oil, you will taste the oil flavor in the cake.
How to Make Egg-Free French Yogurt Cake
The yogurt, sugar and oil are first whisked together. The flour is then added in and gently folded in with a spatula. The batter is then poured into your prepared cake pan and baked.
Cake Texture and Sweetness
This cake has a very soft and moist crumb. It is not overly sweet. You can dust the top with powdered sugar or add a vanilla glaze icing on top if you prefer your cakes to be sweeter. I like keeping it simple and serving mine with fresh berries and a little whipped cream.
More Yogurt Cake Recipes
4 Ingredient French Yogurt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups (309 g) vanilla whole milk French yogurt
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp (173 g) granulated white sugar
- 7 tbsp (3.5 fl oz/104 ml) canola oil
- 2 cups (262 g) self-rising flour (see note before starting)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add the yogurt, sugar and oil. Use a whisk to mix until you have a smooth and uniform batter.
- Add the flour and use a spatula to fold in the flour. Only use a spatula and do not overmix. You want to fold until the flour is completely incorporated and there are no unmixed pockets of flour. However, you do not need to mix until the batter is smooth. It is okay if there are some small lumps.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The surface of the cake should also bounce back if you apply light pressure. Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting and serving.
Video
Notes
- We recommend using French-style yogurt. It is sold in little glass pots/jars in the supermarket. French yogurt is very creamy, thick and not as tangy as regular yogurt so you won't really taste any tang in the cake. If you use another type of yogurt, you will taste the tangy yogurt flavor more. If you can't find French yogurt, you can substitute with other brands of thick-style not strained whole milk vanilla yogurt, such as Noosa brand. Make sure to use a regular whole milk yogurt and not a Greek yogurt.
- We used Oui by Yoplait vanilla whole milk French-style yogurt for this recipe.
- Self-rising flour: Make sure to use a self-rising flour that has 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup. There are some brands with lower protein and some with higher protein and they will not work well for this recipe. We used Gold Medal Self-Rising flour*.
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Homemade self-rising flour: Combine 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 tbsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt. Whisk to evenly combine. Make sure the all purpose flour you are using contains 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup.
- We don't recommend substituting canola oil with other oils because you want to use a neutral flavor oil for this cake so that you don't taste the oil flavor.
- This cake is only lightly sweetened. If you prefer a sweeter cake you can add a glaze on top.
- The cake does not need a glaze and French yogurt cake is usually left plain or dusted with a little powdered sugar. However if you do want a glaze, here is the one I used in the photos.
- Optional Vanilla Glaze: Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 1 tbsp whole milk. Whisk until smooth. If glaze is too thick, add a splash more of milk. If it's too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. Drizzle glaze over cake if desired.
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.
I made this cake to take to a friend’s lunch. The cake rose really well and whilst I was driving to the lunch I remembered I forgot to put the oil in. The cake tasted great, though next time I will remember the oil.
Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake even without the oil. I think you’ll find the cake crumb is even more tender with the oil.