Sweet frosted healthy lemon cake…
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A soft and fluffy lemon cake that instantly melts as it touches your lips…
Sure, that irresistibly moist lemon cake from Starbucks is hard to resist. But with almost 500 calories, a staggering 9 grams saturated fat, and more than half the sugar limit you’re supposed to consume in an entire day, Starbucks’ famed lemon cake is not even close to a healthy breakfast!
To put things in perspective: You could actually eat seven frosted slices of today’s makeover healthy lemon cake and still not equal the calories and saturated fat in just one slice from Starbucks!
This recipe can be low-fat / low-sugar / whole-grain / under 100 calories per slice
So you could save the Starbucks lemon cake for a rare special occasion… or you could eat this homemade healthy lemon cake every single day.
And it’s so good you’ll probably want to do just that!
Healthy Lemon Cake
Starbucks Healthy Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup yogurt of choice
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 3 1/2 tbsp oil OR more yogurt of choice if oil-free is desired (35g)
- 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- zest one lemon
- 1 cup spelt or white flour (or bob’s gf + 1/2 tsp xanthan) (130g)
- scant 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup xylitol or sugar of choice (100g)
- Optional Powdered Sugar Glaze: 1/4 cup powdered sugar or sugar-free powdered sugar + 1 tsp lemon juice.
Instructions
*2019 Update: This makes a small (8×5) loaf. For a larger loaf, be sure to try this Vegan Lemon Bread!
Starbucks lemon cake healthy makeover: Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8×5 loaf pan, and set aside. In a bowl, whisk the first 5 ingredients. In a separate bowl, stir together all remaining ingredients. Pour wet into dry, and stir just until evenly mixed. Smooth into the loaf pan, and bake 25 minutes or until loaf has risen and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool, then spread the glaze on top if a glaze is desired. Glaze hardens when it cools, and you can refrigerate to expedite the process if you wish. For optimum freshness, store leftover lemon cake slices in the fridge or even in the freezer.
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Can I use whole wheat flour ??
You can always experiment (especially if you don’t mind a dense texture), but I cannot vouch for the results. But please report back if you do experiment!
I’m in love with your recipes! Thank you!
I’m looking for a healthy lemon cake for my daughter’s 5th birthday. Will this work, or is it too crumbly?
It is very light and moist, not at all crumbly! Maybe try doubling the recipe for a cake pan? If you try something, be sure to report back. This is one of my favorites 🙂
The flavor was great. I didn’t use oil and used the extra yougurt.
Katie, you are the Goodie Goddess! Making these bad boys soon.
looks amazing !
Could you substitute the sugar for apple sauce?
How much Greek yogurt should I use if I don’t opt for oil?
I’ve made this as cupcakes twice now, and both times I’ve had trouble with it rising. I’ve followed the recipe exactly (although I’ve used Greek style yogurt both times.) Any idea what might be going wrong?
Tasted delicious either way though!
It’s not meant to be cupcakes. Bread is denser than cupcakes, especially cake breads. This is why your cupcakes did not rise; the recipe is not meant to be cupcakes.
Did you mean baking powder instead of baking soda?
This was incredible, thank you!!!
I made this with Arrowhead Mills GF flour, mostly coconut yogurt (I made up the difference with dairy) and coconut palm sugar. It tasted great but the texture was more like pudding than cake. Maybe it was the flour. I plan on experimenting with different flours, maybe adding a little coconut flour to absorb some of the moisture.
Hi, it looks so delicious! Thanks for sharing. Is the result will be fine if I don’t use yogurt? What’s for substitute? Thank you!
Although I am not familiar with the Starbucks original, I made it cos it just looks perfect. And I must admit that the result was so surprisingly moist, dense, yet fluffy and full of flavor. Will definitely be doing this again.
Thank you for all your recipes, Katie, the ones I’ve tried were always amazing!
hi, I am going to make this tonight….. but all I have is a 5×9 loaf pan, no 8…. hope it will work out all right.
Hi, sorry to be a pain, but I’m based in the UK.
By baking soda do you mean baking powder or bicarbonate soda?
(Baking powder is bicarbonate soda plus cream of tartar)
Baking soda in the US is just sodium bicarbonate
Hello and hugs from the UK – you are a celebrity in our house and my wife squeals when I get your awesome cookbook out because she know something delicious is heading her way – thank you for all the time you spend on perfecting these recipes for us all!
I was VERY excited to see this recipe as my Mum loves the Starbucks lemon cake and I am delighted to be able to now make a healthier one for her as a surprise!