Lemon yoghurt layer cake with white chocolate frosting

Soft, delicate lemon yoghurt cake sandwiched with sweetened whipped cream and slathered in fluffy, snowy white chocolate frosting.

Today is all about indulgence. It’s about eating cake and not apologizing for it. And when the cake in question is this snow white, light and airy creation, what do you even have to feel guilty about? I’ve been thinking about combining lemon and white chocolate in cake-form for the longest time because of all my favorites to create desserts with, white chocolate pretty much tops the list.

I wanted a cake with a very soft, delicate crumb and decided to once again use my yoghurt cake recipe. There’s something about yoghurt and canola oil that makes for the best cakes and flavored with a little lemon juice and a lot of lemon zest, this cake was everything I had hoped it would be.

I sandwiched the layers with lightly sweetened whipped cream. But you can just use the frosting to sandwich the layers of cake if you’d prefer. I just love the lightness of the whipped cream.

The frosting is a simple buttercream which I whipped into oblivion before adding melted white chocolate and a little vanilla. So easy. So delicious! As you can see, I very lazily slathered the buttercream all over the cake. The finished look had quite a cloud-like effect which I absolutely adored and it really depicted the light, lusciousness of this cake so well.

How to make lemon yogurt cake

Sift together the dry ingredients (except for the sugar)  in a large bowl. Mix together the remaining ingredients and pour into the dry. Mix until just combined then pour into prepared cake pans and bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before layering with the whipped cream and decorating with frosting.

What is the purpose of yogurt in baking?

Yogurt adds fat and moisture to cakes and ensures the cake won’t dry out when baking or afterwards. Yogurt cakes also often use oil instead of butter which results in a softer texture.

What can replace yogurt in baking?

Buttermilk or sour cream are good alternatives to yogurt in baking.

How to make white chocolate frosting

Whip room temperature butter until pale and fluffy, scraping the bowl every now and then. Add the sifted icing/powdered sugar (not sifting the sugar will result in a grainy buttercream). Beat until the butter and sugar are well combined and fluffy. With the mixture running, pour in the melted, cooled white chocolate, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well then use to decorate the layered cake.

Love lemon cake? Try these recipes:

1. Easy lemon drizzle cake
2. Easy Lemon Pistachio Cake
3. Lemon coconut oil cake

Lemon yoghurt layer cake with white chocolate frosting

Soft, delicate lemon yoghurt cake sandwiched with sweetened whipped cream and slathered in fluffy, snowy white chocolate frosting.

4.30 from 10 votes

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Course: Baking, Cake

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Lemon cake, Lemon Yoghurt cake, Lemon yogurt cake

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Calories: 556kcal

Author: Alida Ryder

Servings: 14

Ingredients

for the lemon cake

• 3 cups cake/all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups plain Greek yoghurt
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1½ cups caster sugar
• juice and zest of 1 lemon

for the filling

• 250 ml whipping/heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar

for the frosting

• 3/4 cup butter room temperature
• 3 cups icing sugar sifted
• 150 g white chocolate melted
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 180°c and grease and line two 21cm diameter, 10cm deep cake pans with baking paper.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
• IN a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Pour the egg and oil mixture into the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
• Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool before turning out onto a wire rack. Carefully half each cake horizontally and set aside.
• To make the buttercream, whip the butter and icing sugar together for 5-7 minutes until soft, fluffy and very pale. With the mixer running, pour in the cooled melted chocolate. When the chocolate has been incorporated, add the lemon juice and vanilla and mix through. If the frosting is a little soft, place in the fridge to firm up for 5-10 minutes.
• To make the filling, whip together the sugar and cream until stiff peaks form.
• To assemble the cake, sandwich the cake layers together with the whipped cream then generously cover in the white chocolate frosting.
• Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 556kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 337mg | Potassium: 302mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 56g | Vitamin A: 800IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 137mg | Iron: 1.4mg

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