Italian Yogurt Cake with Lemon and Olive Oil Recipe
A simple, moist cake that in Italy is often served with afternoon coffee. Yogurt makes it soft, olive oil adds a delicate aroma, and lemon brings freshness. It’s a “mix and bake” type of cake, perfect for beginners.
This is a typical Italian “cupboard cake”, baked from simple ingredients and kept under a dome so it’s always ready to serve with coffee, without any special occasion.
This Italian-style yogurt cake with lemon and olive oil perfectly reflects everyday Italian home baking – no fancy decorations, but full of flavour and aroma. Olive oil gives it a delicate fruity note and keeps the cake moist for a long time, while lemon brightens it up beautifully. It’s the kind of bake you can easily “throw” into the oven while you’re already baking something else for dinner.
Why this version works
- Yogurt and olive oil instead of butter keep the cake moist for a long time without making it heavy.
- The lemon goes into the batter and into the optional glaze, so the flavour is fresh but not overly sour.
- The two-bowl method minimises the risk of a gummy texture, even without a mixer.
Chef's tips
The ingredients should be at room temperature – this helps the cake rise evenly and prevents it from becoming dense. Be careful not to overmix: once you add the flour, it’s enough to combine the ingredients briefly, otherwise the cake will turn out rubbery. Check doneness with a skewer in several spots, because in moist yogurt cakes the centre takes the longest to bake through.
How to serve
Serve it for afternoon tea with a cup of espresso or cappuccino, just as it’s done in many Italian homes. It also works great as a simple breakfast cake for a lazy Sunday – just dust it with icing sugar and serve with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. For summer garden gatherings you can drizzle it with a light lemon glaze and cut into small squares to eat by hand.
Watch out for
- Don’t overmix the batter once you add the flour, or the cake will turn dense.
- Don’t take the cake out of the oven too early – the yoghurt centre needs the longest to bake through.
Ingredients
- yogurt small tub - 180 g
- flour about 1.5 cups - 240 g
- sugar about 3/4 cup - 150 g
- eggs at room temperature - 3 piece
- olive oil mild in flavor - 80 ml
- baking powder - 2 teaspoons
- lemon you need the zest and juice - 1 piece
- vanillin sugar optional - 1 teaspoon
- pinch of salt - 1 pinch
- sugar for sprinkling, optional - 2 tablespoons
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Line a loaf tin or a round springform tin about 22 cm in diameter with baking paper, or lightly grease with olive oil and dust with flour, making sure the sides are evenly coated with no bare patches.
- Wash the lemon thoroughly in warm water and dry it. Finely grate only the yellow zest, avoiding the bitter white pith. Squeeze out the juice and measure out 2 tablespoons for the batter.
- In one bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, vanillin sugar and salt. Whisk everything together until the mixture is uniform, with no visible clumps of baking powder.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice until the mixture is smooth and lightly foamy on the surface. Don’t whisk for too long – you just want to combine the ingredients.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, mixing with a spoon or whisk just until combined. The batter should be uniform and slightly fluffy, with no dry pockets of flour, but without long, vigorous mixing.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spoon or spatula. The surface should be even, slightly glossy, with no streaks of dry flour or large air bubbles.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the cake has risen, turned golden and started to pull away slightly from the sides of the tin. Insert a skewer into the centre – it should come out dry or with a few dry crumbs, but no wet batter.
- If after 25 minutes the top is already very dark but the skewer still comes out with wet batter, loosely cover the tin with aluminium foil and continue baking until the centre is set and no longer wobbles when you gently shake the tin.
- Remove the tin from the oven and leave the cake to stand for 10 minutes so some steam can escape. Then gently take it out of the tin and leave to cool completely on a rack, until the bottom is dry and cool to the touch.
- Before serving, dust the top with icing sugar or drizzle with a simple glaze made from icing sugar and lemon juice, so it forms a thin, slightly matte layer without drips.
Storage
Store the cooled cake well wrapped at room temperature for 2–3 days, or freeze individual slices for longer storage.
I usually bake this cake on Friday evening – that way we have something “to go with coffee” all weekend, and the kitchen still smells of lemon the next morning. I’ve sometimes taken it whole to our allotment, wrapped in a tea towel, and only sliced it at the table in the garden.
