As a kid, the first cake recipe I learned to make was a “gâteau yaourt,” which means, in French, yogurt cake. In this French recipe, all the ingredients were measured from a simple yogurt pot. I created this vegan yogurt cake inspired by this childhood cake recipe, except I used US measuring cups for precision. The cake is super easy to make in less than 10 minutes, and its batter is moist and sweet, just like my 2-Ingredient No-Bake Chocolate Cake, Vegan Apple Cake, or Vanilla Wacky Cake. The flavor of the cake comes from the choice of yogurt. I like to bake with vanilla cashew yogurt. It adds a lovely vanilla flavor to the crumb. Using lemon yogurt or strawberry yogurt will create a range of yogurt cake flavors using the same recipe. If you like more French recipes, try my Vegan Almond Croissant Pastry or Almond Croissant Cookies.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Self-Rising Flour is the basic ingredient I love to use to bake cakes quickly. You can swap it for all-purpose flour and add 2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of flour. I didn’t try all-purpose gluten-free flour in this recipe, so I can’t guarantee the outcome. Vanilla Plant-Based Greek Yogurt – I baked the cake with vanilla cashew yogurt or coconut Greek-style yogurt. Any kind of yogurt works in this recipe. You can use any yogurt flavor to flavor the cake. To cut down on calories and added sugar, you can use plain yogurt, but you will need vanilla extract to flavor the cake. Sugar – I am using caster sugar, but any granulated sweetener like coconut sugar works. Vegetable Oil of Choice – I recommend a light flavor oil to avoid adding an overpowering flavor to the cake crumb. I used avocado oil or light canola oil. You can also use melted plant-based butter.
Flavor Boosters
The cake is not flavorsome without adding any extract. Here are some of my recommendations.
Vanilla Yogurt Cake – Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and use vanilla Greek yogurt. This is optional, but recommended if your yogurt doesn’t have a strong vanilla taste, or you want to boost the vanilla flavors of the cake. Lemon Yogurt Cake – Use lemon yogurt, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. Yogurt Berry Cake – Fold in 1/2 cup of fresh berries in the batter like raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries. Coconut Yogurt Cake – Use coconut yogurt, and fold in 1/4 cup of desiccated coconut in the batter.
Preparation
Serving
I like dusting powdered sugar on top of the cake. But, feel free to first the cake if you prefer using some of my favorite dairy-free frosting recipes below.
Vegan Vanilla Frosting Coconut Frosting Cashew Frosting Vegan Chocolate Frosting Vegan whipped cream
More Easy Cake Recipes
