Moist coconut lemon cake with olive oil and yogurt

With fresh lemon juice and zest for maximum zing, this coconut lemon cake uses olive oil and yogurt for a summery Mediterranean flavour and super moist texture.

Do you sometimes have food flashbacks? I do. I’ll be going along, minding my own business, when out of the blue I’ll remember some delicious thing that I ate years ago. And then I have to track it down, or recreate it, or use the memory as inspiration for some other delicious thing.

Summer fete baking

Recently, I needed to bake a cake for my daughter Kipper’s school’s summer fair. As I was considering what kind – not chocolate, too obvious… not Victoria sponge, too traditional… – I had a flashback to something I last ate about 20 years ago.

As I was pondering cake options, I had a sudden memory of a fabulous yogurt that I used to get in Israel in the 1990s. It was super creamy and rich, and came in a range of gorgeous flavours. One of my favourites was lemon and coconut.

Memorable flavours – lemon and coconut

I remember it clearly because it was deeply lemony, not too sweet, and it had the perfect amount of fresh coconut flavour. The yogurt texture was thick and unctuous. One pot always seemed to be not quite big enough! 

I’ve never seen a similar flavour here in the UK, although these days I usually go for unflavoured natural yogurt in any case. So that was what I grabbed as I decided to make a lemon coconut yogurt cake.

Coconut lemon cake – Zesty and zingy!

I used fresh lemon juice and zest for maximum lemon zing, and decided to use olive oil to give an even more summery Mediterranean flavour. Together with the yogurt it made the cake super moist.

I boosted the coconut flavour with a drizzle of coconut icing, but if you prefer to enhance the lemon side you can make a lemon icing instead. Either way is delicious!

Ingredients in coconut lemon cake with yogurt

This lovely moist cake uses mostly easy store-cupboard ingredients, although depending on your stores, you may need to buy yogurt and coconut. To make the lemon coconut cake, you will need:

For the cake

• Extra virgin olive oil – delicious flavour and a lovely moist cake
• Plain natural yogurt – I used goats’ milk yogurt, but regular cow’s milk yogurt or even a non-dairy alternative will be fine
• Lemon – zest and juice
• Eggs
• Golden caster sugar – adds a lovely flavour but white sugar is fine too
• Plain flour
• Desiccated coconut – also called unsweetened shredded coconut
• Bicarbonate of soda – for a nice light cake

For the drizzle and decoration (optional)

• Icing sugar – also called powdered sugar or confectioners sugar
• Lemon juice OR coconut rum – depending on whether you want lemon or coconut icing
• A little water
• Strands of lemon zest to decorate the cake – totally optional

Two cakes – one for now and one for later…

The recipe makes two generous loaf cakes which is perfect when you’re catering for a crowd. Or simply eat one now and freeze the other for later! I always like to have a cake stashed away ‘for an emergency’.

No need to wait for a school fair – this deliciously summery yogurt coconut lemon cake is fabulous anytime!

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📖 Recipe

Coconut lemon cake with yogurt

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A moist coconut lemon cake enriched with olive oil and natural yogurt

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course Cake, Dessert

Cuisine European

Servings 20 slices

Calories 288 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 3 eggs
• 240 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 330 ml natural yogurt (I used goats' milk yogurt)
• 1 lemon – zest and juice
• 300 g golden caster sugar
• 345 g plain flour
• 120 g desiccated coconut (unsweetened shredded coconut)
• 1½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

For the drizzle and decoration

• 50 g icing (powdered) sugar
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice OR coconut rum
• ½-1 teaspoon water
• strands of lemon zest (optional)

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Line two loaf tins with greaseproof paper.
• 3 eggs, 240 ml (1 cup) extra virgin olive oil, 330 ml (1 ½ cups) natural yogurt, 1 lemon – zest and juice, 300 g (1 ⅓ cups) golden caster sugar
  In a large (at least 2 litre/2 quart) jug, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, yogurt, lemon zest and juice, and sugar.
• 345 g (2 ¾ cups) plain flour, 120 g (1 ½ cups) desiccated coconut, 1½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, desiccated coconut and bicarbonate of soda.
• Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold together to give a thick batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared loaf tins.
• Transfer the tins to the oven and bake at 160°C (320°F) for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tins for around 10 minutes then transfer onto a wire rack and leave until cold.
• (If you plan to freeze one or both of the cakes, it's better to do this without the icing. See detailed notes on freezing below.)

To make the drizzle and decorate

• 50 g (½ cup) icing (powdered) sugar, ½ teaspoon lemon juice OR coconut rum, ½-1 teaspoon water, strands of lemon zest (optional)
  Mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice or coconut rum, then add just enough water to give a suitably runny consistency. Drizzle over the cooled cakes and decorate with shreds of lemon zest if desired.

Notes

This recipe makes two loaf cakes. To freeze one (or both!) of them, wrap the undecorated loaf tightly in plastic wrap, and then in foil or an air-tight ziplock bag. The cake can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost completely before unwrapping, then add the icing and decoration (if desired), and serve. 

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Coconut lemon cake with yogurt

Serving Size

 

1 slice

Amount per Serving

Calories

288

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

16

g

25

%

Saturated Fat

 

6

g

38

%

Trans Fat

 

0.003

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

9

g

Cholesterol

 

27

mg

9

%

Sodium

 

102

mg

4

%

Potassium

 

95

mg

3

%

Carbohydrates

 

33

g

11

%

Fiber

 

2

g

8

%

Sugar

 

19

g

21

%

Protein

 

4

g

8

%

Vitamin A

 

54

IU

1

%

Vitamin C

 

3

mg

4

%

Calcium

 

30

mg

3

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword coconut, lemon, olive oil, yogurt

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More tasty cake recipes using yogurt and olive oil

If you fancy baking more treats using olive oil and/or yogurt, try these:

• Vegan blueberry banana muffins with yogurt, from Sneaky Veg
• Spiced olive oil cupcakes, from Family Friends Food
• Honey and walnut yogurt semolina cake, from Tin and Thyme
• Gluten-free blueberry almond muffins with streusel topping, from Family Friends Food
• High fibre raspberry yogurt cake, from Recipes Made Easy
• Cranberry and orange yogurt muffins, from Christina’s Cucina