One year during my childhood, my family ran out of time to plan a birthday party for my younger brother. His birthday falls at the very end of summer vacation, just a week or so before school starts, and we ended up spending too much time running around restocking our supplies of pencils, paper, markers, and erasers that particular year.
We still celebrated with a “family” party on his actual birthday, complete with cake and ice cream and gifts from grandparents. (To this day, we still have family birthday brunches or dinners every year for each of us—they’re one of my favorite traditions!) But later that fall, Mom arranged for a really big party and invited all of his friends to make up for its tardiness to my brother.
She scheduled it for the first weekend of November at Pump It Up, a huge warehouse full of inflatable slides, bounce houses, and obstacle courses, just like what you’d find at the fair. Because the party wasn’t at the end of August, like usual, practically all of his friends could come since they weren’t on family vacations.
So for two hours, 25 of us kids bounced around like little monkeys, racing each other down the gigantic slide and holding competitions to see who could jump the highest in the classic bounce house. It took an entire banquet table loaded with cheese pizza, vanilla birthday cake, and cookies ’n cream ice cream to bribe us to stop so my brother could blow out the candles and open his presents!
Mom, you definitely outdid yourself that year. ♥
This year, I planned ahead and asked my brother what birthday cake he wanted over a month in advance. I already knew he’d request something lemon-flavored (it’s his all-time favorite dessert flavor!), and when he also included that he’d like it to have fresh fruit as well, I created this recipe for Greek Yogurt Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake. It’s bursting with that bright citrus flavor, and those sweet juicy berries truly take it over the top. But with just 133 calories, there’s still plenty of room for ice cream!
Or, in my case, a second slice…
Traditional pound cakes earned their name because they included a pound each of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. My waistline is cringing at the thought of all those calories! This healthy one is the exact opposite, so let’s talk about how we’ll achieve that.
To start, you’ll use white whole wheat flour instead of refined flour. White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives while whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to that of all-purpose flour, which is perfect for this tender cake! It also has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour, like extra fiber. I call that a win-win situation!
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour would be a great substitute, and I’ve included my preferred gluten-free flour blend in the Notes section of the recipe.
Instead of a pound of butter (that’s about 2 cups!) and a pound of eggs (about 9 of them!), you’ll only use 1 tablespoon of butter (or coconut oil!) and 3 egg whites. Just think of all those calories you’re shaving off! Because of that, the majority of this cake’s tender texture comes from one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking. Do you know what it is?
Greek yogurt! (Although you probably guessed that from the recipe’s title…) Greek yogurt adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and with around 21g of protein per cup, it gives your pound cake a protein boost, too.
To sweeten this cake, you’ll use another one of my favorite ingredients: vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly. It’s very concentrated, so a little goes a long way! This is the kind that I buy because I love its warm vanilla flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, and I typically buy it online here. (You’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
For the citrus flavor, you’ll add both lemon juice and lemon zest to the batter. I highly recommend freshly squeezed juice, and Meyer lemons are my favorite! The zest actually provides the majority of that bright sunshiny taste. My taste testers all agreed that 3 full tablespoons provided the best flavor, so don’t skimp on it!
And finally, fresh blueberries are the last ingredient you’ll add. I find that fresh berries have the juiciest flavor, and they’re like little bursts of bliss every time you bite into one. So summery and sweet! Gently fold the blueberries into the batter to avoid bursting them and staining the batter that strange shade of gray. And then, after a trip to the oven…
Time for cake! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees that I’ll see the notification from you! ?) I’d love to see your pound cake and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!
And happy birthday bud! ♥
| Greek Yogurt Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake | | Print |
- 2 ¾ cups (330g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp (15g) freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla crème stevia
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (120mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp (150mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (210g) fresh blueberries
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat a 9x5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Set aside 2 tablespoons of blueberries, and gently fold in the rest with a spatula.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and gently press the remaining blueberries into the top. Bake at 350°F for 45-55 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, although the cake will be less tender and have a distinct wheat-y flavor.
The cake requires 3 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the cake maintains its shape and texture while cooling. Without all 3 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out much denser.
For a sweeter flavor, increase the vanilla crème stevia by an additional ½ teaspoon.
I do not recommend substituting for the vanilla crème stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) However, if you really prefer to omit the vanilla crème stevia from the cake, substitute ¾ cup (180mL) of honey or agave. Omit the milk if using this substitution. The baking time may vary slightly. I do not recommend substituting pure maple syrup; it will overpower the lemon flavor. In place of the vanilla crème stevia, you may also substitute ¾ cup (144g) granulated sugar and decrease the milk to 6 tablespoons, but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. The baking time may vary with this substitution as well.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
For the best lemon flavor, use lemons that are entirely bright yellow with no green spots. I prefer Meyer lemons, and I highly recommend using them if you can find them!
Frozen and thawed blueberries (pat them dry to remove the excess moisture from thawing) may be substituted for the fresh. They will stain the batter a grayish color, but the flavor should remain basically the same.
Do not use an electric mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in a dense or tough cake. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, lower sugar}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Greek Yogurt Lemon Pound Cake
♥ Greek Yogurt Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
♥ Simple Strawberry Lemon Cake
♥ Simple Raspberry Lemon Cake
♥ Simple Orange Poppy Seed Cake
♥ Skinny Lemon Snickerdoodles
I made the recipe following the instructions for honey and it didn’t work. The cake didn’t cook after an hour it was two moist and it became flat when it cooled down 🙁
I really appreciate your interest in this recipe of mine Magda! That sounds disappointing and not like how this cake should turn out at all, so I’d love to help figure out what happened. 🙂 Just to double check, you omitted the milk when using honey, correct? Did you happen to use Meyer lemons, by any chance? Or did you just use regular lemons?
I don’t have a 9×5 pan. Any cooking time/temp suggestions for a muffin tin?
I’m honored that you’d like to try making this recipe Abbi! You should be able to get 12 standard-sized muffins from this recipe. Bake them at 350°F. I’d start checking on them after about 22 minutes. They’ll likely take longer than that to bake, but it’s always easier to put them back in the oven than it is to salvage burnt muffins! 😉 They’ll be done when the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs attached. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how your muffins turn out!
Can you substitute honey for a sweetner.
I’ve actually covered this in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions!). I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of this pound cake if you try making it, Michele!
Substitute of eggs
I’m honored that you’d like to try making this cake Preksha! My brother is actually allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is my favorite substitute. Ener-G is a shelf-stable powder that keeps for ages. It works perfectly as an egg replacer in nearly all of my recipes, including this one! For my recipes, use 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for each egg white (and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil {or Earth Balance, if you’re vegan!} for each egg yolk, although that doesn’t apply to this particular recipe!). I can’t wait to hear what you think of this pound cake if you try making it! 🙂
This came out fantastic! Obviously, the texture is a lot different from pound cake, but what a nice and healthy treat! How do you store it? Fridge or wrapped on the counter?
I’m SO glad you loved this pound cake, Nicole!! That means a lot to me — thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I’ve actually shared the best storage method in the paragraph of text directly underneath the recipe title in the recipe box. I know it can be easy to miss that little bit, but I promise it’s there! 😉
Hi Amy, thank you for the recipe. I plan on making this today but I don’t have the vanilla stevia. I saw that honey had not worked for someone else, and I was wondering if the sugar substitution has worked? I feel bad about the extra calories but I do want it to work. The cake sounds amazing in your description!
I ended up doing the sugar and it turned out great! thank you so much
I’m honored that you tried making my recipe, and I’m SO excited that you liked this cake! Thank you for taking the time to let me know — that truly means a lot to me, Sam! 🙂
I made the pound cake subbed in brown sugar for honey, and did not have vanilla stevia, so did not use.
It turned out well, a tart taste but the blueberries off set with there sweetness, everyone enjoyed it.
Hi Amy, I made this yesterday, following the recipe exactly, and it looked absolutely beautiful It was a bit denser than I expected (probably over-mixed the batter), but the biggest thing for me is that it just wasn´t sweet enough. I fixed that by sprinkling it with powdered sugar.
It means a lot that you tried my recipe! That’s strange that it wasn’t sweet enough, but I’m glad you were able to fix that with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Did you use the same exact stevia that I did? Or did you substitute another product, by any chance?
Hi there, do you think I could do the cake with full eggs (concluding yolk) or better not? I do not want to waiste the yolk. Thx.
Yes, absolutely! If you’d like to use whole eggs, then use 3 large eggs and reduce the milk by 1 tablespoon to compensate for the added volume from the yolks. I can’t wait to hear what you think of this pound cake, Kristina!
Can you substitute almond milk for the non-fat milk?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Debbie! I’ve actually answered this question already in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions!). I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of this cake if you make it!
I JUST FOUND PIT YOU CAN USE THE BATTER FOR PANCAKES. SO DELICIOUS!!!!
sorry my typos where so bad but this recipient is amazing! I was curious to see what would happen if i cooked the rest of my batter in a pan and it turned out great! will defiantly make again!
That’s amazing, Lily! What a creative idea to use the batter for pancakes. I’ll have to try that myself sometime, it sounds delicious! I’m so happy to you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for taking the time to let us know, it really means a lot! 🙂
Hi Amy, I love your recipes! I appreciate so much how you leave the full nutrition label information available, it really helps when counting calories! Do you have a guess on how much “a slice” would be in oz or grams?
Delicious recipe!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed this cake, Nick! Thank you for taking the time to let me know and rate the recipe too. It really means a lot!
The precise weight per serving can vary based on the exact ingredients that you use, but if you have a kitchen scale, it’s easy to calculate for your own pound cake! Just weigh the full cake once it’s completely cooled to room temperature, and then divide by 12 to get the grams or ounces per slice. 🙂