Tender, fragrant, and properly lemony, this is the loaf cake I make when I want something quick and delicious. The batter comes together in one bowl with a whisk and no creaming required.

stacked lemon loaf slices with white icing flowers in the background

About this lemon yogurt loaf

This lemon yogurt olive oil cake is a simple loaf cake made from simple ingredients. The yogurt is a tenderizer and gives the crumb that soft texture that holds well for days. The olive oil keeps things moist without any of the heaviness you’d get from a butter cake.

The single most important thing in this recipe is the lemons. You need a variety with fragran peel because most of the flavor comes from the zest, not the juice. Yen Ben lemons are my pick if you can get them, and Eureka or Lisbon also work beautifully. Avoid Meyer lemons here as they’re lovely, but their peel is mild and floral rather than punchy. If your lemons smell strongly when you scratch the skin with a fingernail, the they’re good!

It’s a one-bowl cake, glazed with a thick lemon icing, and it slices cleanly once fully cool. Great with coffee, great with tea, great straight off the cooling rack when no one is looking.

Key ingredients and why

Lemons: Use a variety with fragrant peel. Yen Ben, Eureka, or Lisbon are all excellent. The zest carries the flavor, so a flat, mild-skinned lemon will give you a flat, mild-tasting cake. Look for unwaxed lemons where possible, or scrub them well with hot water before zesting.
Extra virgin olive oil: Choose one with a mild, fruity flavor.
Plain yogurt: Greek-style, full-fat plain yogurt is what I use. The acidity reacts with the baking powder to give the cake a soft lift, and the fat keeps the crumb tender.
Granulated sugar: Standard white sugar. We rub the zest into the sugar before anything else, which crushes the oil cells in the peel and infuses the sugar with concentrated lemon flavor. This step is non-negotiable for a properly aromatic cake.
Eggs : Two large eggs at room temperature. They give the cake structure and help bind the wet ingredients with the dry.
All-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt : Plain flour keeps the crumb soft, and the baking powder does all the lifting.

A close-up of slices of moist lemon yogurt olive oil cake with a light glaze, one slice partially eaten, on a light-colored surface with a lemon wedge in the corner.

Note: I use an 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pan (21x11cm). It’s not a very large loaf so baking in a 9×5 inch pan would make it quite flat.

The method

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Two hands are rubbing together a crumbly mixture of flour and butter over a large beige mixing bowl, likely preparing dough or pastry for a lemon yogurt olive oil cake on a light surface.

Rub lemon zest into sugar until fragrant.

A person whisking a smooth, yellow batter for a lemon yogurt olive oil cake in a large, light-colored mixing bowl on a light countertop.

Whisk in the eggs, yogurt, vanilla, olive oil, and lemon juice.

A hand uses a green spatula to mix thick, yellow lemon yogurt olive oil cake batter in a large white bowl on a light-colored surface.

Add the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined.

A metal loaf pan lined with parchment paper is filled with unbaked yellow batter for a lemon yogurt olive oil cake, ready to go into the oven.

Pour into a lined loaf pan.

Bake until golden and a skewer comes out clean.Cool in the tin briefly, then transfer to a wire rack. Once the loaf has cooled, mix powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice, and a splash of milk to make a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle it generously over the top of the cooled cake.

stacked lemon loaf slices with white icing

Tips

Use the right lemons. I know I’ve already said it, but it really is the difference between a cake that tastes lemony and one that just tastes sweet. In a pinch, you can boost the flavor with a small amount of natural lemon extract, but fresh, fragrant zest is always going to be best.
Rub the zest into the sugar. Pressing the zest into the sugar with your fingers ruptures the oil glands in the peel, releasing all that fragrant lemon oil into the sugar where it gets carried through every bite of cake. Tossing zest into a finished batter just doesn’t have the same effect.
Don’t overmix the batter. Once the flour goes in, mix only until you no longer see dry streaks. Overmixing develops gluten, and gluten in a tender cake means a tough, chewy crumb. Lumps in the batter are fine, they’ll bake out.
Cool the cake fully before glazing. A warm cake will melt the glaze and you’ll lose that beautiful thick drip, so wait until it has cooled.

Storing

Leftover lemon yogurt cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The lemon loaf cake can also be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

More citrus recipes