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
Hi, I ommitted the milk and used the honey instead to susbstitute the stevia. It was great taste wise but not moist at all, very dense. Did I do something wrong?
It means a lot that you tried our recipe, Dora! We’re glad you at least enjoyed the cake’s flavor. That texture sounds disappointing and not like how it’s supposed to turn out, so we’re happy to help figure out why that was! In order to do so, we have some questions for you. 🙂
Can you describe the texture a bit more? We understand it was dense, but it’d be helpful to have more details! For example, was it crumbly, dry, bread-like, gummy, or have an almost raw-like appearance inside?
Did you make any other modifications or substitutions to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? (Other than using honey and omitting the milk!)
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons for all of the ingredients — especially the flour, Greek yogurt, and honey?
Did you use white whole wheat flour or the gluten-free blend provided in the Notes section?
Did you use regular lemons or Meyer lemons?
Did you use fresh or frozen blueberries?
Did you use a hand-held mixer or stand mixer to make the batter?
How long did you bake your cake?
Did it collapse at all while cooling?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but we’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once we know your answers to all of them!