This Lemon Yogurt Cake with Coconut started out as a cake from my mother’s collection of recipes. In her hands it would have been called Lemon Sour Cream Cake with Almonds. It would have been made with 2 sticks of butter and a whole tub of sour cream. It would have knocked your socks off.
But times have changed. I decided to lighten this cake by replacing the sour cream with yogurt. Though I miss the full mouth feel that can only come from full fat sour cream, I can’t say I miss it all that much. That’s how my mom’s Lemon Sour Cream Cake became my Lemon Yogurt Cake.
Lemon Yogurt Cake with Coconut
In my hands, this cake is still lemony and moist; a dessert worth waiting for. It’s not too sweet, making it a good breakfast cake or afternoon snack with coffee. It’s terrific all on it’s own. However, it becomes something special when served with fresh berries on the side no matter the occasion or time of day.
Which isn’t too shabby and gave me the courage to change one or two other things about this Lemon Yogurt Cake. My mom’s version was made with a ton of real butter. I used coconut oil. I’m not sure how much skinnier coconut oil is than butter, but I sure have been enjoying my experiments with coconut oil. If you haven’t baked with it yet. I suggest you give it a go.
Once I’d added the idea of coconut to this yogurt cake, I decided I needed to add actual coconut taste too. The original recipe called for ground almonds. I changed that to finely ground unsweetened coconut flakes. You could change it back to almonds. Macadamias would be nice too. In fact you could change everything back to its original the ratios are all exactly the same. You’d still have a great cake. It just couldn’t be called a Lemon Yogurt Cake with Coconut. GREG
You may substitute butter for coconut oil.
Ingredients
- 8 ounce coconut oil (at room temperature) plus more for pan
- 1/12 cup granulated sugar (divided)
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (or more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting pan)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cup lemon yogurt (may substitute plain)
- 7 ounce finely ground unsweetened coconut flakes (may substitute ground nuts) easily accomplished in a food processor
- ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- fresh berries (optional)
Directions
Place the oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan with coconut oil, then coat with a fine dusting of flour. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the coconut oil and 1‑cup sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly between each addition. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla.
In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold one-third of the dry ingredients into the coconut oil mixture and then fold in one-third of the yogurt. Repeat two more times with the remaining flour and yogurt. Fold in the ground coconut. Spoon the batter (it will be thick) into the prepared pan, then smooth the top with the back of the spoon. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Meanwhile, in a small non-reactive saucepan, heat the remaining ½ cup sugar and lemon juice over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and a syrupy consistency is achieved, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour the syrup onto of the still warm cake while it is still in the pan. Use a pastry brush to distribute the syrup evenly. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before unmolding. Serve with fresh berries if you like.
Lemon and coconut are my two favorite flavors in sweets (don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate too; but it’s actually in third place for me). This looks wonderful! We substitute yogurt for sour cream all the time too, and it usually works quite well.
There is hardly anything better in this world than a good breakfast cake! I’m with you on the coconut oil.…where has it been all my life?
I can’t stop staring at that gorgeous brown crust. B‑e-a-utiful.
I love how simple and perfect this cake is. And what a great match with those blueberries! I would be eating big chunks with cups of tea every night.
As soon as I saw this my mind took me to an old favorite recipe for…yes, Lemon SOUR CREAM Cake! But, like you, I often substitute now; I don’t notice a big enough difference to not want to reduce some of those sour cream calories. Wish I had a slice in front of me right this very minute.
The addition of coconut to this classic lemon cake brings it forward, yet retains the traditional taste we all love! Perfect Greg!
I say macadamia AND coconut because, after all, more is always better. Right? Good for you for lightening the recipe. I think our mothers might have been twins separated at birth. I can’t think of a single recipe of hers that doesn’t start, “take a stick (or two) of butter…” and finish with “add the whipping cream.”
I rarely bake with yogurt, and I never think to substitute in coconut oil, thanks for the inspiration Greg!
I love baking with sour cream and yogurt. And yes nothing like real sour cream but yogurt is still brilliant in baking too 😀
Whether it’s yogurt or sour cream, this cake looks perfect. There’s something so satisfying about a big bite of lemon cake. Lovely recipe Greg!
So beautiful and so appealing. I adore the photo of the whole cake cooling on the rack with the lemon juice and berries. Old-school, and your updates sound smart and clearly produce a cake I want RIGHT NOW!!! Sorry; printing out. Looking forward to baking this. Would coconut milk in can, unsweetened, Asian, work in place of coconut oil? Haven’t seen coconut oil out there in the world yet, though I am encountering it more and more in recipes.
Coconut “oil” at room temp has the consistency of “Crisco”. So butter would cream better than coconut milk (I think). GREG
Love the idea of coconut oil and flakes for terrific flavor.