Mini Lemon Cakes with Greek Yogurt

Mini lemon cakes, made with Greek yogurt and filled with lemon flavoured strained yoghurt, make a deliciously light tea-time bite. 

Mini Lemon Cakes

I love Greek yogurt as an ingredient. Delicious and adaptable, it is great in cakes and bakes as a lower fat substitute for butter or baking margarine.

I have used it twice in these little lemon cakes, both in the batter and strained to make a labneh filling. These low-fat, zesty, bite-sized cakes are perfect with a cup of coffee or for afternoon tea.

You do need to think ahead a little with this recipe because you need to prepare the filling. The hands-on time, however, is minimal.

Even better, these little cakes are easy to make by hand without the need for an electric mixer.

Making Labneh

Labneh is a Middle Eastern strained yogurt cheese that is good for all sorts of things. A salted, herby version is delicious as a dip with a mezze or roast meats, or to eat on toast with a drizzle of oil and spices. I always make extra so I have some for tomorrow’s lunch.

You want an unsalted labneh to fill your mini lemon cakes. Just put some yogurt in the centre of a piece of cheesecloth, as you would to make a jelly. Fold in the edges and secure them. Then hang the bag over a bowl and allow it to strain for a few hours. 

Discard the whey (the liquid in the bowl) or keep it to use in breadmaking – you can keep it in the fridge for a few days or freeze it. The labneh left in the cloth will keep for a few days so you can make it well in advance if you prefer. Store it in the fridge.

How to Make Mini Lemon Cakes With Greek Yogurt

Step 1 – Make labneh by straining 100 g Greek yogurt through a cheesecloth for several hours. This can be done hours or a couple of days in advance. Store the resulting labneh in the fridge. 

Step 2 – Gather your ingredients. Zest the lemon. Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas Mark 4.

Step 3 – Whisk 60 g Greek yogurt together with the oil, caster sugar and egg. The resulting mixture will look like custard. 

Step 4 – Fold in the flour and baking powder, together with half the lemon zest and the milk. 

Step 5 – Fill a greased mini muffin pan (or mini fairy cake cases) with the batter. Bake your mini lemon cakes for 15–20 minutes at 180 °C / Gas Mark 4 until risen and springy. (You may need to adjust the timing slightly for the size of your cakes.) Allow the cakes to cook before your fill them. 

Fuss Free Tip

Allow your cakes to rest for a few minutes in the pan before you remove them and cool them on a wire cooling rack. This makes them less likely to crumble or break as you release them. 

Step 6 – Stir the icing sugar and the remaining lemon zest into the labneh to make a filling. Slice the cakes horizontally and sandwich your mini lemon cakes back together with a teaspoon of the labneh mixture. (Or dollop on top of fairy cakes, if you prefer.)

Keep your cakes in a cool place and serve the same day. 

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Greek Yogurt Mini Lemon Cakes

Mini lemon cakes, made with Greek yogurt and filled with lemon flavoured strained yoghurt, make a deliciously light tea-time bite. 

Servings: 12

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 160 g Greek yogurt (0%)
• 25 g vegetable oil
• 40 g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 100 g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• zest of 1 lemon – finely grated
• 2 tbs milk
• 2 tbs icing sugar

Instructions

• To make the labneh for the filling, place 100 g of the yoghurt into the middle of a piece of cheese cloth. Then gather up the edges to make a bundle and hang over a bowl and allow to drip over night (or at least a few hours). You can make the labneh in advance and keep covered in the fridge for several days.
• Whisk the remainder of the yogurt (60 g), vegetable oil, caster sugar and egg together in a bowl so that the mixture resembles custard.
• Fold in the flour, baking powder, half of the lemon zest and the milk.
• Dollop into a greased mini muffin pan (or into fairy cake cases in a baking pan) and bake at 180 °C / GM4 for 15 – 20 minutes (depending on the size of your cakes) until risen and springy.
• Remove from the oven, allow to rest for a few minutes, then remove from the baking pan and leave to cool on a wire rack.
• Stir the remainder of the lemon zest and icing sugar into the labneh to make a filling. Slice the mini cakes in half horizontally and sandwich them together with a teaspoon of the lemon labneh filling. (If you have made cupcakes then simply put a dollop of frosting on top).
• Keep in a cool place and serve the same day.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.

Nutrition Facts

Greek Yogurt Mini Lemon Cakes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 83 Calories from Fat 18

% Daily Value*

Fat 2g3%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 14mg5%

Sodium 12mg1%

Potassium 59mg2%

Carbohydrates 11g4%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 30IU1%

Calcium 40mg4%

Iron 0.5mg3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: Baked Goods

Cuisine: Baked Goods

Keyword: mini lemon cakes

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