Go Back

Lemon Turmeric Cake (by Alison Roman)

A golden "house cake" perfect for any guest's surprise drop-bys.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings: 1 loaf
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • some butter / spray for the pan
  • 215 g all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric add for even more color
  • 2 large lemons
  • 200 g granulated sugar plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling
  • 180 g full-fat greek yogurt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 115 g unsalted butter

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease your loaf pan and line with parchment—leave overhang so you can actually get the cake out without disaster.
  2. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and turmeric in a bowl. Watch that beautiful golden color develop!
  3. Here's where the original recipe gets it wrong. You need BOTH lemons to get 2 tablespoons of zest—don't try to be a hero with one lemon. Zest them into a large bowl, then juice one lemon for 2 tablespoons of juice.
  4. Add 200g sugar to the zest and rub it together with your fingers until it smells like sunshine and looks like sunset. This is where the magic happens—you're releasing all those citrus oils.
  5. Whisk the Greek yogurt, eggs, and lemon juice into that fragrant sugar mixture until smooth.
  6. Add the flour mixture and fold gently—don't overmix or you'll end up with a tough cake. Fold in the melted butter last.
  7. Pour into your pan, smooth the top, sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 175°C 50-60 minutes until golden and pulling slightly from the sides.

Notes

The Lessons I Learned the Hard Way 🍋

Skip the Lemon Slice Decoration: The original recipe calls for thin lemon slices on top. Don't. Just don't. Unless you have surgeon-level knife skills, they'll be thick, bitter, and impossible to cut through. I learned this the messy way.
The Better Way to Serve: Slice the cake, add a dollop of Greek yogurt on each piece, and sprinkle fresh lemon zest on top. It's prettier, tastes better, and actually works.
Greek Yogurt > Sour Cream: This wasn't intentional—I was just out of sour cream. But the Greek yogurt makes it more tender and adds this lovely tang that plays beautifully with the lemon.