Tender and moist yogurt cake dotted with pears, cranberries and chocolate chips. Perfect for dessert, brunch, or as an afternoon snacking cake with a cup of tea.
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I've been making this yogurt cake recipe for a long time. I've made it with oil, as in the original recipe, used various fruits, and made it with and without the chocolate. (Hint: it's way better with even a few chocolate chips.)
โค๏ธ Why you'll love this recipe
- It's easy to make.
- Super tender and moist from the yogurt.
- Switch out the pears and cranberries for seasonal fruit, and make this all year long.
- Use it for breakfast or brunch, or for an afternoon treat with this ginger lemon honey tea.
๐ง Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minutes meal or less.
For the all of the ingredients, measurements and directions, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- All purpose flour
- Double-acting baking powder
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Yogurt - I recommend full-fat for this recipe, but you could use low-fat. I don't recommend no-fat yogurt. Either plain yogurt or vanilla flavored yogurt works great. And either regular yogurt or Greek yogurt is fine. See the notes below for adjustments I recommend if you use Greek yogurt.
- Unsalted butter
- Pears - Bosc and Bartlett pears are my favorite in this recipe.
- Cranberries - uncooked, either fresh or frozen.
- Chocolate chips - I prefer semi-sweet chocolate in this recipe.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my page on Amazon: www.amazon.com/shop/thewimpyvegetarian.
๐ฉโ๐ณ What does yogurt do in a cake?
Yogurt does two things that are important, no matter what altitude you're baking at. But it's even more important when baking at high altitudes.
#1: Yogurt adds moisture to a cake.
If you're baking at sea level, feel free to use either a regular soft yogurt or Greek yogurt.
If baking at high altitudes, say higher than 5000 feet, regular yogurt is your best bet as it adds a greater liquifying effect. If you only have Greek yogurt on hand, reduce the amount by one-third, and make up the difference with water.
#2: Yogurt contributes to a more tender cake.
Acid breaks down the strength and elasticity of gluten in wheat flour in the recipe, promoting a more tender cake. Additionally, higher acidity levels help a cake to set up faster in the oven, which is important at high altitudes.
Yogurt brings that acidity to the table, as does buttermilk. I often add ยผ cup of plain or vanilla yogurt to my cake batter for this reason - whether or not it's called for in the recipe.
๐ฉโ๐ณ Preparation Tips
- I've made this pear cake with various neutral oils in place of butter, and prefer butter. Oil results in a slightly moister cake, but I prefer the flavor with butter.
- I peel and seed the pears before cutting them into chunks that will be stirred into the batter. I leave the skin on the pears that are layered on top.
- When cutting the pears into chunks, bigger chunks are better than small chunks, to get a stronger pear flavor. If the pieces are too small, the flavor almost disappears in the baking process, since their flavor is so mild.
๐ More Cake Ideas
For a moist sour cream pound cake, this is an excellent recipe. It's flavored with tangerine zest and maple.
And this rustic nectarine cake is one of the most popular on this blog! (Peaches can be substitute for nectarines.)
Or make this tender, lemony strawberry yogurt cake. It's light and perfect for spring.
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Yogurt Cake with Pears
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 ยพ ounces (191 grams) all-purpose flour, (1 ยฝ cups)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder, double acting, (reduce to 1 ยพ teaspoon at high altitudes)
- ยฝ teaspoon kosher salt, (or ยผ teaspoon of table salt)
- ยพ cup white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup yogurt, full-fat, (see notes for substituting Greek yogurt)
- ยฝ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 pears, divided (Bosc or Bartlett)
- โ cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
- ยผ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375หF. Butter a loaf pan.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until they're completely combined. Whisk in the yogurt, and when cooled, add the melted butter
- Pro-Tip: If the melted butter is still hot when added to the sugar and eggs, the eggs may start to scramble. Cool before adding.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour into the sugar - butter mixture.
- Stem and peel one pear, slice in half, and scoop out the seeds. Cut into chunks no smaller than ยพ". Slice the other pear in half, scoop out the seeds and thinly slice.
- Pour โ of the batter into the buttered loaf pan, and spread the pear chunks over the batter. Sprinkle ยฝ of the cranberries and ยฝ of the chocolate chips over the batter and pears.
- Pour the remaining batter over the pears. Arrange the pear slices on top of the batter, and sprinkle the remaining cranberries and chocolate chips. Lightly press the fruit and chocolate into the batter. It shouldn't be completely submerged, only pressed into the batter.
- Slide the loaf pan into the oven, and reduce the heat to 350หF. (If baking at high altitude, bake at 375ห for 10 minutes before lowering the temperature to 350หF.) Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Place the loaf pan on a cooling tray to cool. If you plan to remove the cake from the pan all in one piece, allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges a few times, gently lifting the cake up from the bottom along the edges. Flip the cake over onto a plate, and then gently turn over.
- Serve with ice cream or sorbet.
Gisela duVigneau
The cake was a big hit! I used Greek yogurt and followed the directions for modifying the recipe.
I lined the loaf pan with strips of parchment paper, which made lifting the cake out of the pan very easy.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm so so happy to hear that, Gisela!! Yay!!!!
Anjali
This cake was so sweet, moist and delicious!! It was the perfect treat to enjoy with my tea this afternoon!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
How fabulous! It's a perfect snacking cake with tea!
Mirlene
Never really know what types of altitudes works best with yogurt! Thought all dairy were alike in baking. But this yogurt cake looks super moist!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
It really is!
Matt
Iโve only ever made banana cake/bread. Loved the pears in this! Perfect for fall.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I adore banana bread, and this cake isn't any more difficult to make.
Tara
Such a fantastic cake for fall! All those flavors sound incredible, especially paired together. I love how you have learned to adapt with high altitude baking. I have yet to try, but the idea of it has always made me a bit nervous.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much! I've had a LOT of failures, LOL. But I feel really comfortable with adjusting most breads and cakes for high altitude now.
Dannii
I adore yoghurt cake - so light and fluffy. This looks great with the pears too.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
It's one of my favorites! Thanks so much!
rachele cibula
Super awesome dessert!! Just a little hint. The recipe doesn't say to add the flour mixture to the egg/yogurt mixture. Pretty much self explanatory, but just in case....
The Wimpy Vegetarian
It's addictive! And thanks so much. I've made the adjustment to the recipe. I appreciate you letting me know!
Lucyanne
I just made this fantastic cake for Christmas I had yogurt and pears aland wanted to use them in a recipe. Not was I blown away!
I did sub 1/2 cup monk fruit for the sugar. Since I don't eat sugar normally, this tasted perfectly sweet enough for me. My husband with a high sugar intake in think icwasxsweet enough.
(more for me) my health-foody daughter will love this cake. Thank you for the recipe!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm so excited you liked it so much!! I use monk fruit in my tea, and will try it in this cake next time! You could always add some frosting for your husband, LOL!