Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake

Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake is perfumed with lemon 3 ways. Fresh lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and pure lemon extract join forces with tangy Greek yogurt for a burst of fresh flavor! This is a great pound cake with an even crumb and melt in your mouth texture.

It took months of baking hundreds of pounds cakes to create my incredibly popular vanilla Pound Cake recipe. If you’re a baking geek like me, you can read all about how I adjusted the ingredient percentages in this comprehensive post about creating a great cake recipe.

I have also created a comprehensive “Cake Batter Course” which explains step by step and ingredient by ingredient how I created a great pound cake recipe by adapting the “original” recipe. If you’re interested, over 7 classes you can learn all about the ingredients and mixing methods for cake batter.

It’s pretty detailed stuff, but what you learn about baking can be applied to all your recipes, not just cake batter. And it’s free here on Baking Sense.

Why this is the best Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake

This is a really great pound cake with big, bold lemony flavor. Greek yogurt tenderizes the cake with added fat and gluten-fighting acidity.

Why add lemon three different ways?

  • The juice has the wonderful tang we associate with lemon flavor. Glazing the warm cake with fresh lemon syrup gives a tart-sweet pop of flavor in every bite of cake.
  • The zest is where you find the lemon perfume, because that’s where the oils are. If we use just the juice we get the tang without the perfume. If we use just the zest we get the perfume, but none of the zippy acidity.
  • For the third addition of lemon flavor, I add pure lemon extract. I have a favorite lemon extract that has a very special floral flavor that I adore. But any good lemon extract will add a layer of floral lemon flavor.
  • The juice, zest and extract add up to a complex and deep lemon flavor.

How to make Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake:

a measuring cup filled with eggs, yogurt and lemon zest and a sifter over a mixing bowl filled with flour
  • Mix the eggs and 1/2 the yogurt with the extracts and lemon zest.
  • Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.
three photos showing the steps for mixing lemon yogurt pound cake.
  • Cream the butter and 1/2 the yogurt into the dry ingredients.
  • Add the egg mixture. 3. The batter should be smooth and quite thick.
two side by side photos showing pound cake before and after baking.
  • Spread the batter in the prepared loaf pan. Make a groove down the center of the batter, this is where the cake will split.
  • Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
two photos showing how to glaze pound cake with lemon syrup
  • As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, brush it with the lemon syrup.
  • Leave the cake in the pan until the syrup is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Here are some other pound cake recipes for you to try:

If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.

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4.63 from 8 reviews

Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake Recipe

Triple Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake is perfumed with fresh lemon zest and enhanced with tangy yogurt! This is a great pound cake with an even crumb and melt in your mouth texture.
Prep Time30 minutes
Bake Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
12 slices
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Ingredients

Cake Batter

  • 3 large eggs (room temp)
  • 2 yolks (room temp)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon real lemon extract
  • 1 lemon (finely grated zest)
  • 4 oz Plain full fat Greek yogurt (½ cup, room temp)
  • 8 oz cake flour (1 ¾ cups, see note)
  • ¼ teaspoon table salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 10 oz granulated sugar (1 ¼ cups)
  • 9 oz unsalted butter (room temp)

Lemon Syrup

  • 4 oz fresh lemon juice (¼ cup)
  • 4 oz sugar (¼ cup)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to at 350 °F. Butter and flour a 9"x5" loaf pan or Bundt pan.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the 3 large eggs, 2 yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon real lemon extract, finely grated zest from 1 lemon and half of the yogurt. Set aside.
  • Sift together 8 oz cake flour,¼ teaspoon table salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add 10 oz granulated sugar to the flour and mix at low speed for 30 seconds. With the mixer running on low speed, add 9 oz unsalted butter to the flour and mix until combined. Add the other 1/2 of the yogurt and increase the speed to medium high. Mix for a full 2-3 minutes. The batter will lighten in color and texture. If your using a hand mixer add another minute or two to the mixing time.
  • Scrape the bowl and paddle thoroughly. On low speed, add the egg mixture in 3 increments, scraping the bowl after each addition.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth to an even layer. Use the tip of the spatula to form a groove down the center of the batter. This is where the pound cake will split.
  • Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (about 55-65 minutes).
  • While the cake is baking make the syrup. Combine 4 oz fresh lemon juice and 4 oz sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar is melted and the syrup begins to boil. Let the syrup simmer for 30 seconds then turn off the heat. Set aside until the cake is ready.
  • As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, brush all of the syrup over the top of the cake. Let the cake cool 20-30 minutes, or until all the syrup is absorbed, before removing from the pan.
  • Cool completely in a wire rack before slicing. The flavor gets better if the syrup has several hours or a day to absorb into the cake.

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Notes

If you can’t use Greek yogurt another type will work. Greek yogurt is quite thick. If the yogurt you are using is thin, drain it through a double layer of cheesecloth for several hours to thicken.
If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.

Nutrition

Calories: 383kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 637IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @eileen.bakingsense or tag #bakingsense!

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Recipe Rating




11 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This is THE BEST pound cake recipe around. I make this frequently and everyone always loves it. Thank you!!!!

  2. Hi! I was curious why this recipe calls for 2 egg yolks while your sour cream pound cake calls for 4? Is it because of the difference in fat percentage in sour cream vs Greek yogurt?

  3. Excellent. I was concerned about the cake flour but I saw another person use it as well and it worked. I always add lots of zest. I use extra baking powder because we live very near the coast and all my loaves seem to fall in the middle. This one came out perfect!!

  4. Hi Eileen,

    I plan to use mini loaf pans (9.5 oz). What bake time should I anticipate? And do you know how many one batch would possibly make?

    Thank,

    Jenn

    1. Don’t fill the pan more than about 2/3 full. I couldn’t say the baking time. Just keep an eye on the cakes in the oven and take them out when a toothpick comes out clean.

    2. @Eileen Gray,
      I just heard from somewhere that you full loaves only half way up. Tried on this and came out perfect

  5. Hi there Eileen. I’ve tried to bake this recipe a couple of times now and I’m having difficulty getting the cake baked fully without it ending up with a thick darker crust. I baked it at 155-160°c fan for the suggested time (it took the 65min).

    Any help would be appreciated.

  6. Perfekter Frühlings – Kuchen, frisch, saftig, Zitronig und lecker!
    Viele Grüße,
    Jesse-Gabriel