Hello everyone!
Today’s recipe is a sugar-free, low-calorie, and low-fat lemon cake that’s still super delicious and a favorite among our readers. Give it a try and enjoy baking it!
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Taste and Occasion
No, you probably can’t compare this low-calorie lemon cake to a "regular" lemon cake. But, after all, it’s a lemon cake without sugar or fat!
I particularly love its fluffy yet compact texture. The lemon flavor is just right for me, and the light yogurt frosting adds the perfect finishing touch. The only slightly unusual thing is its pale color—most traditional lemon cakes, like this classic Lemon Cake Recipe, are more yellowish in tone.
Since this low-calorie lemon cake recipe skips egg yolks, margarine, and regular sugar, the cake turns out almost white. Still looks delicious though, right 😉?
Ingredients
Instead of large amounts of sugar, butter, and eggs, this recipe uses low-fat Greek yogurt, beaten egg whites, and xylitol or erythritol. The result? Amazingly delicious 😉!
To get the best flavor from this low-fat, sugar-free lemon cake, make sure to use fresh ingredients. Freshly squeezed lemon juice and freshly grated lemon zest make a big difference compared to store-bought versions, which often contain additives beyond just lemon.
I use low-fat Greek yogurt to keep the cake light but still tasty. It’s much thicker than regular low-fat yogurt, which tends to be a bit watery.
How to Make the Low-Fat Sugar-Free Lemon Cake
Let’s get started with this zesty, low-calorie cake! First, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C), and line a small springform pan with parchment paper, or lightly grease and dust it with flour. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, then set them aside.
Next, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, milk, and melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest, and sweetener. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid mixture, and stir briefly but vigorously.
Finally, fold in the beaten egg whites. Pour the batter into the pan, smooth it out, and bake the cake for 25-35 minutes. It will stay a very light color. Once baked, let the cake cool, then spread on the frosting. For the frosting, mix yogurt with lemon juice and sweetener to taste.
Top Tip
To sweeten this lemon yogurt cake, I recommend using a blend of xylitol and erythritol. If you use just one of these sweeteners, you might end up with a cooling aftertaste or digestive discomfort 😉.
Variations
Craving more lemony treats? You’re in luck! If you’re sticking to the healthy side, check out my gluten-free lemon cake with almonds. For a vegan option, I have an irresistible vegan lemon cake.
But if you're in the mood for something more traditional, try the classic lemon sheet cake recipe. Or, for something a bit different, check out the lemon coconut cake with yogurt and the wonderfully moist poppy seed lemon cake.
Recipe Card
Low-Fat Sugar-Free Lemon Cake
Equipment
- Small Springform Pan (8 in/20 cm)
Ingredients
For the dough
- 2 egg whites, medium
- 1 pinch salt
- 150 grams (¾ cup) Greek yogurt 0.2% fat, e.g. from Fage
- 80 milliliters (⅓ cups) freshly squeezed lemon juice, from about 2 lemons
- 100 milliliters (7 tablespoons) milk
- 25 grams (2 tablespoons) melted butter, alternatively oil
- 200 grams (1 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- grated lemon peel of one organic lemon
- 50 grams (6 tablespoons) xylitol
- 50 grams (⅓ cups) erythritol
For the frosting
- 200 grams (1 cups) Greek yogurt 0.2% fat, e.g. from Fage
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, or xylitol/erythritol, amount to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Line a small springform pan with baking paper or lightly grease and dust with flour. Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff. Set aside.
- Whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, milk and melted butter. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest and sweetener. Add to the liquid ingredients and stir in briefly but vigorously. Finally, fold in the beaten egg whites.
- Pour batter into the smooth out and bake the cake for 25-35 minutes. It will remain very light white. Let cool and spread with frosting. For this, mix yogurt with lemon juice and sweetener to taste.
Ingredient substitutions
About Kathrin & Jan
It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!
Kathrin & Jan
Hello, what is the calories/nutrition for this cake?
Hi Roberta
thanks for your comment - I've updated the recipe and now you see the nutrition values.
best
Jan
It says soda and baking soda. What is the other soda?
Baking Soda is a part of soda (you may know it also as „baking powder“?) If it‘s not available in your region, 1 tsp of baking soda should work, too.
I see the nutritional value, but it just says 1 piece. How many servings per recipe and how big of a piece? Or I can just say the whole cake is one piece for 175 calories. Also what kind of milk did you use to get the calorie breakdown. It just says milk.
Hi, the cake makes about 8 pieces.
You can use either low fat milk, whole milk, soy milk or whatever kind you like most.
can a different sugar substitute be used instead of the xylitol?
You can also use only erythritol instead of xylitol and erythritol, but the taste may change slightly. A nice alternative would also be Monk Fruit Sweetener.
Hi, can I use stevia powder as my sweetener?
Yes, that should work
The cake we made was horrible. The cake was brown with an inner gummy taste. Can you please tell me if thats what its supposed to look and taste like?
I'm sorry the recipe didn't work for you. The cake is definitely not brown, as you can see in the pictures. Maybe you accidentally changed something in the recipe or made it differently than I did? Actually, the cake is nice and fruity and moist. It can actually get a little bit gummy (but only a bit) under some circumstances. This is often automatically the case with cakes that are extremely low in fat.