Unlike any other cake I’ve baked, this incomparably moist lemon berry yogurt cake has a soft, creamy, and buttery crumb. Lightly flavored with fresh lemon and bursting with Greek yogurt and mixed berries, it’s a generous drop of sunshine in a Bundt cake pan. It’s been dubbed one of the best desserts I’ve ever made.
Chocolate? Who needs it. Caramel swirls? Nope. Peanut butter brownie swirl chunks mixed with cookie dough pieces? Yum, but not today.
When one of my assistants and I were testing this recipe, she turned to me and said “this is the best thing we’ve ever made.” Out of 1,200 recipes both on my website and in my cookbooks, garnering a description like that is no easy accomplishment. I replied with a simple “agreed.” In other words, today’s cake should not be overlooked.
Why You’ll Love This Lemon Berry Yogurt Cake
- Supremely moist (other cakes don’t even compare)
- Soft and almost creamy-tasting crumb
- Made with 1 cup of Greek yogurt
- Fresh flavors
- Filled with tart lemon and sweet berries
- Convenient—use fresh or frozen berries
And as a welcome bonus, there’s no complicated decorating required. Let the cake cool and drizzle with lemon glaze. She’s a natural beauty!
Video Tutorial
How to Make Lemon Berry Yogurt Cake
This doesn’t get any easier—from the mixing bowl to the oven in 15 minutes.
- Mix dry ingredients together.
- Whisk yogurt, lemon juice, and lemon zest together.
- Beat butter and sugar together. Then add the vanilla and eggs.
- Combine all ingredients.
- Fold in the berries.
- Spoon batter into Bundt cake pan.
- Bake. The cake takes about 1 hour, but check with a toothpick.
- Cool for at least 1 hour in the pan. Then invert onto your serving platter and cool completely before icing.
- Drizzle with icing.
Expect the creamiest, silkiest cake batter in the entire world:
Ingredients You Need
- Cake Flour: Cake flour is lighter than all-purpose flour and, depending on the recipe, produces the best cakes. I tested this recipe with both cake flour and all-purpose flour (varying amounts, too) and 3 cups of cake flour won by a landslide. All-purpose flour was simply too heavy. If needed, use this homemade cake flour substitute.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: With so many wet ingredients, we need both baking powder and soda to help lift this cake so it’s not overly heavy and flat.
- Butter: Butter is the base of this cake. You need 2 sticks of properly softened room temperature butter.
- Sugar: This is a very large cake, so a lot of sugar is required to sweeten the cake and sufficiently cream the butter.
- Eggs: Eggs provide structure, stability, richness, and flavor. I based this recipe off of my cranberry orange Bundt cake and reduced the amount of eggs since we are using so much Greek yogurt and lighter cake flour.
- Lemon Zest & Juice: Grab a large fresh lemon and use its zest (around 2 teaspoons, give or take) and lemon juice. You may need a 2nd lemon to yield enough juice. Fresh juice is best. Here is a wonderful inexpensive juicer if you don’t have one.
- Greek Yogurt: You’ll notice that I use yogurt or sour cream in a lot of my cake recipes. Both bring a slight tang (very mild) and brilliantly creamy moisture. I tested this cake with nonfat and low fat Greek yogurt, regular yogurt, and sour cream—all were excellent. Greek yogurt added a little more tang and structure, though. It was our favorite. It’s a powerhouse ingredient in this grapefruit Greek yogurt cake, too.
- Vanilla Extract & Salt: Both are used for flavor.
Each ingredient is important and has a very specific job.
Describe the Taste & Texture
This yogurt cake tastes creamy. I’m not even sure how that’s possible, but the crumb is so luxuriously soft, silky, and buttery. You’ll get a lovely preview of its texture when you experience the massive creaminess of the cake batter. Greek yogurt is a workhorse and when paired with cake flour and butter, it truly takes cakes to a whole other level. The cake is a little dense like pound cake, but the crumb isn’t quite as tight. Like my lemon blueberry cake, lemon blueberry cupcakes, and lemon blueberry muffins, berries add more moisture and a pop of juiciness to each bite.
The lemon flavor is bright, but it’s a little light, so I recommend topping the cake with lemon glaze to really amp up that flavor. The lemon glaze is just lemon juice, a splash of vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar. Easy!
I can see this yogurt cake becoming the base of many other flavors like strawberry yogurt cake (swap the lemon juice for milk and use only chopped strawberries) or lemon coconut yogurt cake (skip the berries, add 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, and 1 teaspoon coconut extract). Those are just 2 initial ideas. Get creative!
Before You Bundt
- Bundt Pan: I have two Bundt cake pans that I swear by. I love this one and this one. Both are nonstick, but I generously grease them with nonstick spray to be safe. The yogurt cake releases so easily. The size and design of Bundt cake pans is imperative because intricate designs don’t always translate well into a baked cake. Likewise, Bundt pans can be deceptively small. Use a 9.5-10-inch pan that holds at least 10-12 cups of batter. This batter doesn’t yield quite that much, but it rises up.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: All refrigerated items, except for the berries, should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read here for more information.
More Lemon + Berry Recipes
- Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes
- Lemon Blueberry Tart
- Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake
- Lemon Cupcakes with Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Lemon Berry Yogurt Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Sweet, studded with berries, and flavored with fresh lemon, vanilla, and butter, this supremely moist yogurt cake will soon become your favorite “anytime” cake. We love it!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (354g) cake flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (240g) plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature*
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 cups (325g) mixed berries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw)*
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup (120g) confectioner’s sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Generously grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the yogurt, lemon zest, and lemon juice together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula. On medium speed, beat in the vanilla extract. On low speed, beat the eggs in 1 at a time allowing each to fully mix in before adding the next. After the 3rd egg is added, be careful not to over-mix. Stop the mixer once all eggs are incorporated.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the butter/eggs. Pour the yogurt mixture on top. Turn the mixer onto medium speed and beat everything together *just* until combined. Do not over-mix. Using a silicone spatula, fold in the berries. The batter will be a little thick and very creamy.
- Pour/spoon batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 55-70 minutes. Loosely tent the baking cake with aluminum foil halfway through bake time to ensure the surface does not over-brown. Use a toothpick to test for doneness and begin checking at 55 minutes. Once the toothpick comes out completely clean, the cake is done. This is a large cake so don’t be alarmed if it takes longer in your oven.
- Remove cake from the oven and allow to cool for 1 hour inside the pan. Then invert the slightly cooled cake onto a wire cooling rack or serving dish. Allow to cool completely before glazing, slicing, and serving.
- Make the glaze: Whisk the glaze ingredients together. If desired, add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken or more lemon juice to thin out. Drizzle on top of cooled cake. Icing will set after a few hours, making this cake convenient for storing and/or transporting.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Wrap unglazed baked and cooled cake in 1-2 layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the plastic wrap & foil overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before glazing, slicing, and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 10- to 12-cup Bundt Pan (I love this one and this one) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Loaf Pan: Pour the batter into two greased 9×5-inch loaf pans. Bake each at 350°F (163°C) for about 45 minutes or until baked through. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Or halve all of the ingredients to make one loaf. (Use 1 egg + 1 egg yolk.)
- Cake Flour: For the best results, I strongly recommend cake flour. You can find it in the baking aisle and I have many more recipes using it. If you cannot get your hands on cake flour, you can make a DIY cake flour substitute.
- Yogurt: You can use plain Greek yogurt, plain yogurt, or even sour cream. I recommend low-fat, non-fat, or full fat yogurt. If using sour cream, use full fat.
- Lemons: 2 medium/large lemons will be enough for the cake and glaze. If you’re looking for a plain yogurt cake (no lemon flavor), simply leave out the lemon zest and replace the lemon juice with milk (dairy or nondairy) in both the cake and glaze.
- Berries: I recommend sticking with mostly blueberries and chopped strawberries. Some raspberries and/or blackberries are OK, but they become a little wet and mushy and can impact the color and consistency of the baked cake. I use 3/4 cup blueberries, 3/4 cup chopped strawberries, and 1/4 cup each raspberries and blackberries. You can use frozen berries if needed. Do not thaw.
can you use plain yogurt instead of greek?
Hi Layla, regular plain yogurt will work perfectly – same amount!
I made this this weekend. While it was tasty, I baked it for 1 hour 45 minutes and it was undercooked in the middle, and wet and gummy around the berries (had a raw batter consistency). The outside was too dark and a bit dry after cooking for all that time. I have an oven thermometer, so I know my oven temperature was accurate. I used diced fresh strawberries only (out of the refrigerator), patted them dry as Sally suggested in the comments, and coated them in 1 tbs of flour before folding them in. I also used the Anolon pan that Sally linked to in the blog post. Any ideas how I can get it to cook properly if I decide to try again? I really did like the taste of the cake.
Hi Rachel, somehow I missed this question earlier this month. I’m glad to help now though. These issues can be fixed with a couple adjustments in the oven. First, lower the rack on which you’re baking the cake. This can help it cook more evenly. Likewise, tent the cake with aluminum foil soon after it starts, such as after 15 minutes. This will help the exterior from over-browning before the center can cook. Don’t be afraid to bake the cake for longer, especially if it’s on a lower rack and tented with foil. Let us know how it goes if you try it again.
What do you think about using a cream cheese frosting, like a Nothing Bundt Cakes?
I made this for my daughter and it was not as moist as I anticipated Would this cake be better if baked at 325 degrees? the flavor is good and I do plan on making it again. I have a cinnamon-laced sour cream pound cake that says bake at 350 as well, and I lowered the temp to 325 and it made all of the difference. Thanks!
Hi Janet, If lowering your oven temperature works well for your other recipe then it’s definitely worth giving it a try with this one also! All ovens/pans vary slightly so if you know that works for yours then give it a try. Let us know how it goes!
Hi Stephanie,
I made the cake again at 325 degrees and it was great-very moist and well received. I also glazed the cake twice, once when slightly warm and then again after it had cooled completely and had set. It was a big hit, lovely recipe.
Hi! I love this most wonderful cake and made a few health related changes to the recipe: first I replaced the 2 cups of sugar with 1 cup pure maple syrup with 1/4 cup of sugar added. I also replaced 1/4 cup of the butter with 1/4 cup of first pressed olive oil. Since I like the wonderful flavor of peaches and blueberries together I thought I’d do a version where I left out the lemon zest/juice replacing it with one 15 oz can of peaches cut up, two cups of blueberries, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. I also lightly oiled my 9.5in/24cm Bundt cake mold using avocado oil. The cake turned out perfect with the marriage of flavors exactly what I was hoping for and was super moist, which I like too! I also love your lemon/ blueberry version! Thank You so much for your wonderful recipes! Sincerely, Dael
Hi, If I plan to use nonstick spray to coat the pan, is it okay to just use regular Pam that is used for cooking as opposed to a baking spray (like Baker’s Joy), or will it stick with Pam? This is my first time making a bundt cake and I want to make sure it doesn’t stick!
Hi Rachel, Pam nonstick spray will work!
Thank you for so many good recipes and tutorials.
I appologize if someone has asked this. I went thru most of the comment section.
My frozen strawberries were so huge I thought they may effect the cooking time and baking consistency of the cake. Is it better to use fresh smaller strawberries? is it ok to cut larger fresh berries or does this create too much liquid as they bake within the cake?
Hi Gia, if your frozen strawberries are particularly large, you can certainly try chopping them — just make sure not to let them thaw out while doing so. We do recommend using chopped strawberries rather than whole, even if using fresh. Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for the quick response. I am using my homemade Greek yogurt for this and it is for a special Nurse’s birthday. I am sure it will turn out as fabulous as all your recipes. Thanks again.
I’ve made this cake twice, and the texture was great both times. The first time it was not lemon-y enough; I ended up putting lemon zest in the glaze to compensate. The second time I doubled the amount of lemon zest in the batter, and it tasted more lemony, but I think there’s room for growth! The next time I will try using lemon extract instead of vanilla extract.
Recipe was superb. I love the instructions on how to mix the cake in layers instead of alternating adding flour and yogurt. I had not seen that instruction before. This is just what I was looking for. The entire blog is so informative. Great for beginners and for old souls like myself.
My cake fell / sunk in
( it still taste so good ) just kind of ugly to share with people not sure what happen i followed the recipe
Help 🙂
Hi Randoll! When cakes sink or deflate, they’re usually not completely cooked through. Or the leaveners (baking powder and soda) may have been close to expiration. Avoid opening and closing the oven door during bake time as well, which can also deflate the center of the baked cakes. We hope all of this helps!
THANKS SO MUCH
I think ” .. the leaveners..” part is my problem i dont use them often so it may have been a year since I bought them last
I will know better next time
New things require NEW ingredients 🙂
Hi,
I’ve baked this cake a couple of times, and it always turn out to be a hit! Such an amazing recipe, thank you!
Just wondering, will it be okay to replace lemon with orange and achieve the same effect & taste?
Also, have you had any experience substituting sugar with Stevia sweetener in baking? Asking for a diabetic friend who would really love to try this recipe but is also very cautious with sugar intake.
Hi JL, so glad you love this cake! You can sub fresh orange juice/zest for the lemon. As far as baking with Stevia, we’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes. Thank you!
My cake surface when I removed from the pan, it does not turn brown.
I baked at 180C for about 45 min. When insert the to toothpick and come out clean
The taste and texture is perfect
I baked the cake in two loaf pans.. Each deflated in the middle..
Hi Christine, Usually when cakes deflate, they’ve been under-baked. An easy fix for next time!
Hi! Can i use goat yogurt instead of cow? Thank you
Hi Margarita! We haven’t tested it so can’t say for sure. I fear the goat yogurt flavor may be overpowering but let us know if you give it a try!
can i use all frozen strawberries?
Hi Connie, you can certainly use all strawberries if you wish (frozen is fine, do not thaw). Hope you enjoy this cake!
THis cake was delicious!! I just used blueberries and it was yummy. I was hesitant to leave it in the oven so long but I did and it was perfect. I was going to freeze half of it butttt , it isn’t going to make it to the freezer. Thanks!
I made this cake for Easter and it was delicious
Made this cake for Easter this year as it seemed nice and summery (springy?) and no disappointments whatsoever! My husband is in love with it said he would’ve had the whole thing if I wasn’t around (tbh this crossed my mind too)
I used non fat greek yoghurt and frozen blueberries and raspberries and didn’t have any problems.
Thank you!!!
I experimented a little bit with this recipe after reading through a lot of the comments! I only had vanilla Greek yogurt on hand and also accidentally used a stick of salted butter rather than unsalted. Per the comments I decreased the amount of sugar to 1 1/2 c of sugar but kept the amount of vanilla the same. I used one stick of salted and one stick of unsalted butter as well. I didn’t flour the frozen blueberries before adding to the batter. What resulted was a nice moist cake, subtler sweetness, more lemon flavor snuck through, and no sinking blueberries! The berries actually helped sweeten the cake with each bite. I would actually eat this version of the cake for a nice breakfast. I do want to try making it with plain Greek yogurt and no happy accidents to get the full experience 🙂
Fabulous cake. I made this last weekend. Used 1/2 raspberries and 1/2 blueberries – frozen organic. They stayed fairly intact and were lovely. The description of “creamy” is perfect. That exactly describes the texture of this cake. It is super tender without being overly delicate. The lemon flavor is subtle; the cake is not over sweet so the glaze is a perfect touch. It isn’t the most beautiful cake I’ve ever made but one of the best tasting. I will make this again and I will use this recipe and tweak the flavors for variation (i.e. the coconut version).
Could I make this in two 4-cup capacity bundt pans instead of two loaf pans? What would be the bake time?
Hi Jen! This will be too much batter for two 4-cup Bundt pans. Dividing the batter between three would be just about perfect. We’re unsure exactly how long they would need to bake, but would begin checking them around half an hour. Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Hi! Wondering if I could use this recipe in a mini-bundt pan to make bundt-tinis…what do you think? Thanks!
Hi Cristen, We can’t see why not! It depends on the exact dimensions of the mini Bundts, but begin testing for doneness with a toothpick at or just before 20 minutes. We’re unsure of the exact time, but this should be a helpful start!
Hi Sally
Can I use loaf pans for this recipe? Do I have to adjust the baking time ?
Sure can! See recipe notes for details on making 1 or 2 loaves.
Hi Sally,
I made the cake today and followed the instructions. The cake absorb the glaze and there was no sign of the glaze on top of the cake. I waited the hour and when cutting the cake it was wet inside. . It taste good but wet and can’t see the glaze. .
Any suggestions? I will need to do this cake again, but can I cut the recipe in half?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Amira.
Hi Amira! Sounds like the glaze soaked into your cake. Did you let the cake cool completely before pouring it on? If you don’t it will melt into the cake. You can thicken the glaze up a bit by adding more confectioner’s sugar as well. You could halve the recipe and bake it in a 9×4 inch loaf pan. Hope this helps!
This was a delicious treat! I even followed your recipe for cake flour and it was perfect. This would be a lovely dessert for an Easter brunch. Thanks for creating and sharing such a great recipe.
Can you use regular plain yogurt or does it have to be Greek yogurt?
Regular plain yogurt will work perfectly – same amount!
Thank you for the fast response- some people don’t care for Greek yogurt so just wanting to verify it in case I get a request for plain yogurt
Hi sally. This is a 5 plus star cake. It is so light and screams of Spring! Love the texture and so moist. I used fresh plump blueberries and Florida strawberries. Followed your directions exactly and it came out perfect. Plan on sending you a photo. Raining heavy here south of Philadelphia so perfect weather for staying in and making one of your fantastic yummy desserts.
Oh my what a cake. I used 1 cup of blueberries and 1 cup raspberries-match made in heaven, cake and berries! I just love your site! Thanks for the recipe…my neighbor introduced me to your site…going to give him 1/2 of this cake, for he and his wife….this May be my birthday cake in May!
❤️❤️
OMG absolutley delicious!!!! Followed recipe exactly and turned out perfect!! My new Sally’s baking addiction favorite
Hi there! Just made this and for some reason, it stuck to the pan along the top of the bundt/bottom of the pan 🙁 I used the same bundt pan I usually use and I thoroughly greased the pan with butter. The cake appeared done – a toothpick came out clean before I removed, and then I let cool in the pan on a wire rack for the full hour. Any reason you can think of why it might have stuck? I did just move and this is my first time baking in our new over, but otherwise, nothing has changed. Could it be something with the oven or perhaps I should have left it a bit longer?
Hi Megan! Your oven may be a little different than your old one – we always suggest using an in-oven thermometer for best results. Oven temperature can vary widely. Does the inside of the cake seem baked through? If it seems baked properly, our advice for next time is to heavily grease the Bundt pan. We always use nonstick spray with Bundt cakes– they release so much easier with a nonstick spray coating vs butter. Thank you so much for giving this cake a try!
Hello! I have tried several of your recipes with great results. I have a friend this sounds perfect for, but she has celiac disease. What do you think about making homemade cake flour using Bob’s Redmill 1 for 1 baking flour and cornstarch?
Hi Tessie! Unfortunately we don’t have much experience with gluten free flour and haven’t tested this recipe with any flour alternatives. Let us know how it goes!
Looks delicious! Question…did you used blueberry? Your photo looks like it’s blueberry. Please let me know. Thank you.
Hi Amira! We used a mix of 3/4 cup blueberries, 3/4 cup chopped strawberries, and 1/4 cup each raspberries and blackberries.
Do you think I can use this recipe to make cupcakes?
Hi Mary, I can’t see why not! They will be on the denser side, of course. I’m unsure of the exact bake time.