Yogurt Cake With Marmalade And Pistachios

Super moist with the perfect crumb and filled with the tangy flavour of sweet zesty orange marmalade, this yogurt cake with its pistachios and marmalade is the perfect tea time treat.

I call this simple yogurt and marmalade cake my breakfast cake. Doesn’t that sound indulgent. Well maybe not. In Greece and many parts of Europe serving plain cake at breakfast is perfectly normal.

The marmalade and yogurt in this cake make it seem even more of a breakfast cake. Let’s face it cake is good at any time of day.

Why you’ll love this

• The marmalade glaze drizzled into this cake makes it so fruity and moist and lasts well too.
• This cake is made using basic store cupboard ingredients, including oil instead of butter.
• This is a super easy cake to make.
• It’s an anytime cake from breakfast to tea-time to dessert.
• No fussy decorating, this simple glaze is the easiest topping there is!

Yogurt cake

Using yogurt in baking isn’t anything new. The French are perhaps the most famous for it. The old French recipe of using a standard yogurt jar and using equal measures of the ingredients is a classic.

This is a popular type of cake in other parts of Europe too, Spain, Italy and Greece all partaking of yogurt cakes in one form or another.

Yogurt cake uses oil not butter

The French use vegetable oil but you are more likely to find olive oil being used in Greece, Italy and Spain.

Ingredients for yogurt cake

• Marmalade
• Yogurt
• Plain Flour and Baking Powder
• Sugar and a little honey
• Ground almonds and some pistachio nuts
• 2 eggs
• Oil
• An orange for the zest and juice
• Icing sugar

Ingredient Notes

What type of yogurt

I have used Greek yogurt for my cake but you can use any yogurt you like for this recipe. Just keep it plain and unflavoured.

I have used full fat yogurt as I prefer full fat to low fat as that has more sugar to replace the fat content.

Actually, I use my own homemade yogurt. Here are my recipes for how to make homemade yogurt and also how to make your own Greek style yogurt.

What type of oil to use

I have used sunflower oil but you could use rapeseed oil, vegetable oil, canola oil or of course olive oil. Do remember that olive oil has a distinctive flavour compared to these other oils so you will get a different flavour to your yogurt and marmalade cake.

What type of marmalade

I used my homemade Orange, pomegranate, ginger and mint marmalade that I shared on the blog just the other day.

I have also made this cake using my whisky and ginger marmalade as well.

Use any marmalade that you have to hand for this simple yogurt cake. You will love the almost sweet/sour combo with the yogurt in this cake.

How to make this yogurt and marmalade cake

First I sieved the flour, baking powder, sugar and ground almonds into a bowl. Sieving them helps to mix things together right from the start and ensures that there aren’t any lumps that shouldn’t be there.

In another bowl whisk together the eggs, yogurt, oil, honey, most of the pistachios (grind then up a bit first) and the grated zest of the orange.

Now add this lovely wet mix to the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to bring everything together in a nice smooth batter.

Spoon your batter into a prepared cake tin and bake for between 45-50 minutes. You will know the yogurt cake is done when a skewer popped into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Actually I always use cocktail sticks for this and keep a little pack by the Aga.

Marmalade syrup

This is so easy to make. Simply heat the marmalade with water and simmer for about 10 minutes till it forms a syrup. You can be doing this while the cake cools.

Once the cake has cooled poke holes all over the top with your trusty skewer/cocktail stick. Now drizzle over the marmalade syrup.

Icing the cake

Now I am the most useless person when it comes to icing cakes. Show me fondant icing and fancy flowers and I’m out the door like a shot. That’s why I love using butter cream and cream cheese frosting.

But this yogurt and marmalade cake has the easiest icing of all. Simply icing sugar mixed with the juice of that orange we used the zest for earlier.

Drizzle this all over the top of the cake as casually as you like. Now toast those pistachios in a dry pan for just a minute till you get that amazing nutty aroma and scatter them on top of the cake for a bit of crunch and sparks of green colouring.

How many does this yogurt cake serve

I got 8 big slices of cake here. You could get 10 smaller slices if you really wanted to.

How long will yogurt cake keep

This is a moist cake and the drizzle of marmalade syrup will also help it keep longer so it should be fine in an airtight box for up to 4 days.

You can freeze this yogurt cake before you add the marmalade drizzle. Just wrap it well in cling film and pop it in a freezer-proof bag or box and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before adding the marmalade drizzle then the orange icing glaze and pistachio topping.

How to serve this cake

For breakfast in thin slices, European style.

I like to serve this cake just as it is as a tea time treat. You can also serve yogurt cake with a dollop of Greek yogurt or better still with some really good quality vanilla ice-cream to turn it into a delicious dessert

Looking for more super easy cakes to try? Then check these out before you go;

Easy coconut lemon and ginger cake

Gin and Tonic Lemon Drizzle Cake

Whisky and chocolate marble cake

Easy rhubarb and ginger cake

Raspberry and white chocolate roulade