French Yogurt Cake with Almonds

French Yogurt Cake with Almonds is an extremely easy-to-make cake that is moist and delicious—perfect for brunch or afternoon tea!

This French Yogurt Cake is one of my all-time favorite cake recipes. Baking this cake sends a sweet nutty smell wafting out of the oven. You won’t want to wait to unmold your cake and take a bite. It needs nothing more than a sprinkle of powdered sugar to serve, though a handful of berries is a nice touch.

Jump to:

• Why Make This Recipe
• 🥗 Ingredients
• 🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions for Yogurt Almond Cake
• 🧐 FAQs for French Yogurt Cake
• 👩‍🍳 Expert Tips
• Other Delicious French Desserts
• 📖 Recipe
• More About Molly

Why Make This Recipe

• Light and Delicious: This is my favorite kind of cake—the kind that doesn't make you feel over-stuffed after eating it. One slice, dusted with powdered sugar, is the perfect light dessert!
• So Easy: No mixer required for this cake, and you can put the ingredients together and have it in the oven in 15 minutes tops!
• Great for Any Occasion: This yogurt cake is perfect for dessert, but really works for any time of day. Serve it for brunch or as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea.

🥗 Ingredients

• Almond Flour: Almond flour is made from ground almonds, usually from blanched almonds (with the skin removed). You may see almond meal in the store as well, but as almond meal is sometimes coarser than almond flour, I would avoid it unless you can see that it has a very fine grind.
• Sliced Almonds: You can use blanched sliced almonds or regular sliced almonds for this recipe. The beauty of this cake is that the almonds toast on top of the cake as the cake bakes. No need to toast them in advance!
• Yogurt: I like to use plain, full-fat yogurt for this recipe, the thicker the better. Greek yogurt works well, and adds a mild tanginess as well. See Expert Tips for another option.
• Olive Oil: A mild olive oil is recommended for this recipe, so no need to use your fancy bottle of extra extra-virgin olive oil. You can also replace the olive oil with vegetable oil or grapeseed oil.
• Vanilla Extract: Choose a high-quality vanilla extract (not imitation vanilla extract). Or find out How to Make Vanilla Extract.

🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions for Yogurt Almond Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup almond flour, ¾ cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt, and whisk gently.

In a large bowl, whisk together ½ cup plain yogurt, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ½ cup olive oil until the oil is fully incorporated.

Then add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and stir just until the batter comes together. Pour batter in pan, and sprinkle the nuts on the top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until top is golden brown, and a toothpick comes out almost cleanly. Remove almond flour yogurt cake from oven and place onto a cake rack to cool. After 15 minutes, when cake is still warm, invert cake pan onto a plate to unmold. Then remove parchment paper, and flip right-side up again.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar to serve, adding fresh berries if desired.  

🧐 FAQs for French Yogurt Cake

👩‍🍳 Expert Tips

French Yogurt Cake, called Gâteau au Yaourt in French, is one of the first cakes children learn to bake in France. Traditional recipes feature just regular flour, sugar, baking powder, yogurt, eggs, and oil—the combination of yogurt and oil makes for a moist cake not quite as dense as a pound cake. Often, bakers measure out ingredients with a small glass yogurt cup. Recipes call for a jar of this and 2 jars of that, using the yogurt jar that has just been emptied into the mixing bowl.

This is my favorite brand of French yogurt in their glass yogurt jars. They make cute little bud vases when empty! In the U.S., it's more difficult to find these jars. Luckily, the French glass yogurt cup is just about a perfect ½ cup size, so it’s an easy translation to U.S. cup measurements. Not nearly as cute, but much less room for error. 

If you don't want to use Greek yogurt but want to make your yogurt thicker (like many French yogurts), line a large measuring cup with some cheesecloth. Then pour in your yogurt and let drain for a couple of hours before using. 

One of the best things about this cake is that it is a really good base recipe for a cake. You can flavor it as you like. Add some almond extract for more almond flavor. Or try a wintery version by adding warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

Fancy a Lemon Yogurt Cake? Use lemon yogurt and add some lemon juice and lemon zest to the batter, then top with a lemon glaze made from lemon juice and powdered sugar to really double down on the lemon flavor.

And of course, chocolate chips and chopped nuts are always an option.

This cake also makes a great layer cake, since the crumb is nice and sturdy. Double the recipe to make two 9-inch cakes, and leave off the almonds on top. You may need to slice the dome off the cake that you use for the bottom layer. Then fill and frost with buttercream or whipped cream or this delicious Vanilla Pastry Cream.

You might also want to try baking this in a loaf pan. Make sure to line the pan with parchment paper (or grease and flour it well), and note that you will need to bake it longer since the cake will be deeper. Test with a toothpick to see when it is done.

If you're hooked on one-layer cakes though (so easy, and just the right size!), you should try this Raspberry Almond Cake next. Great flavor with a delicious almond frosting. This Classic French Apple Cake is super moist and just a little boozy. Definitely try it!

Other Delicious French Desserts

If you're looking for other delicious desserts, be sure to check out my Dessert Archive, where you will find lots of French delicacies. For another super easy recipe, try my 3-Ingredient Palmiers. Then move on to one of these next:

If you try this French Almond Cake recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me.

And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!

📖 Recipe

Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!