A sweet, lemony treat made with clean ingredients.
This Clean Lemon Yogurt Cake is the perfect light and zesty dessert for summer. I’m a big fan of lemon-flavored sweets all year round, but these fresh flavors taste especially satisfying during the warm-weather months. It’s made with clean ingredients, making it the perfect light indulgence to satisfy your sweet tooth without wrecking your weight-loss goals.
Baked With Clean Ingredients
By making the right ingredient choices, it’s actually super easy to give your favorite treats a clean-eating makeover. We start by making this airy cake with coconut sugar and honey, giving it a touch of natural sweetness. Coconut sugar is a great natural alternative to the refined stuff because it has a lower glycemic index, helping reduce the blood sugar spike you can get from sweets. And, unlike table sugar (which has virtually zero nutritional value), coconut sugar contains some key nutrients. That makes it a cleaner, more nutritious way to get your sugar fix.
This recipe also uses plain Greek yogurt, which makes the cake super moist. We also swapped out traditional butter and used clean coconut oil instead. These small changes give your favorite lemon cake a clean update, all without sacrificing any flavor or texture.
We do have one tip, though: if you’re a seasoned clean-eating baker, you may be tempted to use whole wheat flour. While swapping out traditional all-purpose flour is sometimes a good idea, using whole wheat flour in this recipe will make your cake taste grainy. You’ll want to stick with the traditional stuff this time.
Cake for Breakfast, Anyone?
If you’re a fan of Starbucks’ Lemon Loaf, this Clean Lemon Yogurt Cake is basically a healthy copycat. While this moist and delicious cake is a perfectly satisfying dessert, we also love enjoying it as a breakfast pastry.
The optional glaze – a simple powdered sugar and lemon juice mix – adds a kick of extra sweetness. It’s sweet and tangy, and it turns your lemon loaf into a decadent dessert. Served without the glaze, this sweet treat pairs perfectly with your Saturday morning coffee.
Whether you’re enjoying it as breakfast pastry or a decadent dessert, this Clean Lemon Yogurt Cake is the perfect light and tasty treat.
Clean Lemon Yogurt Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour whole wheat flour will make this cake grainy
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup Greek yogurt plain, fat-free
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 eggs large
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
Optional Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the four, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredient and mix well until smooth. Place the flour mixture into a sifter and sift into the yogurt mix. Carefully fold the sifted flour in the yogurt mixture just until combined. It is important not to over mix this recipe or the cake will be very dense and dry.
- Gently pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.
Optional Glaze
- Combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice and mix until smooth.
- Pour over the baked lemon cake while it is still warm. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.
Nutrition Information
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Can we replace coconut sugar by something else ?
regular granulated sugar can replace the coconut sugar.
This clean lemon yogurt cake looks so yummy. I am going to make this within the next few days. I love all of your life tips, health tips, emails & recipes. I receive & read all of them in my emails. Thank you SkinnyMs!! 🙂 Cindy 💛🍋🍃 (aka inspiremefirefly)
Wonderful, Cindy! Be sure to let us know what you think of it! Thank you so much! 🙂
I can’t wait to make it.
Thank You.
Would I need to adjust the cook time for an 8×8 inch pan?
The cook time should be similar. Just keep your eye on the cake while it’s in the oven!
Can we use almond or coconut flour? Just wondering since those are the one’s i have at the house right now.
Susy, If you go with almond flour be sure to spoon in the flour and don’t pack it. Also, increase baking powder to 1 tablespoon. Since almond flour is more on the heavy side, you could sub the coconut sugar with cane sugar to lighten the recipe up a bit. Hope this helps! 🙂
Any thoughts on how many WW point a slice might be?
Hi Colleen, this recipe is 15 Freestyle Points. WW points are listed at the end of the nutritional information.
I love this recipe. I am going to add some lemon juice along with zest next time to the cake. I like a lot of lemon flavor. I will definitely make again.
Jill, Thank you for the feedback. 🙂