Sugar-free yogurt cake

The classic Spanish yogurt cake, with no sugar and no dryness. Banana does the work.

55 min
Total time: 55 min
Hands-on: 10 slices
Servings: 265 cal
Per serving: Easy
Difficulty: Oven
Method

Photo: Andy Li · CC0

Ingredients

10 slices

Nutrition facts

per slice

265cal

Protein: 6 g9 %
Carbs: 38 g57 %
Fat: 10 g34 %
Fiber: 3 g
Sugarstotal, including the natural sugars in fruit and dairy: 14 g

Approximate values, calculated from food composition tables. They vary with the brands and cuts you use.

Step by step

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Sugar-free yogurt cake

The classic Spanish yogurt cake, with no sugar and no dryness. Banana does the work.

1Step 1 of 6

Blend the sweet part

Put the peeled bananas, drained dates, yogurt and eggs in the blender. Blend for 1 minute until there are no pieces of date left, or you'll notice them in the crumb.

Tip: Hard dates don't blend well. Ten minutes in hot water softens them and completely changes the result.

2Step 2 of 6

Add the oil and lemon

Add the oil and lemon zest and blend for 10 more seconds. The mixture will look like a pale, pourable cream.

3Step 3 of 6

Sift in flour and baking powder

Transfer to a large bowl. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt over it, and fold with a spatula, bottom to top, just until the flour disappears.

Tip: Overmixing develops the gluten and makes the cake rubbery. Stop as soon as you can't see flour.

4Step 4 of 6

Into the pan and the oven

Pour into a greased and floured 9-inch (22 cm) round pan. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 °F (175 °C), conventional setting, on the lower-middle rack.

Tip: Don't open the oven for the first 25 minutes. The rush of cold air makes it sink, and it won't rise again.

40:0040 min · Into the pan and the oven

5Step 5 of 6

Test with a toothpick

Insert a toothpick in the center: it should come out clean or with a few dry crumbs. If it comes out wet, give it 5 more minutes and test again.

6Step 6 of 6

Unmold while warm

Wait 10 minutes, turn it out and let it cool on a wire rack. Left in the pan, the steam makes the bottom soggy.

10:0010 min · Unmold while warm

About this recipe

Taking the sugar out of a cake isn't as simple as leaving it out: sugar holds moisture and keeps the crumb tender. That's why so many “sugar-free” cakes come out dry, like an old sponge.

Here the sugar is replaced with very ripe banana and dates, which sweeten and also add back the moisture that would otherwise be lost. The result is a moist cake that stays soft for three days.

In Spain this cake is traditionally measured with the empty yogurt cup, so you don't even need a scale; the grams are given too.

Tips for getting it right

The blacker the banana skins, the better. That's when they're sweetest.
Without sugar it browns less on top. Don't leave it in longer waiting for the color of a classic cake: trust the toothpick.
For a higher rise, separate the whites, beat them to stiff peaks and fold them in at the end.

Variations

Chocolate

Replace three tablespoons of flour with the same amount of unsweetened cocoa powder, and scatter a few 85 % dark chocolate chips on top.

Whole wheat

Swap half the flour for whole wheat flour. It has more flavor and fiber, and is a little less fluffy.

Storage

3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. It freezes very well in individually wrapped slices.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What can I use instead of sugar in a cake?

Fruit that adds sweetness and moisture at the same time: very ripe banana, dates or applesauce. Sweeteners like erythritol sweeten but add no moisture or body, so on their own they make a dry cake.

Why didn't my cake rise?

The three most common causes: expired baking powder, opening the oven too early or overmixing the batter after adding the flour. All three are easy to fix.

How much sugar does it really have?

14 g per slice, all from the banana, dates and yogurt. A classic yogurt cake has about 28 g per slice, so this is exactly half.

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