On Valentine’s Day a few years ago, one of my close friends drove to my town to visit her mother-in-law, and she asked if I had any time to hang out. I immediately said yes, and since we both have a big sweet tooth, I suggested that we met at my favorite local bakery.
But I completely forgot that nearly everyone else would make similar dessert plans on that particular holiday… And when we arrived, the line of patrons snaked past the front counter and all the way around the perimeter of the large dining area. Yikes!
We used the time in line to catch up, trade stories, and try to sneak peeks at the various cakes in the display case. Each one stood at least four layers tall, if not closer to six, with plenty of buttercream frosting slathered between each layer. And the shop sold nearly every flavor combination imaginable!
Chocolate, vanilla, coffee, mocha, mint, lemon, orange, coconut, poppy seed, red velvet, German chocolate, spice cake, carrot cake, yellow cake, devil’s food cake… And that didn’t even begin to cover the frostings or fillings!
We decided to split a slice and enjoyed every bite of the rich cake and silky smooth frosting… But this Valentine’s Day, I’m not standing in any lines to buy dessert—I’m making this Healthy Greek Yogurt Raspberry Almond Pound Cake instead!
Although it doesn’t look nearly as impressive as those six-layer cakes, this homemade cake is just as tender and flavorful—and much easier to make. You don’t even need a mixer! Plus it has no refined flour or sugar and only 126 calories!
That’s one cake I’ll definitely fall in love with! ♡
This easy pound cake recipe begins with white whole wheat flour (like this!). It has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour, but it has a lighter taste and texture. This allows the cake’s sweet flavors to truly shine!
Instead of the ginormous amounts of butter, eggs, and sugar of traditional pound cake recipes, you just need a mere 1 tablespoon of butter and 3 egg whites. Yes, that’s it! No need for the yolks or extra butter. The rest of this cake’s tender texture comes from…
Greek yogurt! (But you probably guessed that already from the recipe title…) I ♡ baking with Greek yogurt because it adds the same moisture to your treats for a fraction of the calories of extra butter or oil. Plus it gives this pound cake a big protein boost!
As for sweetening your healthy pound cake, you’ll use another one of my favorite ingredients: vanilla stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean-eating friendly!), and it’s really concentrated. You just need 1 tablespoon for this entire cake! This is the kind that I buy because I love its warm flavor, and although you can find it in many health-oriented grocery stores, I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Of course, we can’t forget the two stars of the show… The almond extract and fresh raspberries! I love the sweet, sophisticated flavor of almond extract. (It’s actually my favorite baking extract!) And when chopping your raspberries, aim for the size of chocolate chips to ensure your pound cake bakes evenly.
One last tip! Do not use a stand mixer or electric mixer! It’s really easy to overmix this batter if you use either one of those, and overmixing results in tough or gummy textures. Use a whisk where instructed and a fork for everything else. (Bonus points if your whisk is dishwasher-safe!)
Cake! Everybody loves cake! Well… At least I do! ?? 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 I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your pound cake!
| Healthy Greek Yogurt Raspberry Almond 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
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) almond extract
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla stevia
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (270mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ¼ cup (175g) fresh raspberries, diced
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9x5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, almond extract, and vanilla stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in 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 1 tablespoon of raspberries, and gently fold in the rest.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and gently press the remaining raspberries on top. Bake at 350°F for 50-60 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 carefully transferring the pound cake 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 stronger almond flavor, increase the almond extract by an additional ½ to 1 teaspoon.
I do not recommend substituting for the vanilla 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!) I buy it online here because that's the cheapest price I've found. However, if you really prefer to omit the vanilla stevia from the cake, substitute 1 ¼ cups (240g) granulated sugar and reduce the milk to ½ cup, but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. You may substitute 1 ¼ cups (240g) coconut sugar and reduce the milk to ½ cup to keep the cake clean eating friendly, but it will be much darker in color. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions as well.
Dice the raspberries to be about the same size as chocolate chips to ensure the loaf bakes evenly. I know it takes a little extra time, but I promise it’s worth it!
Frozen and thawed berries that have been patted dry to remove any excess moisture may be substituted for the fresh.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
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 sugar, higher protein}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Greek Yogurt Strawberry Blueberry Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Greek Yogurt Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Greek Yogurt Cranberry Orange Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Greek Yogurt Raspberry Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Greek Yogurt Carrot Cake Pound Cake
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy cake recipes!
I see raspberries and greek yogurt and i’m sold!
I’d love to hear what you think if you try this pound cake Nina! 🙂
Looks so soft and moist! Delicious!
Gonna have to try that recipe 🙂
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this pound cake Sylvie! 🙂
HAHA! YES! That was funny… neither of us thought that going to a cakery on VALENTINE’S Day might be an issue! Such a fun memory with you! <3 This pound cake looks even better than what we had that day! 🙂
Aww thanks sweet pea! 🙂 You were a SAINT to wait in that long line!! Never again will we make the mistake of going to a bakery on Valentine’s day… ?
I used Splenda for baking with 1/4 tsp of vanilla instead of the vanilla stevia since I didn’t have any. I might have mixed the ingredients a bit too much as it was a bit dense, but it still was very good. My raspberries were a bit mushy, but I love raspberry so there was more of a raspberry taste throughout the cake.I love to eat healthy and now that I have found your site I will be trying other recipes there. Thanks!
I’m glad you enjoyed this cake Christine! Did you use an electric mixer or stand mixer? Or did you mix everything together by hand? Mixers are usually the biggest culprit in overmixing and a dense texture! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what recipe of mine you try next!
I’d rather not separate the eggs- do I need to add more dry ingredients if I use whole eggs?
You’re welcome to use 3 full eggs if you prefer! Your pound cake may require a few extra minutes of baking, but no need to add more dry ingredients. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it Jessica! 🙂
Sound delicious and OMG by my calculations only 3WW points per slice! Have you tried making them as muffins?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Kate! To make your life easier, I actually include the full nutrition information and Weight Watchers points underneath each of my recipes. I know many people love having that info available, so I like to include it! 😉 I haven’t tried making this recipe as muffins, but I’m sure that would work just fine! I’d start checking after about 16-18 minutes. They’ll probably take longer to bake, but I don’t want you to wait too long to check and end up with burnt muffins! They’ll be done when the centers feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. I can’t wait to hear what you think of them! 🙂
So delicious! Didn’t use stevia and used vanilla soy milk. The loaf is so beautiful also!
Just discovered your blog yesterday, want to cook absolutely everything!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this pound cake Irene! That means so much to me that you already want to try some of my other recipes. I’m honored! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you try next!
I’m excited to try out this recipe! Do any steps need to be modified for high-altitude baking?
I really appreciate your interest in this recipe, Amanda! From other readers’ experiences, they haven’t needed to modify my recipes at all for high-altitude baking. (When they tried the usual high-altitude modifications, my recipes actually turned out worse!) 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this pound cake!
Hello. Im bsking this cake 4th time over 3 weekend! Amazing taste especially knowing it doesn’t contain bad fat or sugar. Please can I ask how many calories is per slice ?
I’m so glad you’re loving this cake, Karolina! That means so much to me that you’ve already baked it 4 times. That’s the best kind of compliment! 😉 The full nutrition information is already included directly beneath the recipe. It can be easy to miss! 🙂
To be honest, I didn’t like the cake. I would like to experiment with using Apple purée for some sweetness. I found the flavor to be bland and lacking. It turned out quiet dense too.
I used 2 cups white flour and 3/4 cup white whole wheat.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe! That sounds disappointing and not like how this cake should turn out, so I’d love to work with you to solve that issue. 🙂 Did you use the same vanilla stevia that I did? Also, did you make any modifications to the recipe besides the flour (including those listed in the Notes section)? Finally, did you mix the batter by hand, or did you use a stand or electric hand mixer? Once I know all of that information, we should have a better idea of what to do next time so your cake turns out much better!