We are currently sitting in the waiting room at the Cleveland Clinic anxiously waiting for my sister to have her baby, so I thought this was a pretty good time to right this post. My sister and brother-in-law read the book, Bringing up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman during her pregnancy. It’s all about her life as an American mom in France and how well behaved the French children are.

Druckermann talks about how the children in France bake almost every weekend, which teaches them patience and structure. There is a yogurt cake that most French children are taught to bake and her friend’s 3 year old daughter can bake the cake all by herself.

My sister had made the yogurt cake from the book, but didn’t like it very much so found a similar recipe. We made this French lemon yogurt cake and it was absolutely amazing. I normally like rich desserts with chocolate and peanut butter, but this French cake is now in my top 5. It’s perfectly light and sweet. We enjoyed a slice that night and another with tea the next morning! It was so delicious I had to share the recipe with you all. We found this recipe online but changed a few things to make it a little healthier and our own!

French Lemon Yogurt Cake

• ½ cup plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• grated lemon zest, from 1 medium-size lemon
• ½ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¾ cup (1½ jars) of powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

-Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray and line bottom of pan with parchment paper and spray parchment paper lightly. Set aside.
-In a large bowl, combine yogurt, sugar, and eggs until well blended.
-Next add flour, baking powder, salt and zest. Mix until just combined.
-Add the oil and vanilla and stir well. Keep stirring until smooth, may take a little while.
-Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
-Cool cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes; then flip out of pan onto the rack.
-For the icing, combine the lemon juice and powdered sugar in a small bowl and stir until smooth. With a pastry brush, gently brush the all of the glaze onto the cake.  Some of it will drip off, but most of it will soak in. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

I really hope you guys enjoy this french lemon yogurt cake recipe as much as we did! Now I’m back to waiting for baby… 👶

Here are some of the essentials from this post:

–Bringing Up Bébé Book

–Top Rated Cooling Rack

–Wilton 2 Piece 9-inch Pan Set

–Silicone Basting Pastry Brush

–Mason Jar Vase (16oz, clear)