Love pound cake? Would you like to indulge, but find a healthier version? I've got a great, great option for you! How about giving this Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake a try?
Pound cake originated in Europe in the first half of the 18th century. Originally, the recipe called for one pound each of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs (10 eggs equals a pound!) before written recipes.
Easy to remember, right? Notice they didn't use leaveners, like baking soda and baking powder and with the Fab 4, this had to be a very dense, very rich, high calorie delicious pound cake, back in the day, don't you think?
What makes this pound cake so irresistible? It's so moist and delicate, and it's delicious! That's what! Vanilla Greek yogurt, combined with eggs, sugar, flour, and leaveners, give it a slightly subtle, tangy vibe with that fragrant vanilla aroma wafting under your nose. Mmmmmm...Yes! (Also, notice in the recipe, Dannon® Oikos® Triple Zero is used and it has 0 added sugar, 0 artificial sweeteners, and 0 fat—plus 15g of protein per 5.3oz. cup.)
And, I added vanilla bean paste, because I'm addicted to the way it makes food taste. You don't have to add it, the Vanilla Greek Yogurt has vanilla in it, but I like to use vanilla bean paste whenever I can! 🙂
The extra-virgin olive oil gives it a mildly, fruity essence and together, it all harmonizes happily like a beautiful vanilla pound cake dream. Not heavy, but healthy, lightened up...and totally yummy!!
I love using olive oil and Greek Yogurt together when baking and even better knowing it's going to make my desserts more healthy. I would also suggest using a really good extra virgin olive oil
, If you use a low-quality oil, the flavor of the oil could overpower the rest of the pound cake and leave a noticeable aftertaste.
Olive oil is a very good way to cut saturated fat. Plus, it's loaded with monounsaturated fat, which promotes “good cholesterol.” Yay!!
If you don't want to use olive oil, but I wish you would, you can use butter and I have it in the directions in the recipe below.
Slices of Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake is wonderful alone, but also can be served with fruits, whipped cream, dusted with powdered sugar, dessert sauces, in trifles, grilled, french toast style and there are a plethora of ideas out there.
Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ c all-purpose flour I used Bob's Red Mill
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 c vanilla or plain non-fat Greek yogurt (I used Dannon® Oikos® Triple Zero Greek Yogurt – Vanilla)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil or any oil of choice or melted butter, cooled
- 1 ¼ c granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- Optional: ½ tsp . vanilla extract and/or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste I use dNielsen-Massey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Generously spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder, set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together using a whisk, the Greek yogurt, sugar and olive oil together, then add the eggs one a time, whisking in each egg one at a time. Add vanilla if you want.
- When the mixture is well blended, gently whisk in the dry ingredients.
- Scrape it into the pan and smooth the top.
- Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and starts to come away from the sides of the pan; a knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean or touching the top of the cake to make sure it's done. If your fingerprint leaves an indentation, it needs to bake more
- Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the sides of the pan.
Notes
Love Greek Yogurt Healthier Recipes?
I love your modifications and the rum sounds so delicious for sure! Thank you so much for trying it!! xo
Cake turned out just like regular pound cake! Light and golden, not at all heavy. Flavor was excellent and perfect texture. So happy to find this recipe! Thanks!!!
Note: I added only 2/3 cup sugar, used 1 cup all-purpose, 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour because of dietary restrictions. Also used sea salt and 1 tsp. Rum flavoring as another comment suggested.
The strawberries sound delicious with it! So happy to hear it turned out great Ally! Thank you!
This came out great! I macerated some strawberries and put them on top! So good!
great recipe
Thank you so much for this great recipe! I loved how you could use oil instead of butter. I just made the cake this afternoon and already had a big slice. It was delicious, very moist. I am curious, if I wanted to give it a lemon flavor, how much lemon zest and lemon juice could be used? Also, would the amount of baking soda and baking powder need to be changed?
Amazing! Great to hear Splenda worked. Have you ever tried Lankanto? I always have great results with it and love telling people about it. Thank you so much for trying it and letting others know your experience Lauren! xo
I turned this sugar free by using Splenda instead of regular sugar. It turned out great! The yogurt and olive oil really helped cover up the tang of Splenda in baked goods. Highly recommend!!
I haven't tried it, but it may pick up some of the applesauce flavor, but I think it would be fine. You could also try Bob's egg replacer or flax eggs as well. If you try it, let us know! Thank you Leslie!
Hi Kim:
I noticed that you also make vegan versions of pound cake. Could I get away with substituting unsweetened applesauce for the eggs in this recipe without losing the flavor?
Thanks.
Leslie
@sundayswithnorah
Thank you so much Pear! Maybe use 1/3 cup and see how that works? Hope it works for you, it sounds delicious!
I can’t bake but I tried this and it was fantastic. I love the use of olive oil and yogurt. I want to make a chocolate version of this. Do I just need to add cocoa powder? (How much?)
Awesome Hilary! So happy to hear you commented on this recipe! Thank you so much! xo
Absolutely delicious! I rarely comment on food blogs but I really liked this recipe.
Hi Jody, Thanks for pointing that out and I've updated to reflect. It should be 1/2 cup, thanks and hope you enjoy!
Yes I don't see why not Nikki. Hope you enjoy!
I want to make this tomorrow but I will use butter instead of olive oil. Why are the measurements for olive oil and butter different? 1/2 cup olive oil but only 1/4 cup butter? Is this correct?
Going to try this tomorrow! Could I substitute coconut oil instead of olive oil?
Wow! Thank you so much for commenting and tell your hubby thank you so much for loving it! I'm so happy to hear it!
Holy smokes this was fantastic! I almost never comment on food blogs but I had to tip my hat off to you. My hubby was singing my praises all night. The Cake was almost gone in one sitting lol.
You are very welcome!
Thank you.
Yes you can. 1/2 cup to 1 cup depending how much chocolate you want! Enjoy!
I would like to make this cake. It looks delicious. Can I add chocolate morsels? Would 1/2 cup be enough?
Yes, that use both ingredients as the recipe specifies, it is fine to use the full fat Greek yogurt! Enjoy Denise!!
I have full fat Greek yogurt. Should i still use the olive oil as well? The same amounts? Thanks!
I'm so happy you tried it Maret and enjoyed it with the olive oil! Thank you for sharing your experience and what brand you used for others. You are so kind!!xo
Delicious! I've been missing pound cake since I decided my recipes were too unhealthy to make! And I've been wanting to try baked goods with olive oil, but couldn't get up the nerve. The sound of this "healthy" pound cake finally made me take the plunge. So glad I did. It is as you described, moist with a little tang. I don't have vanilla paste, so I added the vanilla extract. For those who are wondering on a brand of olive oil, I used California Olive Ranch (Destination Series) Extra Virgin olive oil.
Perfect, thank you.
I think it may have needed to bake more Jim. Applesauce is heavier so I would try to bake it 5-8 more minutes and I use fingertip and lightly touch the top of the bread to check for doneness. If it stays indented it's not done. Glad it still tasted great though! Thanks so much for trying it! xo
I tried this recipe but substituted Apple Sauce for the sugar. It looked great when I pulled it out of the oven but then lost all of its rise and collapsed while cooling, what did I do wrong? PS: It still tasted great!
Tried this recipe and it turned out great! Very moist. I don't eat too sweet so I halved the sugar content and it turned out great! I also added 1 tablespoon of rum to enhance the flavor. Thanks!
Awesome Wendy! Great to know about reducing the sugar for those who want to. Thank you so much for your kind review. 🙂
I just made this and served it with whipped cream and berries. Delicious!
I reduced the sugar to 1 cup and it’s plenty sweet.
You could, but I would double the recipe for a 10 inch bundt pan. Otherwise the cake won't be very tall and of course the time would vary. Hope that helps?
Can this be made in a Bundt pan instead?
As long as it’s extra virgin olive oil, you can use any brand Laura! ?
Will the olive oil from Aldis work in this or will it be too strong?
I'm sorry, I don't have that information Carolyn.
Nutritional content please
Awesome Danielle! I am so glad! Thank you for commenting and Happy 2018!!
I just made this last night. It smelled awesome while baking. It was so moist and full of flavor.
Thank you so much! I love using Greek yogurt and olive oil! 🙂 My fave!
This pound cake is just perfection!! It's making me so hungry! And I love all of the wonderful, healthy ingredients! 😀
haha! The perfect crack! It is so good Maria, even better that it's lightened up some! 🙂 Thank you!!
That perfectly cracked pound cake!!! Love the greek yogurt and olive oil addition and is totally breakfast worthy in my home:)
It is perfect for mornings and coffee. Thank you so much for your kind words Paul. I hope you try it! 🙂
I have to say, this looks like the perfect cake to eat at breakfast with a warm coffee. I love having leftover cake in the mornings, it just makes my day!. It really looks awesome. Great job!
Thank you Kelly! It's really awesome! 🙂
Wow! I’m totally drooling over this healthier pound cake recipe! Looks so moist and delicious!
You are very welcome Deb! Greek Yogurt is the bomb! Happy New Year!! 🙂
I love pound cake and this looks delicious, Kim! Greek Yogurt is not only more healthy, but I love the great moisture and texture it adds to baked goods! Thanks for the recipe, Kim!
It's perfect for Friday! 🙂 Weekend yum! Thank you Dawn!!
What a lovely cake!! I would love a big slice of this right now for breakfast! Happy Friday!!
I love the lightened version and I actually think it tastes better than the full fat version, but that's just me! Tea time for sure would be good as well! Thank you Deepika! xo
Thank you so much 2Pots2cook! <3 Happy New Year!!
I love pound cakes!! They are so rich and decadent! Perfect as a teatime treat! But I don't make them often only because they are so high on sugar and butter! I would love to try this lightened version with olive oil! Looks lovely!
Perfect to have after holidays ! Thank you !