Simple ingredients and flavours are what’s needed to prepare the ultimate coffee cake. Orange Yogurt Coffee Cake is such a recipe. Brew a hot cup of coffee and find a quiet place to enjoy a relaxing moment without distraction. This cake deserves nothing less.

In our home, we are huge fans of coffee cakes. We like the no-fuss approach to coffee cakes. Most coffee cake recipes are very easy to prepare and don’t require the additional work of frostings, cake stands, piping bags, etc. All you need is a square cake pan and a little bit of confectioner’s sugar to make this cake look just like the one in the photos.
Sometimes, you need to dress up a coffee cake a little bit. That’s when I whip up my Lemon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake. It has a cream cheese topping baked right onto the top of the cake. And, it’s so lemony!
In contrast, sometimes you need a coffee cake that has more than just a confectioner’s sugar dusting. Coffee cakes are more commonly known for having a crumb topping. Check out the crumb topping on my Currant Coffee Cake. I make this cake once a year, because I will seriously eat the whole thing. I can’t stop myself!
ORANGE FLAVOUR
I’m a new convert to extracts. But, when using extracts, I try my best to use the real thing as well. In my Orange Yogurt Coffee Cake, I have used a little bit of orange extract as well as the flavours of real orange zest. Now, if you don’t have orange extract on hand, don’t fuss about it.
I would not recommend that you run out an purchase a bottle of orange extract if you’re going to use it only in this recipe. Just substitute the orange extract with plain old vanilla extract and the cake will still be orange-y and citrus-y. The orange zest will make sure of that!
A COFFEE CAKE WITH NO COFFEE?
I’ve never understood why many cakes are called coffee cakes when there’s actually no coffee in them. I know, I know, it’s meant to imply that you are supposed to enjoy the cake with a coffee, but what about all the tea drinkers out there? Tea cakes? A new trend maybe?
I’m a coffee drinker and I love how this Orange Yogurt Coffee Cake pairs so well with a hot coffee. I find that coffee enriches and intensifies the citrus flavour of the cake. McKenna is a coffee drinker as well, although, most of the time, her coffee comes from Starbucks and has caramel drizzle. That, I’ll never understand.
John.e is a tea drinker. Orange pekoe with milk and honey. Me? Well, I love a good Starbucks coffee too, and I obsess over their Green Tea Frappuccino. At home though, I prefer a breakfast/light roast with half and half and two packets of stevia. Between the three of us, we can never seem to agree on a hot beverage.

HOLD THE BUTTER PLEASE!
Coffee and tea aside, Orange Yogurt Coffee Cake has much to boast about. Not only does it taste super refreshing, not only is it super (and I mean super!) moist, but it can also be proud of the fact that there’s no butter! Oh, and we all know that yogurt is good for us, right? Well, this cake has an entire cup of it!
Now, here’s where you can go big on the orange flavour. Remember when I said not to buy orange extract if you don’t have any already and to use vanilla instead? Well, when selecting your yogurt for this cake, why not use orange or tangerine flavoured yogurt instead of plain or vanilla yogurt? That, along with the orange zest, will give you lots of delicious orange flavour.
When it comes to selecting yogurt for this recipe, under no circumstances should you use Greek yogurt. For every day eating, I will only buy Greek yogurt, but for baking this particular cake, the Greek yogurt is just too thick. You need to use regular yogurt so that there’s enough moisture to incorporate and absorb the dry ingredients.
To jazz things up a little, and to make my rustic home-style Orange Yogurt Coffee Cake just a little more special – especially if you’re serving this to guests – whip some heavy whipping cream until light and fluffy, and serve the cake with some fresh orange slices or wedges. You can even zest some fresh orange right on top! Who says dessert has to be expensive and ridiculously ornate? My Orange Yogurt Coffee Cake is out to prove otherwise! Enjoy!

CONSIDER USING THE FOLLOWING TOOLS:
- Square Cake Pan – I’m a huge fan of the Fat Daddios brand and highly recommend this 8×8 inch square baking pan. It’s exactly what I used in this recipe.
- Hand Mixer – one of the most used baking tools in my kitchen. I love my Kitchenaid Hand Mixer. Even though I have a stand mixer, I go to my hand mixer over and over again. It’s just easier to clean up!

Orange Yogurt Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup orange flavoured yogurt (not Greek yogurt!)
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon orange zest, about one large orange
- 1 teaspoon orange extract (or vanilla extract)
- 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 8 x 8 inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the yogurt, eggs, vegetable oil, sugar, and orange extract. Use a hand-held mixer to blend until well incorporated. Blend on medium speed for a full 4 minutes.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and orange zest. Blend until well incorporated.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the baking pan before carefully flipping it out onto a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition

Leanne Harrington says
In your Orange Yogurt Coffeecake you initially talk about orange extract and using vanilla in place of it but no where in your recipe is there any mention of an extract. Could it possibly be the 1 teaspoon of Orange Juice that is supposed to be the Orange extract?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Leanne. Yes, you’re right! I’ve updated the recipe to reflect orange extract, not orange juice. 🙂
Angie says
Can I use any other regular or Greek yogurt if I cannot find orange yogurt?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Yes, Angie, any flavour of yogurt will do just fine.
Sarsh says
It calls for orange juice in the directions. No mention of the OJ in the ingredients…
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you for catching that. It was supposed to read extract instead of juice. I have updated the recipe card accordingly.
pat riley says
what happened to the coffee. i cant see any on the recipe
byronethomas@gmail.com says
There is no coffee in this cake. This style of cakes are often referred to as coffee cakes because they are usually eaten with a cup of coffee.