Crispy on the outside and fluffy throughout, these tender 3 ingredient Buttermilk Drop Biscuits are one of the tastiest and most useful ways to get dinner on the table in no time at all. A pan of these golden brown beauties takes less time to mix up than the oven takes to preheat.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m always going to happily dig into a basket full of my perfectly flaky, layered buttermilk biscuits. But sometimes I want a warm biscuit and my freezer is empty of pre-made biscuit dough rounds or I don’t feel like spending more than 5 minutes slapping something together. Enter buttermilk drop biscuits, stage right; no pastry cutter or biscuit cutter needed!

This easy buttermilk drop biscuits recipe helps you get a delightful dinner on the table in no time flat with no compromise in flavour. Of course, you can serve these tender biscuits with classic sausage gravy, but there are so many more options!

Got a slow-cooker full of beef stew or chicken and gravy but you need bread to sop up all the great sauce? Problem solved with homemade drop biscuits.

But you can also top and bake a casserole with drop biscuit dough for a fluffy biscuit topped, bubbling hot casserole that is going to make you keep coming back for more. Heck, you can turn about any saucy main dish into an incredible casserole by topping it with this drop biscuit dough.

Drop biscuits make an incredible base for strawberry shortcake. Just sprinkle the biscuits with a little raw sugar before baking!

Drop Buttermilk Biscuits

What is the difference between a drop biscuit and a traditional biscuit? In traditional biscuits, the fat is cut into the flour mixture until it resembles small pebbles, then the buttermilk mixture is carefully tossed in. The dough is turned out onto the counter and kneaded together very delicately then pressed out and cut into your desired shape before baking.

With this easy drop biscuit recipe, you whisk together your dry ingredients, gently stir in your wet ingredients, then it is scooped onto a pan and baked. Hey presto, that’s it!

This recipe has only a handful of simple ingredients, but believe it or not, you can still do a little substituting. Check the list:

3 Ingredient Drop Biscuits

1. Self Rising Flour (or all-purpose flour plus baking powder, baking soda, and salt)
2. Cultured Buttermilk
3. Fat

Let’s get some details covered. White Lily Self-Rising Flour is the all time ultimate for impossibly fluffy biscuits. I have made these with all-purpose flour and been quite happy with the results, but prefer White Lily for the most tender biscuit results.

If you are using all-purpose flour, you’ll need to add baking powder, baking soda, and salt to create that lofty puff you want in the biscuits. Instead of using 2 1/4 cups of self-rising flour, you’ll use 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2

I found the results too heavy when I made the biscuits from wheat flour but have had success in using the King Arthur Baking Company’s one-for-one gluten-free flour. Additionally, I did not like the finished texture of the biscuits when they were made with high-gluten flour or Tipo “00” flour. They weren’t inedible, but they weren’t awesome either.

If you try other gluten-free blends or types of flour, you’re in uncharted territory! Please let me know what your results are if you mess around with something other than what I’ve mentioned.

Buttermilk Drop Biscuit Recipe

Cultured buttermilk for whatever reason draws some folks’ ire. It’s ridiculously easy to make your own, the catch is that you need some cultured buttermilk to make it.

The good news is that once you’ve done that, it’s like a perpetual motion machine as long as you keep culturing it. Don’t have cultured buttermilk and refuse to buy it? You can definitely do the old “add a tablespoon of cider vinegar or lemon juice to a cup and fill it the rest of the way with regular milk, then stir and let sit” trick. 

Here’s the thing, though. That will give you the acidity needed, but it doesn’t give you the amazing mouthfeel you get from using actual buttermilk in the 3 ingredient drop biscuits. 

If you think I’m full of it, please try a control experiment once where you make a batch with good old buttermilk and another batch with the acidified milk substitute. It does make a difference.

Whether it’s enough to make you keep buttermilk on hand is a matter of personal preference. For me, it definitely does make a big enough difference.

What kind of fat to use in your homemade buttermilk drop biscuits recipe

Here you have a couple of options. You can opt to use oil or melted butter. I have done both and love both with butter taking a slight edge because it’s just so darned tasty in everything.

When it comes to convenience, though, it’s hard to beat pouring a little oil in a measuring cup with the buttermilk. If you choose butter, you’ll need to melt it thoroughly first. 

Keeping that in mind, if you melt the butter, it may seize back up in cold buttermilk. That’s okay, but if it bothers you, you can get around it by using room temperature buttermilk.

You can make your buttermilk room temperature by gently microwaving it for a few seconds or by leaving out in a measuring cup with a paper towel over the top of the cup for 30 minutes before using it.

Cheese Drop Biscuits

You can gussy up this easy recipe, too! Add one cup of shredded cheese to the flour and toss it around before adding in the buttermilk and fat for divine cheese drop biscuits. 

Alternatively, you could stir in some dried or chopped fresh herbs to the flour to compliment or reflect the main dish. The possibilities are endless. 

For instance, you could add shredded cheddar and minced chives into the biscuits. Sprinkle a little Old Bay seasoning over the biscuits on the tray for an Red Lobster-esque biscuit. You could also use pepper jack cheese and chopped pickled onions in them.

Voila! You have a great accompaniment to Chorizo Chili, 5 Ingredient Taco Soup, or Pork Green Chili. 

Easy Drop Biscuits

The list of equipment you need for these easy drop biscuits is about as short as the ingredients list. You’re very likely to have everything you need on hand already.

1. Measuring Cups and Spoons
2. Large or Medium Bowl
3. Silicone or Rubber Spatula or Spoonula
4. Half Sheet Pan
5. Optional but Handy: Parchment Paper, and an ice cream scoop or large 3-tablespoon cookie scoop.

If you don’t have parchment handy, you can lay down a silicone baking mat on your sheet pan. Alternately, lightly spritz the pan with non-stick cooking spray. The finished biscuits will lift off of the prepared baking sheet as easily as can be.

Enough talk, though, right? Let’s get ready to butter some homemade biscuits!

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

Preheat the oven to 475F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Measure the self-rising flour into a large bowl (or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.) In a large measuring cup, mix together the  buttermilk and butter or oil.

Pour the buttermilk/fat mixture into the dry ingredients and mix gently until most dry spots have disappeared. The sticky dough will still have small clumps, but there should be no pockets of dry ingredients left.

Scoop by the quarter cup (or use a similarly sized cookie scoop or disher) about 2-3 inches apart on the prepared pan. Bake the biscuits for between 12-18 minutes or until they are golden brown and delicious. 

Allow the biscuits to rest on the pan for five minutes before serving or transferring them to a serving dish. These are best eaten the day they’re made, but I can think of worse things than eating one of these the day after it was baked.

You can also use the buttermilk drop biscuit dough to make this incredibly simple and crave-worthy Sausage Gravy Casserole. Breakfast just got exciting!

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Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

There is nothing fussy about these fluffy, buttery, golden brown buttermilk biscuits. No cutting in cold butter; just stir everything together and dollop on the pan!

Course bread

Cuisine American

Keyword buttermilk drop biscuits, drop biscuits, homemade biscuits, homemade buttermilk biscuits, homemade drop biscuits

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 284kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 1 sheet pan
• 1 Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• 1 mixing bowl
• 1 Silicone spatula

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups self-rising flour or 2 cups 8.5 ounces by weight all-purpose flour plus 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable or canola oil
• 1 cup cultured buttermilk See notes for alternate choices

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 475F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Measure the self-rising flour into a large bowl (or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.) In a large measuring cup, mix together the buttermilk and butter or oil.
• Pour the buttermilk/fat mixture into the dry ingredients and mix gently until most dry spots have disappeared. The sticky dough will still have small clumps, but there should be no pockets of dry ingredients left.
• Scoop by the quarter cup (or use a similarly sized cookie scoop or disher) about 2-3 inches apart on the prepared pan. Bake for between 12-18 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and delicious and they are set up.
• Allow the biscuits to rest on the pan for five minutes before serving or transferring them to a serving dish.These are best eaten the day they’re made, but I can think of worse things than eating one of these the day after it was baked.

Notes

If you do not have buttermilk, you can add 1 tablespoon of cider or white vinegar to a measuring cup and fill it up the rest of the way with milk. Stir it together briskly with a fork, then allow it to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before using it.

Nutrition

Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 124mg | Potassium: 104mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 382IU | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Chick Fil A Pizza is the glorious combination of two of the world’s great comfort foods: pizza and fried chicken. Made with delicious fried chicken, waffle fries, and Chick-Fil-A sauce, this special pizza is for all you fried chicken lovers out there. You may think you don’t need a new recipe for pizza, but I promise you this one is well worth it!

Naturally, I recommend using Chick Fil A nuggets, waffle fries, and sauce, but if you don’t have one near you (or if it’s Sunday!) I’ve given some suggestions for substitutions below that don’t require finding parking spaces or fighting traffic at drive-thru restaurants! This easy fast food style dinner will please your whole family.

If you want the full fried chicken pizza experience, pour yourself a tall, icy glass of sweet tea (or unsweet if you’re like me!). Or maybe pour yourself a frosty Watermelon margarita because NOTHING goes better with fried chicken and pizza than watermelon!

Chicken & Pizza

Chicken & Pizza are a natural pairing whether you’re talking about a fried chicken pizza like this one, a Buffalo chicken flatbread, or a chicken taco pizza. They’re -as the old commercial used to say- two great tastes that taste great together. 

Let’s go over the list of what you need to make this powerhouse of a comfort food! It’s not complicated, thankfully.

Ingredients

1. Pre-Baked Pizza Crust
2. Fully Cooked Chicken Nuggets
3. Full Cooked Waffle French Fries 
4. Chick Fil A Sauce or Burger Sauce
5. Pizza Sauce or Marinara Sauce
6. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
7. Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
8. Green Onions

You can purchase a pre-baked pizza crust, or make one of your own from pizza dough using the instructions in this Big Mac Pizza recipe. And while Chick Fil A chicken is undeniably delicious, if you don’t have it nearby, you can substitute 12 of your favourite fully cooked chicken nuggets for it.

Likewise, Chick Fil A waffle fries rock, but you can sub in any other good, fully cooked waffle fries or even crinkle cut or steak fries. Just make sure they’re completely cooked before adding to the pizza. 

And ya’ll. Chick Fil A sauce is GOOD. And 100% of the proceeds from sauce sales go to fund scholarships for people who work at Chick Fil A.

But again, if you don’t have it and don’t want to order it, homemade Burger sauce makes an admirable pinch-hitter. 

Chicken Nugget Pizza

Now that we’ve got our ingredients sorted, let’s talk about equipment you need to make this recipe. I believe you should have all of the necessary bits and bobs to make this on hand already.

1. Cutting Board
2. Chef Knife
3. Measuring Cups and Spoons
4. Optional: Half Sheet Pan

Because you’re starting with a fully cooked pizza crust, you can bake the pizza directly on the rack in your oven. This will give you a crispier bottom crust. If you make sheet pan chick-fil a pizza, you’ll find your crust is softer and chewier.

Fried Chicken Pizza and More

Do you need more inspiration above and beyond a fried chicken pizza? Oh, do I have you covered. Check out some of these terrific pizza recipes here on Foodie with Family.

The Best Pan Pizza

Big Mac Pizza

Garlic Pizza

Birria Pizza

Sausage Gravy Breakfast Pizza

Pickle Pizza

Smoked Salmon Pizza

Ranch Cream Cheese Vegetable Pizza

And if you’re looking for pizza inspired dishes, try out our Pizza Bowls, Pizza Salad, Pepperoni Pizza Bialys, Pizza Gnocchi, Pizza Logs, and Pizza Frittata. 

Chick Fil A Pizza

Preheat the oven to 475ºF.

Cut nuggets and waffle fries into approximately equal sized pieces. Set them aside.

Spread ¼ cup of the Chick Fil A sauce and the pizza sauce over the pizza crust. Swirl them together as you spread the sauce.

Scatter mozzarella cheese, chicken nuggets, and waffle fries over the sauce. Top with the shredded Monterey jack cheese. 

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes on a sheet pan or directly on the oven rack, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown in patches and the chicken and fries are hot all the way through. Cooking it on the oven rack will yield a crispier crust while cooking on a sheet pan will give you a slightly softer and chewier crust.

Remove the pizza from the oven and drizzle with the remaining Chick Fil A sauce. Garnish with the green onions and serve.

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Chick Fil A Pizza

Chick Fil A Pizza is the glorious combination of two of the world’s great comfort foods: pizza and fried chicken. Inspired by the delicious fried chicken, waffle fries, and sauce at Chick Fil A, this pizza is for all you fried chicken lovers out there.

Course Appetizer, game day, Main Course, Main Dish, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword chick-fil-a pizza, chicken finger and fries pizza

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 698kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• cutting board
• Chef Knife
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Optional: Half Sheet Pan

Ingredients

• 1 Pre-baked pizza crust
• 12 chicken nuggets
• 1 ½ cups waffle fries or a medium order from Chick Fil A
• ½ cup Chick Fil A Sauce or Burger Sauce divided
• ¼ cup pizza sauce
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 green onions thinly sliced

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 475ºF.
• Cut nuggets and waffle fries into approximately equal sized pieces. Set them aside.
• Spread ¼ cup of the Chick Fil A sauce and the pizza sauce over the pizza crust. Swirl them together as you spread the sauce.
• Scatter mozzarella cheese, chicken nuggets, and waffle fries over the sauce. Top with the shredded Monterey jack cheese.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes on a sheet pan or directly on the oven rack, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown in patches and the chicken and fries are hot all the way through. Cooking it on the oven rack will yield a crispier crust while cooking on a sheet pan will give you a slightly softer and chewier crust.
• Remove the pizza from the oven and drizzle with the remaining Chick Fil A sauce. Garnish with the green onions and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 698kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 1155mg | Potassium: 698mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 388IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 288mg | Iron: 3mg

Hold onto your socks, because Sausage Gravy Breakfast Pizza just might knock them off! This ultimate comfort food mashup is coming soon to a breakfast, brunch (or dinner!) table near you.

Chewy pizza crust is topped with cheesy, fluffy scrambled eggs, savoury, flavourful, creamy sausage gravy, and fragrant chives in this delightfully different pizza. Pizza crust stands in for buttery biscuits in this delicious breakfast recipe that’s equally at home on a regular day or Christmas morning.

If your instinct is to pearl clutch when you hear about someone messing around with sausage gravy, just stick with me. This perfect breakfast sausage gravy pizza is worth keeping your mind open for. 

Sausage Gravy Pizza

Classic sausage gravy is the ne plus ultra of the breakfast food world. It’s everything. And it’s so much better than tomato sauce or pizza sauce on this particular easy breakfast pizza recipe.

Savoury, meaty, creamy, and oh-so-comforting, it’s the kind of food that makes you happy. It’s ever so easy to make, but I have a tendency to get a little out of control and make more than we need for a single breakfast. 

This sausage gravy pizza was born of the need to use up leftover sausage gravy but it has earned a place in our regular rotation by virtue of its utter deliciousness. There’s not a person in this home that can resist sausage gravy breakfast pizza.

Breakfast Pizza

Let’s go over ingredients for this ultimate breakfast pizza. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe, allowing for some substitutions.

1. Eggs
2. Milk or Cream
3. Cheese
4. Butter
5. Naan or Pre-made pizza crust or Pita Bread
6. Sausage Gravy
7. Chives or Green Onions
8. Salt and Black Pepper

You’re going to be making super fast, cheesy scrambled eggs as the first layer on top of your breakfast pizza. If you follow the instructions scrupulously, the eggs may appear to be underdone for your usual liking. 

Remember, though, that they’re going to continue cooking while the pizza bakes. So go easy on that first cook in the frying pan!

As for the cheese, you can choose any cheese you love with eggs. I incline toward cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, or mozzarella cheese for this pizza.

Breakfast Pizza with Sausage Gravy

And your breakfast pizza will be built on either a pre-made naan bread, pita bread, or pre-baked pizza crust. If you’d like a classic pizza crust for your breakfast pizza, you can purchase a pre-baked crust or make your own from pizza dough using the instructions in the notes of this recipe. 

A pre-made naan bread or pita bread are great alternative pizza crusts, each having their own charms. Both naan and pita yield a softer-crusted breakfast pizza than a pizza shell. 

Choose your crust according to the time you have available and your personal preference. I almost always have pizza shells on hand in the freezer, and like the extra body and chew provided by them. 

As I said, I use leftover sausage gravy for this pizza. You can certainly make a fresh batch of homemade sausage gravy or purchase some from a favourite restaurant if you prefer. 

Now some folks get a little up in arms if you approach their sausage gravy with anything resembling greenery, but I’m going to insist on it here. The subtle, fresh pop of onion flavour that chives or green onions contribute to the finished breakfast pizza cannot be beat. 

And whatever anyone says, I’m always going to be Team Parsley Garnish on sausage gravy. I’ll politely go toe-to-toe with your blessed grandma over it if you like.

It tastes better and -frankly- just plain looks nicer, too. Go on, try it once. I’ll wait here. 

Breakfast Sausage Gravy Pizza

Our equipment list for the sausage gravy breakfast pizza is nice and brief. You’re almost certain to have all that you need to make them on hand already.

1. Large Nonstick Skillet 
2. Measuring Cups and Spoons
3. Whisk
4. Silicone Spatula or Spoonula
5. Mixing Bowl
6. Chef Knife
7. Cutting Board
8. Half Sheet Pan or Perforated Pizza Pan (optional: parchment paper)

Silicone spatulas and spoonulas are my secret weapon in making the fluffiest scrambled eggs. They gently but thoroughly keep the sides and bottom of the frying pan clean and don’t scratch even delicate non-stick surfaces.

The real choice you have to make when it comes to equipment is whether you want a crispier or softer crust. Whichever pizza crust option you choose, the pan is the real hero in delivering your desired crust texture.

If you bake the pizza on a perforated pizza pan, it will become much crispier. Opting for baking it on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper will give you a much softer and more yielding pizza.

If you want a crispy pizza and don’t have a perforated pan, you can cheat a little. Because you are using a prebaked pizza crust, naan, or pita bread, you’re starting with some structure and body already.

The trick goes like this: build your pizza on the backside of a sheet pan and gently ease it directly onto the rack of your pre-heated oven. Bake as directed, then use tongs to pull the finished pizza back onto your sheet pan. Voila!

You do run a little risk of some of the sausage gravy or cheese dripping over the edge of the pizza onto the floor of your oven. If this worries you, place a pan on the rack below the one on which you’re cooking the pizza to catch any overflow.

Breakfast Recipes

Man cannot live by sausage gravy breakfast pizza alone (although I am willing to try…) Here are some more fabulous breakfast options to serve with or in place of our delicious breakfast pizza.

Bring slow cooker Breakfast baked beans to your breakfast table and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them. If another unique but irresistible breakfast pizza is more your jam, try this Bacon Jam Spinach and Asiago Breakfast Pizza on for size. 

For all my savoury breakfast loving people, I present glorious Ham and Cheese croissants, too. If you’re looking to keep it easier, give our Spicy Bacon Cheddar Zucchini Breakfast Muffins a go. 

You can please your sweet tooth with Banana Bread French Toast Cups, Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls, Churro Waffles, French Yogurt Cake,  Señorita Bread, or Croissant Bread Pudding. 

Don’t forget to add something to drink! Dulce de Leche Chai Latte is a natural choice, but so is a Dirty Chai, Vietnamese Iced Coffee, or some Snickerdoodle Coffee Creamer for your morning cuppa joe. 

Sausage Gravy Breakfast Pizza

Preheat the oven to 350ºF with a rack positioned in the center.

Whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a liquid measuring cup or mixing bowl until even in colour. Set this aside while you heat butter in a non-stick large skillet over medium low heat. 

Pour the egg mixture into the melted butter and let it cook for 1 minute, undisturbed. Using a silicone spatula, gently stir the eggs in a circle, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. Cook just until the eggs are set in a fluffy curd, or for no more than 3 minutes. 

The eggs should be very moist and soft set but not runny. You do not want to cook the eggs to the point of being dry.

Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese over the eggs, stir gently to combine, once again scraping sides of pan, and remove the pan from the heat. Scoop the eggs onto the pizza shell, naan, or pita bread, leaving 1-inch of crust clear around the outer perimeter.

Dollop the 1 1/2 cups of the sausage gravy around the eggs and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the places where the egg is exposed. Slide the pizza into the oven (on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, perforated pizza pan, or directly onto the rack) and bake until the cheese is fully melted and the sausage gravy is bubbly. 

If you’d like a little more golden brown kissing your sausage gravy and cheese, you can slide the pizza under the broiler for just a couple of minutes. Watch it carefully, though, to prevent burning.

Remove the pizza from the oven and garnish immediately with chopped chives or green onions. Let it stand on a baking sheet or cutting board for 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving with the remaining sausage gravy for dipping.

Note: If you are using leftover sausage gravy, please reheat it gently before adding it to the pizza. 

Print

Sausage Gravy Breakfast Pizza

Hold onto your socks, because Sausage Gravy Breakfast Pizza just might knock them off! This ultimate comfort food mashup is coming soon to a breakfast, brunch (or dinner!) table near you. Chewy pizza crust is topped with cheesy, fluffy scrambled eggs, savoury, flavourful, creamy sausage gravy, and fragrant chives in this deliciously different pizza. Made on naan bread (or pre-baked pizza shells, homemade or purchased), these pizzas come together in just moments, too!

Course Breakfast, brunch, dinner, lunch, Main Course, Main Dish, supper

Cuisine American

Keyword breakfast pizza, breakfast sausage gravy pizza, sausage and gravy breakfast pizza, sausage gravy breakfast pizza, sausage gravy pizza

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 653kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• Non-stick Frying Pan
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• whisk
• Silicone Spatula or Spoonula
• mixing bowl
• Chef Knife
• cutting board
• Half Sheet Pan or Perforated Pizza Pan

Ingredients

• 1 12- inch prebaked pizza shell or 2 prepared naan breads or pita breads See notes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 5 large eggs
• ¼ cup heavy cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 cups Monterey Jack cheddar, or mozzarella cheese or a blend, divided
• 3 cups sausage gravy divided

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF with a rack positioned in the center.
• Whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a liquid measuring cup or mixing bowl until even in colour. Set this aside while you heat butter in a non-stick large skillet over medium low heat.
• Pour the egg mixture into the melted butter and let it cook for 1 minute, undisturbed. Using a silicone spatula, gently stir the eggs in a circle, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. Cook just until the eggs are set in a fluffy curd, or for no more than 3 minutes.
• The eggs should be very moist and soft set but not runny. You do not want to cook the eggs to the point of being dry.
• Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese over the eggs, stir gently to combine, once again scraping sides of pan, and remove the pan from the heat. Scoop the eggs onto the pizza shell, naan, or pita bread, leaving 1-inch of crust clear around the outer perimeter.
• Dollop 1 ½ cups of the sausage gravy around and over the eggs and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the places where the egg is exposed. Slide the pizza into the oven (on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, perforated pizza pan, or directly onto the rack) and bake until the cheese is fully melted and the sausage gravy is bubbly.
• If you’d like a little more golden brown kissing your sausage gravy and cheese, you can slide the pizza under the broiler for just a couple of minutes. Watch it carefully, though, to prevent burning.
• Remove the pizza from the oven and garnish immediately with chopped chives or green onions. Let it stand on a baking sheet or cutting board for 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving with the remaining sausage gravy for dipping.

Notes

To make your own pre-baked crust for your breakfast pizza, you can purchase a pre-baked crust or make your own using the instructions in the notes of this recipe.

If you are using leftover sausage gravy, please reheat it gently before adding it to the pizza.

Nutrition

Calories: 653kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 238mg | Sodium: 1551mg | Potassium: 295mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 681IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 383mg | Iron: 4mg

Rich, buttery, and indulgent, this creamy lemon and raspberry croissant bread pudding recipe is almost unbelievably easy to make. It only takes a few minutes of hands-on time to create this treat that will make any breakfast, brunch, or dessert a memorable occasion.

The flaky, layered croissant top gives way to the silky, vanilla and lemon scented custard that is studded with fresh raspberries. Optional cream cheese dotted through the custard makes this extraordinary decadent bread pudding taste a little like a cheesecake. 

And should you wish to really gild the lily and make the best bread pudding even more of a show stopper, you can drizzle a little lemon curd sauce and dollop whipped cream over the top. For a dish that originated as a way to use up old, stale bread, the humble beginnings have given way to a comforting but sensational dessert.

Something so very delicious doesn’t have a right to be this easy to make, friends, and yet here we are. Calling it impressive is a serious understatement, but words fail. 

Just make the bread pudding. Make it for your mom for Mother’s Day or for your husband for date night, or for yourself because frankly, you deserve some serious love every day of the week, too.

All that is required of you is to slice some croissants, whisk together some liquids, scatter some stuff in a pan, soak it all together, then bake it. That’s truly it!

Bread Pudding with Croissants

Lovely, layered, buttery croissants are ideally suited to bread pudding but you do want to let them get a little stale before giving them the pudding treatment. If you’re in a hurry, you can encourage them to get stale more quickly by cutting them in half lengthwise and placing them in a warm oven (cut-side up) for an hour or two.

The reason you don’t want to use bakery-fresh croissants for bread pudding is that they don’t absorb enough custard to get properly pudding-y. Stale croissants are a little dry and much better at wicking up all that glorious custard you’re soaking them in.

Now let’s talk about options because we have some. My preference is simply to cut the croissants in half lengthwise. 

I arrange the bottom halves over the bottom of my baking dish, add dollops of lemon curd, small pieces of cream cheese, and the fresh raspberries. I then arrange the tops of the croissants over their corresponding bottoms before pouring in the custard mixture. 

This makes a visually beautiful final product and you can simply slice each croissant out to serve on a plate. This does mean some of the custard will not be absorbed and will be set around the croissants.

I rather like the effect, but if you’re looking for a traditional bread pudding base where the croissants have absorbed all the custard and expanded greatly, you can cut the bases into 1-inch croissant pieces and scatter them over the bottom of the pan.

Then you will scatter the other ingredients and top with the croissant tops as described above before baking. Either way is delicious!

Bread Pudding with Croissants Recipe

So I promised you this is easy and I meant it. Let’s gather our ingredients!

1. Croissants 
2. Whole Eggs and Egg Yolks
3. Half and Half
4. Sugar
5. Vanilla Extract 
6. Lemon Zest
7. Fresh Raspberries or Other Fresh Berries
8. Lemon Curd
9. Heavy Cream
10. Nonstick Cooking Spray or Butter
11. Cream Cheese (optional but tasty)

If you can, plan ahead and grab the croissants about 3 days before you plan to make your easy croissant bread pudding. If you can’t, simply use the tip above to accelerate the process of drying them out a bit.

This recipe calls for half and half, but if you live in a region where this is not sold, simply combine equal parts whole milk and heavy cream. Or sub in all heavy-cream or whole milk, if you need to. It’ll be slightly different but no less delightful.

While raspberries ding my chimes in our croissant bread pudding, feel free to have a little fun with it. Blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries are all lovely in our pudding.

And if your tastes run more toward stone fruits, try out some pitted cherries or pitted and chopped peaches. You can even use dried berries or raisins if you love them- just keep them under the lid of the croissant tops to prevent them overcooking. 

When it comes to lemon curd, I definitely recommend making your own. Commercial jarred lemon curd is quite good and pretty readily available if you’re short on time, though.

Croissant Bread Pudding Recipe

When it comes to equipment, today’s croissant bread pudding recipe is pretty low maintenance. It’s true that you need a baking dish and a roasting pan, but don’t let that scare you!

1. 9×13-inch Casserole Dish
2. Roasting Pan (or Aluminum Roasting Pan on a Sheet Pan)
3. Cutting Board
4. Bread Knife
5. Measuring Cups and Spoons
6. Mixing Bowl
7. Whisk
8. Aluminum Foil

The pudding itself will be built and baked in the 9-by-13 baking dish, but the baking dish needs to be deposited into a larger pan or baking dish before going into the oven. We’re going to create a water bath in the outer pan with about an inch of hot water.

The hot water keeps the custard from curdling by cooking it more gently than the direct heat of the oven. It yields a silky, velvety custard instead of a grainy one. 

This is the same reason you’ll cover your pan with foil. While it may seem counterintuitive, you’ll also poke a few holes in the foil to allow some of the steam to escape.

Allowing the steam to escape in a controlled way keeps the croissant tops from getting over-soggy. The contrast between the flaky, crisp croissant tops and the custard rich bottoms is part of the abundant charm of this bread pudding.

Croissant Bread Pudding

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray or softened butter.

Slice 6 croissants in half lengthwise and arrange the bottoms of the sliced croissants in a single layer in the prepared pan. Break up any overlapping pieces and shove them into open spaces.

Scatter 2 cups of the raspberries over the croissant bottoms then dollop ½ cup of the lemon curd by spoonfuls over the croissants. If using the cream cheese, break it into knobs and scatter those around the raspberries and lemon curd. 

Arrange the croissant tops (cut side down) over the contents of the pan. Place the 9”x13” pan inside the roasting pan. If you’re using an aluminum roasting pan, please put it on top of a half sheet pan for stability.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, half and half, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until even in colour and the sugar dissolves. Pour custard mixture into the pan with the croissants.

Leave it to soak for about 10 minutes, pressing the top croissants gently into the mixture from time to time. You can gently weigh the croissant tops down using a plate if you’d like, but it’s not strictly necessary.

Pour hot (but not boiling) water into the roasting pan, taking care not to let it splash into your bread pudding pan. Cover tightly with foil, then use a chopstick or butter knife to stab about 10 holes around the foil to allow steam to escape.

Carefully transfer the roasting pan to the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes, or until the custard is set but still jiggly, golden brown, and puffed. 

Allow the bread pudding to cool for 15 minutes before slicing or scooping and serving. Whisk together the remaining ¼ cup of lemon curd and the heavy cream until smooth. 

This is best served warm or at room temperature with a drizzle of the lemon curd sauce. Garnish with the remaining raspberries and -if desired- whipped cream and more lemon zest.

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Croissant Bread Pudding

Rich, buttery, and indulgent, this creamy lemon and raspberry croissant bread pudding is almost unbelievably easy to make. It only takes a few minutes of hands-on time to create this treat that will make any breakfast, brunch, or dessert a memorable occasion.

Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert

Cuisine American, French

Keyword bread pudding, bread pudding with croissants, bread pudding with croissants recipe, croissant bread pudding, croissant bread pudding recipe, easy croissant bread pudding

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 598kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 9×13-inch Baking Dish
• Roasting Pan (or Aluminum Roasting Pan on a Sheet Pan)
• cutting board
• bread knife
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• mixing bowl
• whisk
• Foil

Ingredients

• Nonstick Cooking Spray or Butter
• 6 Croissants preferably stale (see notes)
• 3 cups Fresh Raspberries divided
• 3/4 cup Lemon Curd divided
• 4 ounces cream cheese optional but tasty
• 3 jumbo eggs
• 8 jumbo egg yolks
• 5 cups Half and Half
• 1 ⅓ cups Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 Lemon zested
• 3 tablespoons Heavy Cream

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray or softened butter.
• Slice 6 croissants in half lengthwise and arrange the bottoms of the sliced croissants in a single layer in the prepared pan. Break up any overlapping pieces and shove them into open spaces.
• Scatter 2 cups of the raspberries over the croissant bottoms then dollop ½ cup of the lemon curd by spoonfuls over the croissants. If using the cream cheese, break it into knobs and scatter those around the raspberries and lemon curd.
• Arrange the croissant tops (cut side down) over the contents of the pan. Place the 9”x13” pan inside the roasting pan. If you’re using an aluminum roasting pan, please put it on top of a half sheet pan for stability.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, half and half, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until even in colour and the sugar dissolves. Pour this into the pan with the croissants.
• Leave it to soak for about 10 minutes, pressing the top croissants gently into the mixture from time to time. You can gently weigh the croissant tops down using a plate if you’d like, but it’s not strictly necessary.
• Pour hot (but not boiling) water into the roasting pan, taking care not to let it splash into your bread pudding pan. Cover tightly with foil, then use a chopstick or butter knife to stab about 10 holes around the foil to allow steam to escape.
• Carefully transfer the roasting pan to the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes, or until the custard is set but still jiggly, golden brown, and puffed.
• Allow the bread pudding to cool for 15 minutes before slicing or scooping and serving. Whisk together the remaining ¼ cup of lemon curd and the heavy cream until smooth.
• This is best served warm or at room temperature with a drizzle of the lemon curd sauce. Garnish with the remaining raspberries and -if desired- whipped cream and more lemon zest.

Notes

Lovely, layered croissants are ideally suited to bread pudding but you do want to let them get a little stale before giving them the pudding treatment. If you’re in a hurry, you can encourage them to get stale by cutting them in half lengthwise and placing them in a warm oven (cut-side up) for an hour or two.

Nutrition

Calories: 598kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 286mg | Sodium: 319mg | Potassium: 310mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 1192IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 192mg | Iron: 2mg

Easter Bunny Bread is the most adorably delicious part of your Easter celebration and is surprisingly easy to make! You can make it with frozen bread dough or with most any homemade bread dough.

Bunny Bread is a longstanding tradition in our family and my kids look forward to it even more than their Easter baskets! My sesame semolina bread dough makes a lovely Easter Bunny Bread. Visit our Bread Recipes page for more fantastic homemade breads!

Bring some charming whimsy to your Easter feast with this irresistible fresh bread bunny. Kids of all ages will love it!

Around here, this is a strictly Easter dish, but I can see this going over a treat at a bunny-loving child’s birthday party or a get together for friends. You don’t have to be a bunny-bread withholder like I am. Feel free to bust out Bugs whenever the muse strikes.

Don’t let the idea of shaping bread scare you away. This does not require an art degree or sculpting skills; it’s quite simple!

While I start with approximately two pounds of homemade bread dough (I recommend this recipe!) you can your favorite standard bread dough or even thawed frozen bread dough. It’s just a matter of breaking it down into steps, and I’ve done that for you. To see just how easy it is, watch this video.

Bunny Shaped Bread

As impressive as this bunny bread looks, it is really quite easy to pull together. I’ve broken down the steps to make the process understandable and simple.

Let’s go over our ingredient and equipment lists so you know what to gather! Once you have everything together it’s just a matter of following the steps one by one.

Ingredients

1. Frozen Bread Dough or Homemade Bread Dough
2. Egg or Egg Replacement
3. Raisins, Dried Cranberries, Dried Currants, or Dried Cherries
4. Sliced Almonds
5. Optional but tasty for serving: Dip plus lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, broccoli, bell peppers, or any raw vegetables.

You can use homemade bread dough like this, or use purchased frozen bread dough that you’ve thawed according to package instructions. Either will be delicious. My preference is for this semolina dough.

As for the dip, I love this Dill Pickle Dip the best, but we’ve used everything from purchased French onion dip to Hot Corn Dip or Roasted Garlic Artichoke Goat Cheese Fondue and everything in between. Use whatever makes you smile!

I find red or green leaf lettuce or butter lettuce to be the best options for lining the bunny bread’s tummy before adding the ramekin. Those three lettuces have a fresh, green, leafy look. A crunchier lettuce -like iceberg and romaine- will not be quite as nicely ruffled and will be prone to breaking.

When it comes to vegetables, add whatever makes you hop with joy. Carrots are a natural choice, but we like to add a large variety; a little something for everyone like cucumbers, broccoli florets, bell peppers, cauliflower, radishes, snow or sugar pea pods, and more.

Equipment

1. Bench Knife
2. Ramekin or Small Bowl for Dip
3. Small Sharp Knife
4. Half Sheet Pan
5. Parchment Paper
6. Silicone Pastry or Basting Brush

When it comes time to assemble the Easter Bunny Bread, use a small ramekin for the dip. Invert it on top of your bunny bread and slice around it. You don’t need to slice deeply, just enough to let you know the outline of the bowl.

Use your hands to scoop out the circle that you sliced and the bread underneath it to make room for the lettuce and bowl. Feel free to eat the bread you pulled out ~or~ cube it and serve it alongside the Easter Bunny Bread.

Look how easy it is to make Easter Bunny Bread!

Do you love this Bunny Bread? Check out these other wonderful treats for Easter!

Ham and Cheese Croissants

Old Fashioned Ham Balls

Hot Ham and Cheese Rolls

Easy Carrot Cake Recipe

Whole Cherry Clafoutis

Bunny Bread

To Shape the Bunny Bread

Cut your ball of dough into two pieces that are approximately 1 pound each. Set one piece aside.

Cut about 1/4 off of the remaining hunk of dough. Roll the piece into a ball and then flatten slightly on a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet to form the bunny’s head.

Roll the other 3/4 of the dough piece into a ball and flatten into a large oval that is about 6-inches across. This will be the bunny’s body. Place the body directly below (and in contact with) the head on the cookie sheet.

Cut the second dough ball into four equally sized pieces and roll into balls. Roll two of the pieces into long, snaky ropes (about 15 or so inches long) and then fold the ropes in half.

Place on either side of the head as ears and tuck the ends slightly under the head.

Take a third dough ball, split into two equally sized pieces and roll into balls. Position one ball on either side of the base of the bunny’s body like back paws.

Use a bench knife or butter knife to cut two slits at the outside edges of the back paws to form bunny toes. What? They have toes.

Divide the last remaining portion of bread into 3 equally sized pieces. Roll two of the pieces into balls and place against either side of the upper third of the bunny’s body to serve as front paws.

Take the remaining dough and cut off 1/4 of the dough. Roll the tiny piece into a ball and position on the bunny’s head to serve as the nose.

Cut the final piece of dough into two equal pieces. Roll those pieces into balls and position under the nose for the bunny’s cheeks.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy and almost doubled in bulk (about an hour in a warm room.)

To Bake the Bunny Bread

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Remove plastic wrap, brush lightly with beaten egg and push the two pieces of dried fruit into the bunny’s head for it’s eyes.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the bunny is golden brown and lovely.
• Let rest on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To Serve the Bunny Bread

• Transfer the cooled bunny bread to a serving platter or return to the sheet pan on which you baked it.
• Cut a hole equal to the size of the bowl you will use for your dip from the belly of the bunny.
• Nestle the bowl of dip into the space you made in the bunny bread.
• Arrange vegetable sticks and crudités around the bunny and serve!

Notes

You can, alternatively, line the hole in the bunny’s belly with lettuce leaves and put the dip directly into it. We prefer to put the bowl of dip in to better salvage any leftover dip after we devour the bread. This would also be preferable if you think you may have leftover bread.

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Easter Bunny Bread

This golden brown, soft bunny bread filled with dip is irresistible. Be sure to position yourself closest to the ears so you can nab one when you give the go-ahead!

Course Appetizer, bread, Buffet

Cuisine American

Keyword bunny bread

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Cooling Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 8 -12

Calories 298kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 1 Chef Knife
• 1 half sheet pan
• 1 sheet of parchment paper
• 1 bench knife
• 1 ramekin or small bowl for the dip
• 1 small sharp knife
• 1 serving tray (or you can use the same sheet pan you baked your bread on for serving

Ingredients

• 2 pounds homemade bread dough [or 2 loaves frozen bread dough, 1 pound each, thawed]
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 pieces of dried fruit raisins, currants, cherries, blueberries, etc…
• 2 slivered almonds

For serving:

• Your favorite dip
• Vegetable sticks or florets carrots, celery, cucumbers, pea pods, cauliflower, broccoli, etc…

Instructions

To Shape the Bunny Bread

• Cut your ball of dough into two pieces that are approximately 1 pound each.
• Set one piece aside.
• Cut about 1/4 off of the remaining hunk of dough.
• Roll the piece into a ball and then flatten slightly on a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet to form the bunny’s head.
• Roll the other 3/4 of the dough piece into a ball and flatten into a large oval that is about 6-inches across. This will be the bunny’s body.
• Place the body directly below (and in contact with) the head on the cookie sheet.
• Cut the second dough ball into four equally sized pieces and roll into balls.
• Roll two of the pieces into long, snaky ropes (about 15 or so inches long) and then fold the ropes in half.
• Place on either side of the head as ears and tuck the ends slightly under the head.
• Take a third dough ball, split into two equally sized pieces and roll into balls.
• Position one ball on either side of the base of the bunny’s body like back paws.
• Use a bench knife or butter knife to cut two slits at the outside edges of the back paws to form bunny toes. What? They have toes.
• Divide the last remaining portion of bread into 3 equally sized pieces.
• Roll two of the pieces into balls and place against either side of the upper third of the bunny’s body to serve as front paws.
• Take the remaining dough and cut off 1/4 of the dough.
• Roll the tiny piece into a ball and position on the bunny’s head to serve as the nose.
• Cut the final piece of dough into two equal pieces.
• Roll those pieces into balls and position under the nose for the bunny’s cheeks.
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy and almost doubled in bulk (about an hour in a warm room.)

To Bake the Bunny Bread

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Remove plastic wrap, brush lightly with beaten egg and push the two pieces of dried fruit into the bunny’s head for it’s eyes.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the bunny is golden brown and lovely.
• Let rest on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To Serve the Bunny Bread

• Transfer the cooled bunny bread to a serving platter or return to the sheet pan on which you baked it.
• Cut a hole equal to the size of the bowl you will use for your dip from the belly of the bunny.
• Nestle the bowl of dip into the space you made in the bunny bread.
• Arrange vegetable sticks and crudités around the bunny and serve!

Notes

You can, alternatively, line the hole in the bunny’s belly with lettuce leaves and put the dip directly into it. We prefer to put the bowl of dip in to better salvage any leftover dip after we devour the bread. This would also be preferable if you think you may have leftover bread.

Nutrition

Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 541mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.03g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Originally posted April 22, 2011, Text, photos, and tutorial video updated March 2017, 2018, and 2020 and April 2023.

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A French Yogurt Cake is quite possibly the most bright and sunny, tender, and just-sweet-enough cake in the entire world. This cake is topped with a thin lemon glaze that firms up and shatters into sugary crust when you bite into it and was brought to world by generation upon generation of French grandmothers and the children who love them!

Lemon French Yogurt Cake is almost embarrassingly easy to make, but that has never once stopped me from making it and foisting the recipe on anyone who likes it. It will become your go-to snack cake the first time you make it.

This lemon yogurt cake -also known as Gâteaux de Mamie (or Grandma Cake) never goes out of style. Those who grew up on it crave it, and those who try it for the first time understand that after their first bite.

I texted a photo of the finished cake to my wonderful daughter-in-law who happens to be French. She recognized the lemon yogurt cake immediately and asked why I was torturing her because she wanted some desperately.

I promised my son would make her a cake. That young man can cook. I think that’s part of why my daughter-in-law loves me.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Obviously, yogurt plays a big part in this cake. Many French gra-meres and mémés (that’s granny to you!) measure the ingredients for their yogurt cakes in the most charming way.

They measure one jar of yogurt, one jar of oil, two jars of sugar, three jars of flour, three eggs, and salt plus baking powder. This simple formula makes yogurt cake a great project to make with kids or grand-kids.

I, on the other hand, buy large containers of yogurt as a rule, so as I’m not yet a gra-mere, I’ve made today’s lemon yogurt cake with standard measurements. Handily, most small jars of yogurt are about 1/2 cup in volume, so that makes this an easy conversion.

Yogurt Cake Recipe

Let’s knock out our ingredient and equipment lists so you know what you need to have on hand. Both lists are quite manageable and despite the moderate ingredient list, nothing is exotic, expensive, or difficult to find!

Ingredients

1. Non-stick cooking spray
2. All Purpose Flour
3. Baking Powder
4. Kosher Salt
5. Plain Greek Yogurt
6. Granulated Sugar
7. Large Eggs
8. Whole Lemon
9. Pure Olive Oil or another Neutral Oil
10. Confectioner’s sugar

When it comes to the type of yogurt you choose for your lemon yogurt cake, you have myriad options. My preference is for plain whole milk Greek yogurt because it yields a tender, slightly richer cake.

If you prefer a lower fat Greek yogurt, it will still yield a delicious if ever-so-negligibly less tender yogurt cake.

I have successfully tested the yogurt cake recipe with plain low-fat Greek yogurt, plain regular yogurt in whole milk and low fat varieties, lemon Greek yogurt, and lemon plain yogurt. All of the cakes have been delicious.

I have not, however, tried dairy alternative yogurts but I imagine they’d work fine! If you try this with a plant-based yogurt, please let me know how it turns out for you.

You have some choices when it comes to the oil you use in the yogurt cake as well. I prefer pure olive oil for the richness it imparts.

I have also made yogurt cakes with canola, grapeseed, sunflower, and vegetable oils and they’ve been great. Any neutral, liquid oil should work well here.

In keeping with the simple perfection of this cake, there are no extracts added to lend flavour. All of the lemon oomph -of which there is a great deal- comes from the zest and juice of just one lemon.

The tangy yogurt boosts the sunny lemon presence to infuse the entire cake. You can smell the lemon in and on this cake when you walk into the room!

The zest is baked into the cake, while the lemon juice is part of the 2-ingredient glaze. The glaze is brushed onto the cake while still warm and melts into it before firming up and forming a sweet crust on the outside of the cake.

Can you imagine anything lovelier than sitting down to a slice of this with a cup of coffee or tea? Whether it’s eaten while reading alone or while conversing with your grandma, it’s a piece of divine, sunshiny happiness.

What pan do I need for this cake?

For our lemon yogurt cake, you can use a standard loaf pan, a bundt pan, an 8-inch round cake pan, or an 8-inch square cake pan. This is, as my sister Christina says, a very forgiving cake.

Whichever pan you choose, you’ll prepare the same way. Spray generously with non-stick cooking spray.

If you’re using a loaf pan or either a round or square cake pan, it’s not a bad idea to line it with parchment to ensure easy removal after baking. If you’re using a bundt pan, just be sure to spray it or brush with cake release thoroughly.

I love USA Pan bakeware because it’s sturdy, cooks evenly, and releases food easily. This is not sponsored, I just love their loaf pans, cake pans, and bundt pans.

Yogurt Cake

So how do you serve this yogurt cake recipe? You have options, my friends!

You can serve a slice of this bright and happy French yogurt cake all by itself. It doesn’t really need anything else.

It is very traditional, though, to dust a little powdered sugar over it. Since the cake isn’t over sweet, it is a nice touch.

And should you decide to take it a little further into the realm of the divine, serve it with a dollop of Greek yogurt, crème fraîche, or whipped cream and a handful of berries.

French Yogurt Cake

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray a loaf or cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment. Alternately, spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set the pan aside. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.

Add the yogurt, sugar, eggs, and zest of the lemon to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and even in colour. Switch to a spatula and stir in the flour until moistened. 

Add the oil and stir until the mixture comes back together and is even. Scrape into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted near the center comes out clean.

Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the cake gently out onto a cooling rack set over a sheet pan. 

Whisk together the lemon juice and confectioner’s sugar and brush the glaze all over the top and sides of the cake. Repeat this process until all of the glaze has been used. 

Allow the yogurt cake to cool completely. The glaze will firm up as it cools. Serve in slices alone, dusted with confectioner’s sugar, or served with additional yogurt, crème fraîche, and berries.

Want more cake recipes?

Try out this Brown Sugar Peach French Yogurt Cake, Snickerdoodle Mug Cake {single serve cinnamon vanilla butter cake}, Maple Apple Upside Down Cake, Orange Olive Oil Cake with Candied Oranges, and Berry Skillet Cake.

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Lemon Yogurt Cake

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine French

Keyword after school snack, french yogurt cake, lemon yogurt cake, yogurt cake

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Cooling time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 308kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• cake pan or loaf pan

Ingredients

For the Yogurt Cake:

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 ½ cups 6.75 ounces by weight all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 lemon zested
• ½ cup pure olive oil or another neutral oil

For the Glaze:

• 1 lemon juiced
• ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar

Optional for Serving:

• A dusting of confectioner’s sugar
• Fresh berries
• Additional yogurt

Instructions

To Make the Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray a loaf or cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment. Alternately, spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set the pan aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.
• Add the yogurt, sugar, eggs, and zest of the lemon to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and even in colour. Switch to a spatula and stir in the flour until moistened.
• Add the oil and stir until the mixture comes back together and is even. Scrape into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the cake gently out onto a cooling rack set over a sheet pan.

To Make the Glaze and Glaze the Cake:

• Whisk together the lemon juice and confectioner’s sugar and brush the glaze all over the top and sides of the cake. Repeat this process until all of the glaze has been used.
• Allow the yogurt cake to cool completely. The glaze will firm up as it cools.

To Serve

• Serve in slices alone, dusted with confectioner’s sugar, or served with additional yogurt, crème fraîche, and berries.

Nutrition

Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 77IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 1mg

Tender milk bread, a swirl of mildly cinnamon scented caramel-like filling, and a topping of crispy crumbs all combine to make Senorita Bread; a classic Filipino popular afternoon snack that’s beloved by all ages. There’s nothing quite like a Señorita roll with your cup of coffee, tea, or even dipped into cold milk.

Filipino cuisine is a delicious amalgam of the many cultures that have impacted the Philippines over its history whether through trade, conquest, or political influence. It’s impossible to cover all of these within the confines of a little blog post about a delicious bread roll with sweet buttery filling.

Briefly, though, it’s an East-meets-West culinary history: native Filipino food culture fuses with hints of Malay, Indonesian, Japanese, Arabic, Indian, Chinese, Spanish, and American cuisines. This history which was at many times fraught ended up yielding the food that is, in a word, irresistible.

The many years of Spanish conquest (333, if you’re wondering!) had a massive impact on Filipino food. Many iconic Filipino foods have Spanish names or techniques or ingredients, which helps explain the two most common names for today’s delicious snack; Señorita Bread or Spanish Bread.

My friend Leng grew up in the Philippines and treasures sweet memories of being a 6 year old girl running to the local bakery for Senorita Bread with her friends. They’d eat it with black coffee (if you were poor) or soda (if you were rich) for their merienda or afternoon snack.

Señorita Bread is beloved for good reason. The tender bread is complimented beautifully by the sweet caramel-like filling and crunchy crumb coating. I may not be a 6 year old, but I’d run to any bakery that had these.

If you’re looking for a lovely cup of tea to have with your Senorita Bread, might I suggest Eggnog Chai Latte? And I haven’t forgotten my coffee and hot chocolate people out there. If black coffee isn’t your jam, go for Peppermint Mocha or Hot Chocolate

Spanish Bread

Our Filipino Spanish bread recipe does not require any difficult-to-source ingredients or specialty equipment, so you can make this whenever the muse strikes. And strike often, it will!

Ingredients:

1. Milk
2. Butter
3. All-Purpose Flour
4. Neutral Oil
5. Plain Bread Crumbs
6. Sugar
7. Salt
8. Instant Yeast
9. Cinnamon

Equipment:

1. Large Bowl (or Stand Mixer with dough hook)
2. Dough Whisk or Sturdy Spoon
3. Plastic Wrap or Damp Tea Towel
4. Parchment Paper
5. Half Sheet Pan
6. Rolling Pin

The best, softest sweet bread rolls will be made if you use whole milk for the dough, filling, and topping. You can, however make a very creditable vegan version of Señorita bread using extra virgin coconut milk or vegan butter substitute and soy milk.

I use sunflower oil as my oil in the dough, but you can certainly swap in light olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil (among others). Just be sure to pick an oil that is neutral in taste.

Some folks use brown sugar in the filling, but I prefer to use raw sugar. Brown sugar is a perfectly wonderful option, though.

Senorita Bread

To Make the Dough:

Combine the all-purpose flour, sugar, instant yeast, salt, milk, and oil in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. You can use a dough hook on a stand-mixer or do this by hand. 

Form the dough into a ball, rolling it around gently on the counter to smooth the surface of the dough. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place for 30 minutes.

Lightly dust your countertop with flour, turn the dough out, and gently knead for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the dough is very smooth and supple. 

Form the dough into a ball again and return it to the bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 to 45 minutes.

To Make the Filling:

Scatter the flour in a 2 quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and toast, whisking it, for 2 to 4 minutes, or until it is slightly darker in colour and smells fragrant and toasty.

Whisk in the butter, breadcrumbs, and sugar, stirring until the melted butter and the sugar and flour are thoroughly incorporated. 

Once the sugar is melted and the mixture is light gold in colour, whisk in the milk and cinnamon. Whisk until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. The filling should be a light caramel colour. Set the pan aside off of the heat to cool completely.

To Make the Senorita Bread Rolls:

Line a half sheet pan or other baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it lightly. Set it aside.

Once again, lightly flour your countertop. Turn the dough out and gently deflate before dividing it into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes.

Working with one dough ball at a time, roll the dough into an oblong oval that’s about 4 inches across and about 8 inches long. Spread a generous tablespoon of the filling over the whole oval.

Roll up the dough tightly, starting at a more narrow end of the oval. Brush the top of the dough with milk and roll it in breadcrumbs.

Place the roll, seam side down, on the prepared pan. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.

Cover the rolls lightly with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until they’re doubled in bulk and puffy looking, about 45 minutes to an hour. 

About halfway through the rise, preheat your oven to 350ºF. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rolls are a lovely golden brown.

Allow the rolls to cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes before eating or transferring to an airtight container. Señorita Bread will be good for 3 days at room temperature. 

You can store them longer -tightly wrapped in a double layer- in the freezer for up to a month. To reheat the frozen rolls, wrap loosely in foil and heat in a moderate 350ºF oven for about 10 minutes. 

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Senorita Bread

Tender milk bread, a swirl of caramel-like filling, and a topping of crispy crumbs all combine to make Senorita Bread; a classic of Filipino baking.

Course Appetizer, bread, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Filipino

Keyword Seniorita bread, Senorita bread, Spanish bread

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Rising Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 280kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• Large Bowl (or Stand Mixer with dough hook)
• Dough Whisk or Sturdy Spoon
• Plastic Wrap or Damp Tea Towel
• parchment paper
• Rolling Pin

Ingredients

Dough:

• 3 cups all purpose flour 12 ¾ ounces
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¼ cup neutral oil

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons butter
• ⅓ cup plain breadcrumbs can be panko or “regular”
• ½ cup granulated sugar or raw sugar
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping:

• ½ cup plain breadcrumbs preferably panko
• 2 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

To Make the Dough:

• Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. You can use a dough hook on a stand-mixer or do this by hand.
• Form the dough into a ball, rolling it around gently on the counter to smooth the surface of the dough. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and put in a warm, draft-free place for 30 minutes.
• Lightly dust your countertop with flour, turn the dough out, and gently knead for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the dough is very smooth and supple.
• Form the dough into a ball again and return it to the bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm and draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 30 to 45 minutes.

To Make the Filling:

• Scatter the flour in a 2 quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and toast, whisking it, for 2 to 4 minutes, or until it is slightly darker in colour and smells fragrant and toasty.
• Whisk in the butter, breadcrumbs, and sugar, stirring until the butter is thoroughly melted and the sugar and flour are thoroughly incorporated.
• Once the sugar is melted and the mixture is light gold in colour, whisk in the milk and cinnamon. Whisk until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. The filling should be a light caramel colour. Set the pan aside off of the heat to cool completely.

To Make the Senorita Rolls:

• Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper or grease it lightly. Set it aside.
• Once again, lightly flour your countertop. Turn the dough out and gently deflate before dividing it into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes.
• Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into an oblong oval that’s about 4 inches across and about 8 inches long. Spread a generous tablespoon of the filling over the whole oval.
• Roll up the dough tightly, starting at a more narrow end of the oval. Brush the top of the dough with milk and roll it in breadcrumbs.
• Place the roll, seam side down, on the prepared pan. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
• Cover the rolls lightly with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until they’re doubled in bulk and puffy looking, about 45 minutes to an hour.
• About halfway through the rise, preheat your oven to 350ºF. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rolls are a lovely golden brown.
• Allow the rolls to cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes before eating or transferring to an airtight container. Señorita Bread will be good for 3 days at room temperature.
• You can store them longer -tightly wrapped in a double layer- in the freezer for up to a month. To reheat the frozen rolls, wrap loosely in foil and heat in a moderate 350ºF oven for about 10 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 269mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 171IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 2mg

This whole wheat pizza dough yields our family’s favourite pizza crust; crispy and chewy, flavourful crust that holds up to anything you put on it.

Why make a pizza crust from whole wheat pizza dough? I know, I know. Pizza isn’t exactly health food.

Oh sure, whole wheat pizza dough has more protein, vitamins, riboflavin, folate, iron, and calcium than white flour pizza dough, but whole wheat pizza dough has a little trick up its sleeve that has nothing to do whatsoever with health food.

What Ingredients Do I Need?

1. All-Purpose Flour
2. Whole Wheat Flour
3. Semolina Flour (Don’t worry! I share a substitute if you don’t have this!)
4. Olive Oil
5. Water
6. Salt
7. Sugar
8. Active Dry Yeast or Instant Yeast

Whole wheat pizza crust

You may be wondering why we use three different types of flour in this whole wheat pizza dough recipe. There are some very compelling reasons for combining these flours.

Each of these types of flour has different characteristics it brings to the table. While it is possible to make a whole wheat pizza dough from 100% whole wheat, it just doesn’t have the texture I want in a pizza crust.

It yields a crust that I find more stodgy and more virtuous nutritionally than pleasant to eat. I don’t know about you, but I don’t care enough about turning my pizza into health food to sacrifice its taste.

Using a combination of all-purpose flour, semolina flour, and whole wheat flour makes a whole wheat pizza crust that my whole family loves.

All-purpose flour is a mid-strength, mid-gluten content flour that’s pretty decent in just about anything requiring flour. It’s a workhorse.

All-purpose flour is usually made from a mixture of soft and hard wheat grains. Protein levels can vary by producer, so if you find a producer you like, it’s nice to stick with them for consistent results. I’m partial to King Arthur Flour.

Semolina flour is a super-high gluten content flour that is made from durum wheat. Please don’t confuse it with rice semolina or corn semolina which are not interchangeable.

Semolina flour is used in many pastas and couscous because its high protein/gluten content makes a dough that holds its shape quite well even after cooking. It lends a nice crackle to the exterior of our Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, but keeps the inside yielding and soft as well as chewy.

Why not just use it instead of mixing it with all-purpose flour then? Well, semolina flour tends to be a little more delicate to work with when used alone.

It’s susceptible to over-kneading or over mixing, and makes a dough that tends to rip instead of stretch. Combining it with all-purpose flour helps mitigate this issue.

If you absolutely cannot find or refuse to order semolina flour (which is also delicious in our braided semolina bread), you can substitute an equal amount by volume (instead of weight) of all-purpose flour or high-gluten bread flour. It will definitely change the end product’s texture, but it will still be tasty!

And that brings us to the star of today’s pizza crust: whole wheat flour.

Whole Wheat Flour in Baked Goods

Whole wheat flour gives baked goods a richer, heartier flavour you just cannot get from white all-purpose flour. A lot of folks think that whole wheat flour makes denser baked goods, but it doesn’t need to be that way if you know a few handy tricks.

1. Whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than white flour, so whole wheat recipes need to have a little more liquid added. In general, you’re looking at adding about a tablespoon of extra water per cup of whole wheat flour.
2. Because it takes a little while for the flour to absorb the extra water, your whole wheat pizza dough will start out a little stickier than one made with white all-purpose flour. Don’t add extra flour, it’ll all come right in the end. That brings us to…
3. You really can’t hurry the rise time with whole wheat baked goods. While your room temperature and humidity will contribute to how fast your whole wheat pizza dough rises, you really just need to watch it. Has it doubled in bulk? If so, you’re ready to go! If not, you’re going to need to put on your patience hat and just wait it out.
4. Patience is also recommended when rolling or stretching your whole wheat pizza dough.
5. Remember this is not likely to rise quite as high as the equivalent amount of dough made from 100% all-purpose flour. That’s okay. That’s part of what gives it that crisp-yet-chewy texture.

Whole wheat pizza dough is the homemade pizza dough that fulfilled my pizza crust fantasy. This is crust upon which dreams are built.

Is it hyperbole? I’ll let you be the judge. I will say, though, that every time I make this whole wheat pizza dough, my husband says “You make the best pizza dough!”

Great Pizzas to Make with Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

I’m super keen on pizza, in case you haven’t been around here long enough to notice. This recipe does make a lot of dough, but I’ve got a great many recipes this dough works for.

Of course, this whole wheat pizza crust is insanely delicious with the standard pepperoni-and-cheese toppings, but there’s so much more. You can see the Trashed Up Barbecue Turkey Pizza and Ranch Cream Cheese Vegetable Pizza as well as the-not-quite pizza-but-close-enough Pissaladière in this post.

Don’t forget our Pickle Pizza which is spectacular for pickle fans! And if experimental pizzas are your jam, go for the Smoked Salmon Cucumber Pizza.

For a pre-baked pizza crust, just roll this out, brush with olive oil, and bake at 450ºF until crisp on the bottom and golden brown to deep brown on the edges. Otherwise, use as you would any pizza dough; top and bake!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

This whole wheat pizza crust recipe makes enough dough for about 6 twelve inch pizzas or 3 half-sheet pan sized pizzas. I know, that’s a lot! But you don’t have to bake them all up at once.

(And if you just can’t visualize yourself eating this much pizza, the dough makes great focaccia or flatbread, too!)

Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil and water in a large capacity bucket or mixing bowl. (This recipe can be halved if you do not have a large enough container.) I love this bucket and this dough whisk for the job, but a large mixing bowl and sturdy spoon will be just fine!

Stir in the flour until no dry pockets remain. You do not have to knead it, but I find the easiest way to have it thoroughly mixed is to wet one hand and forearm and use that one to mix it in completely.

Cover lightly (Do not put a lid on tight. Trust me.) and let rest at room temperature until the dough has doubled and collapsed. (Or at least until dough is very, very puffy.) This takes a less than 2 hours in warm weather and more than 2 hours in cool or cold temperatures.

After your whole wheat pizza dough has risen to double in bulk, wet your hands and divide the dough into 6 approximately equal sized dough balls. Working with one dough ball at a time, pull the sides down from the top and tuck under the ball, rotate and repeat the process until you have a nice tight, smooth ball of whole wheat pizza dough.

Set aside the dough balls you plan to bake that night. You’ll come back to those momentarily.

To freeze your extra pizza dough for future pizza nights, grab and label a gallon sized, zip-top freezer bag for each dough ball. Drizzle a little olive oil into each freezer bag and rub it around. Drop one dough ball into each prepared bag, remove excess air from the bag, zip closed, and freeze for up to three months.

When you want to make pizza from your frozen dough, it’s easy! Simply transfer your bag of dough from the freezer to the refrigerator the 8 hours before you plan to bake it.

Let the ball of dough come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before you plan to bake it. This will make it much easier to stretch or roll out.

You can also “quick thaw” the dough by leaving it at room temperature for about 3 hours. The thawing time will depend on how warm your home is, though!

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Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

This whole wheat pizza dough yields our family’s favourite pizza crust; crispy and chewy, flavourful crust that holds up to anything you put on it.

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword whole wheat pizza dough

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Rise time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 24

Calories 296kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 1 dough bucket or large mixing bowl
• 1 dough whisk or long handled, sturdy spoon

Ingredients

• 5 3/4 cups room temperature water
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar raw or granulated
• 4 cups whole wheat flour 1 pound 1 ounce by weight
• 7 cups all-purpose flour 1 pounds, 14 3/4 ounces by weight
• 2 cups semolina flour 11 ounces by weight

Instructions

• Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil and water in a 12 quart capacity bucket. (This recipe can be halved if you do not have a large enough container.)
• Stir in the flour until no dry pockets remain. You do not have to knead it, but I find the easiest way to have it thoroughly mixed is to wet one hand and forearm and use that one to mix it in completely.
• Cover lightly (Do not put a lid on tight. Trust me.) and let rest at room temperature until the dough has doubled and collapsed. (Or at least until dough is very, very puffy.) This takes a less than 2 hours in warm weather and more than 2 hours in cool or cold temperatures.
• You can use the dough immediately. If you have leftovers, you can store them in the container, lightly covered (again, do not use a tight lid!) for up to 10 days.
• If you need to store the dough beyond that time, divide into individual pizza sized servings. Freeze in re-sealable plastic bags that have about a teaspoon of olive oil smeared around inside each for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 583mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 3mg

SaveThis post was originally published May 7, 2012. Republished with improved information, instruction, and images in April 2022.

Carrot Cake Rolls are big, FLUFFY AS A CLOUD, and positively studded with super fine shreds of sweet carrots before being rolled up around a carrot-cake like spiced buttery brown sugar filling. My goodness gracious. These are memorably good.

You’ve had cinnamon rolls before, but I bet you’ve never had them like these! Big, fluffy, perfect cinnamon rolls meet tender, spiced carrot cake in these decadent carrot cake reminiscent cinnamon rolls topped with orange vanilla cream cheese icing. You may never go back to regular cinnamon rolls again!

When I tell you these are insane, I mean it. They’re crazy in the best possible way; CRAZY GOOD!

And glory be, they’re easy. Now -to be sure- they’re a little more effort than popping open one of those spring loaded cans from the grocery store, but these Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls are worth that little bit of work.

Trust me; they’re not difficult to make, and the dough is a dream! Just be sure to pay attention to the little cues I give in this post and you’ll be rewarded with the best cinnamon rolls you’ve ever had.

Carrot Cake Rolls

Is it a carrot cake? Is it a cinnamon roll? The answers are “kind of” and “yes”.

It’s definitely a carrot cake roll. It’s the fluffy, bread-y, chewy, un-rollable cinnamon roll that is laced with tender, sweet, finely shredded carrot, and packed with a buttery brown sugar and spice filling.

I’m going to emphasize this again, because it is key; you want super-finely shredded carrot for this carrot cake roll recipe. Why?

I’m glad you asked. Let me tell you.

Our carrot cake rolls bake up in only 25 to 30 minutes. We want the carrot shreds in the dough to become tender and sweet in the heat.

We pull the rolls out of the oven when the dough reaches 190ºF which doesn’t give a coarse carrot shred a long time to hit that lovely tender/sweet stage. That’s why we shred our carrots super-fine!

This does mean that you can’t take advantage of bags of shredded carrots from the grocery store, but hey… that’s alright! It doesn’t take long to shred your carrots in a food processor with the extra-fine grating disc OR even on a box grater’s extra fine side.

Cinnamon Roll Recipe

The key to the whole deal starts with the dough for the ultimate cinnamon rolls from my “Ready, Set, Dough; Beginner Breads for All Occasions” cookbook. This dough is dreamy and practically rolls itself out, but you DO need to know a thing or two about it.

The dough for our carrot cake rolls is made with milk, eggs, AND with instant mashed potato flakes. That means this dough is going to behave a little differently than you’re used to dough behaving.

If you want the TL;DR version of what happens here it is: This dough looks very sticky when you make it. You’ll probably think you’ve gone wrong but you haven’t. Stay the course! Stick with it. It’ll all work out in the end.

Now for a science interlude to explain just why the dough is sticky and why that is okay. When you make a bread dough with milk straight out of the jug, the protease enzyme present in milk causes the breakdown of the protein in flour, making it stickier.

You can mitigate this by scalding the milk and cooling it to lukewarm before making the dough. OR you can just realize the dough will be a little stickier and move on because…

You’re also using eggs. Eggs are going to make the dough a little sticky, but just go with it because we have ONE more thing that causes stickiness at the beginning.

Instant Mashed Potato Flakes are a bread baker’s best friend. A couple of tablespoons added to just about any dough will make a more tender crumb as well as yielding a bread with a little better shelf life.

Someone who reviewed my bread cookbook complained that instant mashed potato flakes were trashy and junk food and I argue that she couldn’t be more wrong even if she tried! First of all, it’s just freeze-dried cooked potatoes in flake form.

You can use swanky instant mashed potato flakes from Bob’s Red Mill or you can use the store-brand stuff from a big box store; it doesn’t matter! Just use whatever brand of plain, unflavoured mashed potato flakes you like best.

The point is this; if stickiness bothers you, scald the milk and cool it to lukewarm before making your dough. It’s going to be sticky before it rises anyway and a bit less sticky after it rises whether or not you scald the milk. It’ll just be a little less sticky yet if you scald and cool the milk first.

Don’t add more flour when making the dough. Just make sure you flour your work surface pretty well and dust the rolling pin from time to time to prevent sticking while rolling the dough out.

It may sound like this dough is fussy, but I promise it isn’t. You’ll see how lovely it is when you start rolling it out because it is so pliable!

Cream Cheese Icing for Cinnamon Rolls

I’m about to rock your world with this icing. There’s nothing revolutionary about cream cheese icing for cinnamon rolls usually, but this one has two tiny changes to it that make it outrageously good.

My secret ingredients for the ultimate cream cheese icing for cinnamon rolls are orange zest and vanilla paste. If the budget doesn’t support vanilla paste, you can sub in an equal amount of vanilla extract and it’ll still be delicious, but that orange zest?

Don’t you DARE leave out the orange zest. It plays ever so nicely with the sweet earthiness of the carrot and the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves in the buttery brown sugar filling.

Okay fine. If you’re allergic you can omit it, but otherwise, I’m going to have to insist. Trust me. I have your tastebuds’ best interests in mind.

Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, instant potato flakes, sugar, salt, and yeast. 

Set the whisk aside and switch to a sturdy wooden spoon. Stir in the milk, butter, egg, and finely grated carrot until a shaggy dough forms. 

Knead the dough by hand or by stand mixer fitted with a dough hook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Place dough in a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.

Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, use a fork to toss together the sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Use the same fork to start squishing the butter into the sugar mixture. When it is mostly incorporated, switch to a spatula to cream the mixture together until even in colour and texture. 

Roll the dough out to a rectangle that is approximately 12-inches by 15-inches. Spread the butter and sugar mixture evenly over the rectangle, leaving 1-inch of one long edge free of the mixture. 

Starting at the long edge that has butter, roll it up jelly-roll style. Pinch together the seams. 

Cut the roll of dough into 12 equal pieces. Arrange in the prepared pan in 4 rows of 3. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap. 

Preheat the oven to 375°F while the dough rises until double in bulk, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 25 minutes or until the center rolls measure 190°F on an instant read thermometer. Cool for 15 minutes.

While the rolls cool, use a hand mixer, stand mixer, or sturdy spoon to mix the cream cheese and butter, together until fluffy and even. 

Beat in the powdered sugar and extract ‘til smooth, then spread over the cooled rolls. Store leftovers, tightly wrapped, at room temperature.

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Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls

Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls are big, FLUFFY AS A CLOUD, and positively studded with super fine shreds of sweet carrots before being rolled up around a carrot-cake like spiced buttery brown sugar filling. My goodness gracious. These are memorably delicious.

You've had cinnamon rolls before, but I bet you've never had them like these! Big, fluffy, perfect cinnamon rolls meet tender, spiced carrot cake in these decadent rolls topped with orange vanilla cream cheese icing. You may never go back to regular cinnamon rolls again!

Course bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword carrot cake, carrot cake cinnamon rolls, carrot cake recipe, cinnamon roll, cinnamon roll recipe, cinnamon rolls, cinnamon rolls recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Rising Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 429kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 1 9×13 pan or two 8×8 pans
• 1 large mixing bowl
• 1 Rolling Pin
• 1 sturdy Wooden spoon and/or a hand mixer or stand mixer

Ingredients

For the Dough:

• 4 ¼ cups bread flour 1 pound 2 ½ ounces, by weight
• 3 tablespoons plain instant mashed potato flakes any brand
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
• 1 ¼ cups lukewarm milk scalding and cooling to lukewarm is optional to reduce stickiness of dough
• 6 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 medium carrots peeled or scrubbed and very finely grated

For the Filling:

• 1/2 Cup butter softened to room temperature
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg preferably freshly grated
• A pinch ground cloves

For the Orange Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 3 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature
• 1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar plus up to ¼ cup extra if needed to thicken
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste or extract
• The zest of one orange

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, instant potato flakes, sugar, salt, and yeast.
• Set the whisk aside and switch to a sturdy wooden spoon. Stir in the milk, butter, egg, and finely grated carrot until a shaggy dough forms.
• Knead the dough by hand or by stand mixer fitted with a dough hook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Place dough in a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.
• Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a small mixing bowl, use a fork to toss together the sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Use the same fork to start squishing the butter into the sugar mixture. When it is mostly incorporated, switch to a spatula to cream the mixture together until even in colour and texture.
• Roll the dough out to a rectangle that is approximately 12-inches by 15-inches. Spread the butter and sugar mixture evenly over the rectangle, leaving 1-inch of one long edge free of the mixture.
• Starting at the long edge that has butter, roll it up jelly-roll style. Pinch together the seams.
• Cut the roll of dough into 12 equal pieces. Arrange in the prepared pan in 4 rows of 3. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F while the dough rises until double in bulk, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 25 minutes or until the center rolls measure 190°F on an instant read thermometer. Cool for 15 minutes.
• While the rolls cool, use a hand mixer, stand mixer, or sturdy spoon to mix the cream cheese and butter, together until fluffy and even.
• Beat in the powdered sugar and extract ‘til smooth, then spread over the cooled rolls. Store leftovers, tightly wrapped, at room temperature.

Nutrition

Calories: 429kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 524mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 2152IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg

French Yogurt Cake is the world’s easiest cake, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive, and this Brown Sugar Peach Yogurt Cake is simple to make and simply divine! It’s surprisingly sophisticated for a cake made with such humble ingredients.

I don’t need a good reason to make a French yogurt cake, but I do have one today. It is my sweet, brilliant, and beautiful French daughter-in-law Anaïs’s birthday.

While I wish we were sitting together at a table enjoying a slice (or three!) of this classic French dessert, I’ll just have to settle for a virtual slice of cake together for now and wishing my only daughter a very joyeux anniversaire over facetime.

French Yogurt Cake

What is French yogurt cake? It is a tender, delicately-sweet, classic French dessert also known as Gâteaux de Mamie or Granny Cake and it is glorious.

Yogurt cake is one of the first desserts many young French people learn to bake, and oftentimes, they learn to make it at their grandmother’s side, hence the name.

This is no boring cake, though, folks. At it’s simplest, it is a perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea or coffee for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack.

Dressed up with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and plain yogurt, a handful of berries or peaches, and a dusting of powdered sugar, this is a dessert to serve with pride to company.

And when I say it’s simple, whoa. I mean it.

Yogurt Cake Recipe

If you want to go old school French – or vieille école, en français- measure one jar of yogurt, one jar of oil, two jars of sugar, three jars of flour, three eggs, and salt plus baking powder. This simple formula this makes yogurt cake recipe a great project to make with kids or grand-kids.

On the other hand, if you -like me- only buy big tubs of yogurt, you’ll use 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1/2 cup oil, 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups flour, 3 eggs, and salt plus baking powder. Still simple and HEY! Frugal to boot!

The French yogurt cake is all mixed in one bowl and baked in one pan. When the cake is turned out of the pan and is still warm, it is brushed generously and repeatedly with syrup to help keep it moist and flavourful.

You may have seen our Lemon Yogurt Cake here on Foodie with Family. Today’s version uses widely available peach yogurt plus syrup and fruit from a jar of canned peaches.

If you have flush with fresh peaches, feel free to substitute a simple syrup for the peach syrup and serve with diced fresh peaches.

I mentioned that we use peach yogurt in the cake, and I’m happy to report that the cake turns out equally well when made with lowfat or whole milk peach “regular” yogurt or lowfat or whole milk peach Greek yogurt.

Another small change that makes a big difference in today’s yogurt cake is the substitution of brown sugar for the normal white or turbinado sugar. Since brown sugar has a little molasses left in it, it lends a deeper, caramel like hints to the finished cake.

Cake Pans for Gâteaux de Mamie

You don’t have to get fancy here. I prefer to use a loaf pan for my yogurt cakes.

I’m pretty partial to these USA Pans both because they release the cake so easily after baking and because I the little ridges the pan makes on the sides pretty. They’re also my favourite bread loaf pans, which makes this a double win since pans need to do double duty in my house!

Yogurt Cake

To Make the Cake

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray a loaf or cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment. Alternately, spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set the pan aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.

Add the yogurt, sugar, eggs, and zest of the lemon to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and even in colour. Switch to a spatula and stir in the flour until moistened.

Add the oil and stir until the mixture comes back together and is even. Scrape into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted near the center comes out clean.

Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the yogurt cake gently out onto a cooling rack set over a sheet pan.

To Glaze the Cake

Whisk together the lemon juice, peach syrup, and confectioner’s sugar and brush the glaze all over the top and sides of the yogurt cake. Repeat this process until all of the glaze has been used.

Allow the yogurt cake to cool completely. The glaze will firm up slightly as it cools.

To Serve

Serve yogurt cake in slices alone, dusted with confectioner’s sugar, or served with additional yogurt, crème fraîche, and diced peaches or berries.

Notes

If you do not have canned peaches, you can substitute 1 tablespoon of simple syrup or 1 more tablespoon of lemon juice for the peach syrup.

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Brown Sugar Peach French Yogurt Cake

French Yogurt Cake is the world’s easiest cake, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive, and this Brown Sugar Peach Yogurt Cake is simple to make and simply divine! It’s surprisingly sophisticated for a cake made with such humble ingredients.

Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine French

Keyword french yogurt cake, gâteaux de mamie, lemon yogurt cake, peach yogurt cake

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Cooling Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 317kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• cake pan or loaf pan

Ingredients

• For the Yogurt Cake:
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 ½ cups 6.75 ounces by weight all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup peach yogurt
• 1 cup brown sugar packed
• 3 large eggs
• 1 lemon zested
• ½ cup pure olive oil or another neutral oil
• For the Glaze:
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon heavy syrup from a can of peaches See notes
• ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
• Optional for Serving:
• A dusting of confectioner’s sugar
• Fresh berries
• Diced peaches either canned or fresh
• Additional yogurt

Instructions

• To Make the Cake
• Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray a loaf or cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment. Alternately, spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set the pan aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.
• Add the yogurt, sugar, eggs, and zest of the lemon to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and even in colour. Switch to a spatula and stir in the flour until moistened.
• Add the oil and stir until the mixture comes back together and is even. Scrape into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the cake gently out onto a cooling rack set over a sheet pan.
• To Glaze the Cake
• Whisk together the lemon juice, peach syrup, and confectioner’s sugar and brush the glaze all over the top and sides of the cake. Repeat this process until all of the glaze has been used.
• Allow the yogurt cake to cool completely. The glaze will firm up slightly as it cools.
• To Serve
• Serve in slices alone, dusted with confectioner’s sugar, or served with additional yogurt, crème fraîche, and diced peaches or berries.

Notes

Notes:
If you do not have canned peaches, you can substitute 1 tablespoon of simple syrup or 1 more tablespoon of lemon juice for the peach syrup.

Nutrition

Calories: 317kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 149mg | Potassium: 154mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 79IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 1mg