Grammy's Easy Chocolate Yogurt Cake (2024)

June 14, 2018

Total Time: 55 minutes

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Need a dessert recipe that's one-bowl, no-mixer and out-of-this-world delicious? Grammy's Easy Chocolate Yogurt Cake is all that, and more!

When I opened two emails last week, within 24 hours, requesting a chocolate version of our belovedFrench Grandmother's Lemon Yogurt Cake, I knew it was time to go into my mad scientist mode. I pulled out sugar, flour, cocoa, Greek yogurt, eggs, and oil. A few attempts later (and an incredibly wonderful smelling kitchen), Grammy's Easy Chocolate Yogurt Cake had evolved. Who's Grammy? That's me!

I never imagined when I posted the French Grandmother's Lemon Yogurt Cake recipe several years ago that it would end up becoming one of the most popular recipes on the blog. Yes, I know it's a crazy name. The original French name for the cake is Gâteaux de Mamie (translated: Granny Cake). The story's told that grandmothers all over France have become renowned for making this simple, delicious lemon cake. When I read about thecharming history that goes along with the recipe, I decided it deserved the fun name.

I've gotten email comments from readers all over the world who love this super easy cake that can be thrown together in minutes. It's a one-bowl, no mixer cake that's simple, elegant, moist and flavorful, all at the same time.

Changing to chocolate

The chocolate version was a bit of a challenge because cocoa powder can cause baked goods to have a dry texture, if you add it to a recipe without making other modifications. I decided to decrease the amount of flour a bit and increase the yogurt to compensate for this problem. After a few tests, I think I got it just right; a delicious, moist, super chocolatey.

One of the really nice things about the French Grandmother's recipe is that there's no icing to make or to have to spread on the cake. Just a super simple syrup glaze that gets brushed on while it's still warm. I wanted a similarly simple finish for my easy chocolate yogurt cake and decided on a chocolate chip-pecan topping that's quick to put together. The topping turned out to be not only easy - but beautiful!

An easy and elegant finishing touch

How does it work? While the cake bakes, put together a batch of easy glazed pecans. Just combine butter, sugar and chopped pecans in a small saute pan and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and shiny. Turn onto a sheet of parchment paper and set aside. After the cake is cooled a bit, sprinkle the glazed pecans over the top. Let the cake cool just a bit more, then sprinkle liberally with chocolate chips (I like to use two sizes for a pretty presentation.) That's it! Voila - a cake that looks like it came from a fine bakery!!

Cafe Tips for making this Easy Chocolate Yogurt Cake

Be sure to grease your cake pan well and to line it with parchment paper. You want the cake to slide out of the pan easily, without any sticking. I love these parchmentpaper circles. I store a stack of them right in my cake pans so I have them at my fingertips. They come in 8-inch and 9-inch sizes.
Since this cake doesn't require a mixer, it's important to use the right tool for mixing it up. Use a whisk to mix up this cake. A whisk will help incorporate air into the batter making the cake lighter. It will also help eliminate lumps quickly, without over mixing. A decent whisk is inexpensive and will last for years.
I use a whole milk Greek yogurt for this cake. Low-fat would also work.
You can use your preference of chocolate chips for the topping. I like to use mini and regular size chips. The mini chips I use are semi-sweet and milk chocolate regular size chips. The two different chocolate chips are not only delicious but make for a super pretty presentation.
Be sure to wait the 15 minutes before adding the pecans and chocolate chips. Otherwise, the cake will be too warm and the chips will melt into little puddles. Still tasty, but not nearly as attractive!

P.S. Want to hear the other side of the French Grandmother's Cake story? A reader left this comment:

This was always the very first thing that French kids learned to bake because it was so... easy.

This easy chocolate yogurt cake would also be perfect for kids as it's just as simple. So there you have it, these yogurt cakes are perfect for young and old alike - both for making and enjoying!

4.96 from 23 votes

Grammy's Easy Chocolate Yogurt Cake

Need a dessert recipe that's one-bowl, no-mixer and out-of-this-world delicious? Grammy's Easy Chocolate Yogurt Cake is all that and more!

Author: Chris Scheuer

Course:Dessert

Cuisine:American

Keyword:easy chocolate yogurt cake

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

Servings: 12

Calories: 282 kcal

Ingredients

For the cake:

1cupall-purpose flour
½cupcocoa powder
2teaspoonsbaking powder
½teaspoonsalt
1cupwhite sugar
1cupplain Greek yogurt
3large eggs
2teaspoonspure vanilla extract
½cupsunflower oilor other mild tasting oil
1 ½cupschocolate chipsmore or less to your liking, I use mini semisweet and milk chocolate regular size, ¾ cup of each

For the glazed pecans:

1tablespoonbutter
2tablespoonssugar
¾cupchopped pecans

US Customary - Metric

Reader Interactions

Comments

DianeO says
February 02, 2024 at 4:25 pm

Perfect recipe. For those who could not get the chips and pecans to adhere I have a suggestion or two. First I did not wait 15 min, maybe less than 10, first scattered some chips then right away some pecans, pressed lightly with palm and repeate. And /or take a dinner plate and gently flip onto top of warm cake for just a few minutes or until chips melt a bit more from the trapped residual heat from the cake. Remove plate and all is well! Recipe is a keeper.
Reply
- Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
  February 05, 2024 at 9:18 am
  
  Thank you for the review, Diane!
  Reply
John says
January 27, 2024 at 10:09 am

Would this cake work with cup for cup gluten free flour? If you ever can share GF adaptations, that would be fabulous. Love the care details of your recipes, their complexities of flavors and variety imaginations!! Thank you.
Reply
- Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
  January 29, 2024 at 3:15 pm
  See Also
  The Best Ever Lectin-Free Chili – Lectin Free Mama
  
  Thanks for the kind comment, John! Yes, this will work with cup for cup GF flour. Enjoy!
  Reply
Sv says
December 28, 2023 at 9:06 pm

Really yummy! I subbed coconut sugar for the white sugar and turned out great. fluffy and chocolate-y
Reply
- Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
  December 29, 2023 at 3:57 pm
  
  Thanks for your review, Sv!
  Reply
Janet Wright says
August 04, 2023 at 7:02 am

Should the eggs and yogurt be at room temperature?
Reply
- Chris Scheuer says
  August 04, 2023 at 2:17 pm
  
  Hi Janet, it's not necessary for this recipe.
  Reply
Janet Wright says
August 02, 2023 at 5:57 pm

Does this cake freeze well?
Reply
- Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
  August 04, 2023 at 10:08 am
  
  Yes! Enjoy, Jane!
  Reply
Inge A Kohl says
July 14, 2023 at 10:18 pm

Made this today. Cake is very good, but the pecans and chocolate do not stick at all. They fall off as soon as you cut the cake. I did not wait a minute longer than 15 min before adding them on top. One would think the chocolate should go on first to create some bond. Way too many chocolate chips, I should have used maybe half the amount. When making the candied pecans, my sugar did not want to melt. I added some water and stirred untill the water evaporated and the sugar had melted. Worked well.
Reply
- Chris Scheuer says
  July 15, 2023 at 5:41 am
  
  Hi Inge, so sorry you had trouble with this cake. When I tested this recipe, I tried adding the chips right away but they melted into a pool, hence the 15-minute wait. Mine still melted enough to create a bond.
  Thanks for sharing your review.
  Reply
  - Cindy says
    August 07, 2023 at 9:17 pm
    
    Made this cake today and absolutely loved it! It’s so easy to make and so moist. I also had the same problem with my chocolate chips so I scraped them off and added some milk & made a ganache. It was perfect! We love this cake, this is definitely a keeper!
    Reply
    - Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
      August 08, 2023 at 12:54 pm
      
      Awesome! Thank you for letting us know, Cindy!
      Reply
Michelle Gatz says
July 14, 2023 at 3:03 pm

I made this quick and easy choc cake but used it for cupcakes for the grandkids with a choc cream cheese frosting. They turned out so moist and take fantastic. Can’t wait to see the grandkids tomorrow
Reply
- Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
  July 14, 2023 at 4:58 pm
  
  Awesome! Thank you for letting us know, Michelle!
  Reply
nathalie B says
June 24, 2023 at 7:57 pm

Hello
Made your recipe
Looked like the picture..
But is it a very dense cake ?
Thanks
Nathalie
Reply
- Chris Scheuer says
  June 25, 2023 at 6:28 pm
  
  Hi Nathalie, this cake is a little denser because of the yogurt but it' shouldn't be very dense.
  Reply
Sadie says
June 11, 2023 at 11:50 am

I made 6 mini bundt cakes and they were delicious. The crumb wasn't quite as tender or moist as a citrus yogurt cake, possibly because of the cocoa. I added mini chocolate chips to the batter and frosted with a buttercream swirl. The cakes were done in 22 minutes. A keeper!
Reply
- Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
  June 12, 2023 at 11:48 am
  
  Thanks for your review, Sadie!
  Reply
Sara says
March 03, 2023 at 7:31 am

A quesiton: In the photo of the piece of this cake on a plate with fork, it looks like there is some sort of chocolate icing/butter cream holding the choc chips onto the top of the cake, I cannot see this mentioned in the recipe. Otherwise how do the choc chips not just fall off the cake?
Reply
- Chris Scheuer says
  March 03, 2023 at 7:42 am
  
  Hi Sara, that's actually a chocolate chip that is partially melted!
  Reply
Rachael says
November 27, 2022 at 11:06 pm

This recipe makes fantastic cup cakes
Reply
- Chris Scheuer says
  November 28, 2022 at 8:29 am
  
  Great to know, Rachael!
  Reply

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