Lemon Yogurt Breakfast Cake, or Ciambella, is a classic Italian style lemon bundt cake with lots of lemony flavor and a delicate crumb. Pair it with a good cup of coffee and you’ve got the start to a great day. It’s an ideal bake for a brunch or luncheon.
lemon yogurt cake is a breakfast treat
Not to be confused with dessert, this gorgeous cake is a classic Italian style breakfast cake. It’s not overly sweet, with a subtle lemon flavor, just like it would be served in Italy. The cake is soft and pillowy, and the lemony flavor shines through beautifully, ~ it just begs for a perfect cup of espresso to go along with. A little jam, lemon curd, or a nice dunk in your coffee wouldn’t be a bad idea either. I’m convinced this is what breakfast was meant to be.
simple ingredients you’ll probably have in your kitchen
- eggs
- sugar
- full fat yogurt ~ yogurt makes a cake moist and tender.
- lemons ~ you’ll use the juice and the all important zest.
- vegetable oil ~ I choose a mild one like canola, but the Italians will sometimes use olive oil.
- flour
- baking powder, salt
This Italian style lemon pound cake is a nice change from the oil soaked coffee shop lemon pound cakes, and there’s something very elegant and not at all decadent about this recipe. The flavors of Italian ciambelle are as varied as bundt cakes here in the US, but citrus is one of the favorites. This recipe includes fresh lemon juice as well as zest, and definitely don’t skip the zest, it may seem like a small addition, but the flavor impact is huge. The oils in the peel hold most of the lemon’s flavor.
why do I serve this lemon bundt cake rough side up?
Most bundt cakes are removed from the pan and served with the smooth, rounded side up. I prefer the rough side for a couple of reasons: the texture is not only pretty, it catches the powdered sugar nicely. If I choose to add a glaze or syrup to the cake, it will sink into the craggy surface easily, too. It’s the way the Italians serve it.
tips for baking lemon yogurt breakfast cake
- Invest in a good sturdy nonstick bundt pan, they aren’t expensive. I like Nordic Ware, they’ve been around for ages. You can also use a traditional ring shaped pan for a more authentic look.
- Whatever pan you choose, you must butter it well, getting in all the nooks and crannies, and then dust with flour, shaking off the excess. It really makes a difference. I find cooking spray does not give the same results so I always butter and flour.
- For the best texture, beat your eggs well. The air you beat into them helps the cake rise. I used my stand mixer with the whisk attachment to mix this cake.
- Once you add your dry ingredient, don’t over mix, blend just until everything is combined.
- Check your cake on the early side, because you don’t want to over cook.
- Let your cooked cake cool for about 10 minutes, then loosen around the edges with a thin spreading knife before flipping over.
- If you’re yearning for a moister cake, I’d recommend adding a glaze to the top while it’s still warm. The glaze will sink in and add lots of moisture, as well as an intense hit of lemon. I’ve added instructions below. I like it both ways.
the Great Island kitchen recommends: a basic bundt pan
Bundt pans come in all sorts of wonderful shapes and sizes, which is great, except that you never know how your pan is going to work with a specific recipe. I like to use this one from Wilton which is a basic, all purpose pan that’s sturdy, nonstick, and a standard size. The simple fluted shape insures an easy release, and isn’t that what it’s all about?
more lemon cakes!
- Meyer Lemon Cake
- Lemon Cheesecake Recipe
- Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- Warm Lemon Pudding Cake (gluten free, or not!)
- Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Lemon Yogurt Breakfast Cake
Video
Equipment
- standard 10-12 cup bundt cake pan
Ingredients
dry ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
wet ingredients
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup full fat yogurt
- zest from 1 or 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, zest your lemon before juicing!
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Butter and flour your bundt pan.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
- Beat the eggs for 2 minutes until pale and thick. Gradually beat in the sugar.
- Blend in the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Fold in the dry ingredients and mix just until completely blended.
- Turn the batter into the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until just beginning to turn golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it. Don’t over bake.
- Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out. I like to flip it over so the rough edge faces up. Let cool completely before dusting with sugar.
Notes
- You can substitute sour cream for the yogurt.
- Use melted butter in place of vegetable oil.
- Want to make this cake into a super decadent experience? Serve it with some homemade clotted cream.
- Add a lemon syrup ~ If you’d like to add extra lemon flavor, plus moisture to this cake, made a lemon syrup to pour over the warm cake: heat 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice and 1/3 cup sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool. After you have removed the cake from the pan, poke holes all over the top with a skewer. Spoon the syrup over the top, letting it sink into the holes.
- Add a lemon glaze ~ Mix 1 cup confectioner’s sugar with enough fresh lemon juice to make a spreadable glaze. Drizzle or spread over the cooled cake.
- You can use milk, cream, or buttermilk in place of the yogurt.
- For an authentic Italian flavor try using olive oil (pure, not extra virgin) for the vegetable oil.
Nutrition
Hi Sue
Does this keep well? If I made it on Sunday would it be ok for Tuesday?
Looks delicious.
Thanks
Jenny
It’s not one of those super moist cake mix type cakes, Jenny, but I think if you wrapped it well it should keep. Dust with the sugar when you’re ready to serve.
I am hoping to make this cake as part of a gift for a lemon lover. I don’t see anywhere what size bundt pan you used. Will you please clarify for me? Thank you.
Great question Amy, and I just added my recommendation to the post, it’s just above the recipe. There are so many different bundt pans and it seems like none of them use standardized measurements…some use volume, some use inches, sheesh!
Thank you for the recipe!
I was plased by the result and surprised with the taste!
Our B&B guests loved it.
I love the thought of this being served at a B&B <3
Good morning! This looks great – do you think using Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt would make any difference? Can’t wait to try this!
That won’t make any difference, Megan, go ahead and use any yogurt you like.
It is the 3rd time I’ve baked this cake, and it only makes me bake more! It is really the best cake ever to dip in coffee, call it “continental breakfast in style” and …..have a second slice! Thank you, Sue
You’re an expert in this cake by now Alexandra!!
Amazing! Added a little chopped rosemary, used half olive oil and half melted butter for the oil, and used the lemon syrup. My 11 year old son had three pieces! We love it; thank you! 🙂
This looks amazing! Would coconut do well in place of the veg oil? I have some lemonchello I can use as a glaze too yumm
I have not made it that way, but you can substitute coconut oil. Just be sure that it’s in liquid form when you measure it, and when you mix it in. Also, make sure that your other ingredients are at room temperature, because if they’re cold they can solidify the coconut oil. Let us know how it tastes if you try it! I prefer to bake with refined coconut oil rather than unrefined, because the flavor is milder.
I made this tonight. Dee-lish! I used sour cream instead of yogurt as my store didn’t have full fat, organic. I spread some pitted cherries on a shallow layer at the bottom before pouring the remainder of the batter. I’m wondering now how a little limoncello drizzled over the top would be? I think I’ll try that next time, as I like the texture and flavor of this delicious lemony breakfast bread! Thanks for sharing!
I have pounds and pounds of cherries right now…might have to try this!
I am going to make this cake this week end. I may add a drop of lemonciello I bought in Rome.
Where is great island?
My great island is in New Hampshire, believe it or not! I lived there when I started the blog, but I’m now in Los Angeles.
…how about a limoncello glaze??
I made this cake with buttermilk (to use up some leftover), and it was delicious!
Question: is it supposed to rise very high? Mine was flatter than I expected, and all of your pics are overview, so it was hard to tell if I should have expected a taller cake. The cake didn’t fall: the crumb was perfect.
This doesn’t rise really high because it’s got that dense, Italian texture, if that makes sense. It’s not big and tall like American bundts tend to be…I just realized going to check the photos on the post that all the pics are overview, so you can’t see the height, sorry!
It bugged me so I went and found a side-ish photo for you 🙂 I’ve updated the post with it.